{"id":454944,"date":"2021-10-28T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-28T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/?p=454944"},"modified":"2025-05-09T15:51:01","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T14:51:01","slug":"short-story-structure-writing-a-great-short-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/short-story-structure-writing-a-great-short-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Short Story Structure: The Art of Writing A Great Short Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A short story is a piece of fiction between 1,000-4,000 words (although it can go as high as 15,000 words). Simply put, it\u2019s a story you can read in one sitting.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sounds easy to write<\/a>, right? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wrong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Short stories are notoriously difficult to write, and that\u2019s often because the writer hasn\u2019t understood the basics of good story structure. So, if after finishing writing your short story you\u2019re left thinking, This is so boring!<\/em> Where have I gone wrong?<\/em> Is there a short story plot or structure I can follow? <\/em>\u2013 then you\u2019ve come to the right place. Because chances are you may need to rework your short story structure.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article I will be talking about what make a great short story and looking at the various structures you can use to keep readers gripped. But you can’t start writing short stories until you have an idea. So let us begin there…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting Started: The Big Idea<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Where can you get your short story idea from?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some people have a great idea but struggle to turn it into a story (in which case you can skip to the next part). But for those of you confident about how to write a short story but need some inspiration to get you going, here are a few Jericho Writers articles to kick-start your creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. How To Find Inspiration<\/a>
    In this article, award-winning author Patrice Lawrence will guide you through the myriad ways you can find inspiration – from reading poetry and other books, to observing real life around you.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Ideas For Writing<\/a>
    In this article, Jericho Writers founder and author Harry Bingham, explains how to go from a seed on an idea to a novel (or short story)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. How to build a fictional world<\/a>
    And finally, in this article, Harry is back explaining world building in fiction and how to create setting that will help your story come alive.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Great. So now you have your amazing idea, it’s time to structure it and turn it into short fiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\r\n