Jerry Spinelli @ Chautauqua/Highlights

Writing a Short Story

ANYone can write a short story. It's as simple as going step-by-step.

It doesn't matter if you know the beginning but not the ending. Or you know the ending but not the beginning. Or you have a great idea for the middle but no idea how to get to or from that point.

Just take a sheet of paper and make a line from the left to the right edge.

Now draw four circles - each about the size of a dime - at even distances from the beginning and end of the line. (There won't be a circle at the start and finish of the line.)

At the left edge of the line, you think, "once upon a time there was" and the answer to that is your character.

At the first circle you think, "everything was great until" OR "everything was great except." And now you have the problem.

At the second circle you think, "so he/she/it decided to" and now you have the first solution.

At the third circle you think, "it was going great until" OR "it didn't work so" and now you have the complication.

At the fourth circle you think, "So he/she/it did" and now the problem is truly solved.

At the left edge you think, "And it worked and he/she/it lived happily ever after" and now you have the end.

Not very complicated. Not very elegant. But it works! Every KidWrite! kid in grades 2 & 3 wrote a fantastic short story this way! Try it for yourself!

Happy Writing!