Short Story Ideas That Work
For a short story idea to work it should be firmly grounded in short story form, which is the setup, the buildup and the payoff. This form has not changed for thousands of years. Why does this form work?
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The short story is a very old art form. Not only is it found in the holy books of all religions but it is also found on the walls of caves in pictographs. The short story is older than writing. Now that’s saying something. Why does the short story have this hold on the human imagination?
Well, I have a theory of why the short story has such a powerful hold on the human imagination; see if you agree.
The human mind cannot stand a mystery, something it cannot explain. You want an example of this? All right. What happens after death? No one really “knows”; but probably one of the reasons that all religions exist is that they provide an answer to this question that cannot be rationally answered. The short story taps into our need to know how a story ends.
The short story tells the personal story of a protagonist. The story follows a natural progression: beginning, middle and end; or for our purposes: setup, buildup and payoff. It’s just like our lives: birth, life and death. This is not an arbitrary connection among religion, life and the form of the short story.
Now getting back to writing short stories. (And by the way, articles follow this same form. It’s just called by different names: argument, supporting proof and conclusion). When you are trying to come up with a good short story idea for say your blog or your Triond content keep in mind that the short story has a classic form and it has this form for a good reason.
The form is the setup, the buildup and the payoff. The following link is to a flash fiction story that’s a good example of this classic form.
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Tags: articles, Blog, books, content, death, Flash fiction, imagination, Life, love, personal, religions, short story ideas, triond, Writing
14 Responses to “Short Story Ideas That Work”
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Share Your Writing Tips
August 14th, 2009 at 7:40 am
Applause! Precise and to the point. I agree! Like it! Every triond writers should read this.
August 14th, 2009 at 9:02 am
Mrs. Heart, thank you. I think getting to the point and writing in clear, simple language is always a good thing.
http://www.writinghood.com/online-writing/the-best-article-and-short-story-writing-ideas-are-free/
August 14th, 2009 at 11:13 am
Great thoughts Guy. The format has definitely been the same so long for a reason. Fantastic article!
August 14th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
This is probably one of the best pieces out there. Keep up with that – Redburn
The Real Ghost of Teresa Fidaldo
August 14th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Jeremy, what I find truly fascinating is the evolution of how pre-writing stories, the ones painted on cave walls, went from hand prints to pictures to a series of pictures that tell stories. I find that amazing.
http://www.writinghood.com/writing-business/opportunities/every-writer-needs-a-vision/
August 14th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Redburn, thank you for the kind words. I take what I do on Triond very seriously. I hope it shows in my work.
http://www.writinghood.com/online-writing/how-to-come-up-with-more-great-writing-ideas/
August 14th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Another great article. I love your writing. I’m going back to read it all.
August 15th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Kevin, this article expresses some very basic things about how I approach writing flash fiction. The ideas behind the article have never let me down.
http://www.webupon.com/blogging/blogging-about-sex-and-other-things/
August 28th, 2009 at 9:23 am
Thanks for the tips you share in this article and also for the encouraging comments you’ve left on my pages. Triond is a new venture for me and I appreciate the community support.
August 29th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
Great article and a very interesting exposition of an ancient art form. I loved it.
August 30th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
bestmommy: I’m glad I found Triond when I did. It’s a perfect fit for me. I love the simplicity of publication.
August 30th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Thank you, Uma: Years ago when I read up on pictographs that ancient cave dwellers drew on cave walls I was amazed that the drawings told an identifiable story. These were actually short stories. Even then we had to “publish” stories for others to read.
September 22nd, 2009 at 6:18 pm
Hello, Guy, like your article. You are correct of course: the three-part approach is in all stories. In movie making, according to the famous screen-play writer, Syd Field it is: Act1 the setup Act2 confrontation. Act3 the resolution.
Good stuff, Guy,
Tom Ware
September 22nd, 2009 at 6:57 pm
Hello, Tom: yes that three-part approach is basic to all story telling and it still works after thousands of years.