Things to Know Before Writing Your First Short Story

Are you trying to write a short story? It could also be that you have attempted writing a couple of short stories – but no matter what you write – you aren’t happy with it. Also, no matter what sort of advice you get, nothing might seem to help. 

If yes, then you should know that you aren’t alone, and every writer has been through a few things before they were successful. 

There are a few things that you should focus on that will help you successfully write short stories. 

Reading Profusely Isn’t Crucial 

There are a few common myths about writing short stories, and one of them is that you have to read tons of short stories before you can write one. You should know that there is no one-size-fits-all method for short story writing.

Most people will tell you that before you start writing a short story, you cannot get started right away, and you need to read tons of short stories first. The unpopular truth is that not all writers are big readers. This aspect indicates that you don’t have to go and educate yourself by consuming tons of short stories that others tell you to read. 

If reading short stories makes you happy and you get inspiration from them, then you should, by all means, do so. But reading profusely before you can actually write isn’t the essential path that you have to take.

You Don’t Need to Write Short Stories Before Writing a Novel

Speaking of short stories, if you are new to the writing world, another common thing that you might hear is that you have to write short stories before you try your hand at something more complex. They might tell you that you cannot write a novel right away before writing a bunch of short stories. 

This is also a myth, as there is no need to write short stories and become seasoned enough to write a novel. 

Some writers take short stories as the cheaper and easier art. Of course, practicing your writing skills is incredibly important, and writing short stories can serve as the perfect practice medium if you want to become a professional writer.

Understand the Art of Practicing

You should know that the best practice comes when you aren’t taking something too seriously. Now, the reason why short stories are ideal for practicing your writing skills is that you are probably not able to publish the short stories that you write as practice. 

You don’t even need to publish or share your short stories with other people if you don’t want to. We recommend writing fan fiction as a practice. Why, you might ask? Well, because when writing fan fiction, you definitely don’t have to worry about being good enough to publish. 

Change Your Perspective on Practice 

The worst thing that you can do as an aspiring writer is to treat your practice projects with contempt. You cannot treat your first short stories while obsessing over how bad they are. The best thing you can do for yourself is to change your perspective on practice and look at all of your writing as practice. 

Yes – you read this right. The thing is that as a writer, your best is constantly changing. This aspect also indicates that you cannot become a better writer or improve your writing skills without practice. 

If you start to look at all of your writing this way, it will allow you to silence your inner critic and enjoy the writing project exactly the way you should. Also, check out this guide when creating a short story so that you know what is expected of you. 

Nail the Fundamentals of Your Short Story

If you want to write short stories, you should understand the fundamentals of short stories first. Now, when it comes to the fundamentals, you should know that you can fit a bigger plot in a short story and also write a full-length novel that is based on a short-scale story.

No matter what you write, you can focus on smaller and simpler plots to allow your characters to really shine. This aspect indicates that your story idea doesn’t necessarily have to be that complex and exciting idea to be a novel.

Your Story is Not Your Plot

As an aspiring writer, you should know that your story is not your plot. It is essentially about how the character transforms as a result of their journey. With that said, you might want to ask yourself a few questions to figure out whether your idea is best suited for a short story or a novel.

Ask yourself how long you want to make the journey of your character. Do you plan to have side characters or subplots? Will you be highlighting an entire journey or a significant event of the character’s life? 

Your answers can help with establishing the fact whether your content is ideal for a short story or a novel. 

Practice Makes Perfect

As an aspiring writer, you should know that everyone’s first draft is their worst work. It is what it is. Even your favorite authors or the bestsellers out there – they all had to practice and rewrite their first drafts before they could make it big. On that note, keep in mind that practice will make you perfect because you will become better at what you regularly do. 

Of course, perfection will come with time and experience – even though none of your best work can be perfect because nothing in this world is perfect. However, none of this means that what you are writing at the moment is bad. 

Whatever you are writing at the moment is your best right now, and your best is all you can do right now. 

Final Thoughts 

You should write stories whenever you feel like it. However, you shouldn’t feel like you have to write a bunch of short stories before you can actually make your way up to writing a novel. If you want to write a novel, you might as well start writing it. The only thing you need to do is to take it easy on yourself and see your writing projects as practice. 

Don’t second guess yourself, and don’t compare your work with other established authors.