I truly believe that each and every one of us has great stories we can can tell and share with others. Some of us do it orally, and some of us choose to do this in writing—whether it is the form of a novel, a poem, an essay, a blog, or a short story. I have discovered in the last few years that I have developed a passion to write. My first work is of course, my book Because I Believed in Me (My Egyptian Fantasy Came True), which is a memoir of my life experiences visiting and living in Egypt. Next, I decided to try a second genre—poetry. These seventy poems will one day be part of a collection called Reflections and Memories of an Ordinary Woman. On July 19, 2013, I ventured into my third genre and found this to be the most challenging one of the three I have explored so far. I knew I would have to tell my story effectively in a more limited space with more restrictions. I will share some hints that helped me to write my first story. Of course, these are not the only correct ways to compose a short story, but they seemed to be extremely helpful to me during my writing process.
First of all, I recommend reading some short stories of successful authors. Much can be learned from studying their style, their plots, their characters and their development, their choice of words, settings, and use of dialogue. Decide in your mind what makes this a great story, and what makes it unique or stand out as special. Then record the techniques that were found to be appealing in a notebook for future reference if needed.
Secondly, begin creating your story map. This will include your setting, possible characters, and a detailed description of them. Write this information down to help you visualize where the story will take place and what the characters will look like. You might even decide on some personality traits at this point. It is important to visualize your setting and to know your characters well in order to make them come alive and be believable to the reader. It is generally considered wise not to have more than three main characters in the story. I chose to set my first story in a familiar setting, my home town, and the main character is based partially on me as a teenage girl. The other significant characters are her deceased father and Dr. Medlock with minor references to her mother, her sister, her dance instructor, children in her neighborhood, and other dancers. Too many characters in a short story can be distracting to the readers. In addition, I thought it was wise to write about something well known to me. After all, I believe a beginning writer is more successful if he or she has some past experiences to use as a model for writing. With more and more experience in writing, thinking outside the box for new and unique ideas will become easier.
Third, create your basic situation and plot idea. You can always make changes as you write, but you need to start somewhere. Make sure you have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Decide what problem(s) the main character(s) will face and the obstacles he or she will have to overcome and then how the problem will be resolved. The point at which the problem is resolved will be your climax so keep this in mind as you write. Try to find ways to make your story interesting as it leads up to this point and remember to end it in a logical way as well. I did all of these things as I was preparing to write my story, and it helped to keep me completely organized and focused. This may take a while to complete, but if you take this step seriously, writing the words to tell your story will flow from your creative mind much more quickly. My main character Julia must overcome a serious leg injury from a fatal automobile accident and must find ways to overcome this medical condition to be able to achieve her dream.
Fourth, even though you are telling a story, a theme or message for your readers is highly recommended. This is a great place to teach a lesson about life. Remember the theme is your skeleton or framework for your story. Thus, try to make your story revolve around teaching this lesson or expressing this message to your readers. After reading your story, the readers should be able to understand your theme clearly. Basically, the theme of my story is two-fold—never give up and dream bigger to achieve your goals.
The last point to be covered involves the time span of your story. My story covers a period of four years, but I was careful to ensure that all of the events are related to the main story and enhance the theme. However, the time period can be as little as one hour, one day, or one week. It may be one single event that is momentous in the life of your main character so if this is the case, focus on that span of time only.
In the next blog, I will discuss dialogue, word choice and imagery, sentence structure and variety, and other grammar related suggestions plus effective ways to capture the attention of your readers from the very first word and clever ways to keep them reading and enjoying your story until the last word.
This is the cover picture I created for my first story called “She Only Wanted to 
Dance.” One day I hope to share it in my third potential book of short stories possibly entitled Don’t Dream Big! Dream Bigger!
Randi D. Ward
July 26. 2013
