Tip 1: Create a problem
Remember that every story, long or short, must have at least one character facing at least one problem. A story is always about a problem and a character's attempts to survive or solve it. Doesn't matter if it's a small problem (pimple on nose) or a big problem (giant cauliflower eating planet Earth) as long as a lot is at stake for the main character.
Tip 2: Make the problem worse
Don't make the problem too easy to survive or solve. If the character simply has to reach for a tube of pimple cream or a large saucepan full of cheese sauce to solve the problem, the story will be simple, boring and over too quickly. It's much more interesting if your character has to struggle, plan, think creatively and be a bit naughty to solve the problem. And perhaps if there's another interesting character making the problem worse.
Tip 3: Then make a mistake
Sometimes we make problems worse ourselves by the way we try to solve them. ("This is Houston. We're drowning in cheese sauce here.") Very frustrating in real life, but extremely useful in stories. When problems get worse, stories get even more interesting. And mistakes are a great story opportunity. Characters who blow it have an urgent need to find new skills, friends and kitchen equipment.
Tip 4: Keep the words simple
Don't worry about using posh words or long complicated sentences. Use words you know, and don't forget to use them to help us feel things – the same things the character is feeling. Not too much description, though. Make sure every sentence in your story is connected in some way to your character's problem. Long descriptions of things not connected to it - houses, furniture, clothes, pets, other pimples – can be very well written but belong in brochures, not stories.
Tip 5: Have fun
There are no limits in our imaginations, so we can do things in stories we wouldn't dare or be allowed to do in real life. See if you can make yourself laugh or cry while you're writing – or if you're really game, both. That's the real story prize – fun and feelings. Any other prize your story wins is a bonus.
- Viel Erfolg :) -
