HOW TO WRITE A

GOOD STORY???
 General Short Story Ideas
 Tell the story of a scar, whether a physical scar or emotional one. To be a
writer, said Stephen King, “The only requirement is the ability to remember
every scar.”

 A group of children discover a dead body. Good writers don’t turn away from
death, which is, after all, the universal human experience. Instead, they look it
directly into its dark face and describe what they see on the page.

 A young prodigy becomes orphaned. Orphans are uniquely vulnerable, and

as such, they have the most potential for growth.

 A middle-aged woman discovers a ghost. What do Edgar Allen Poe, Ron

Weasley, King Saul from the Bible, Odysseus, and Ebeneezer Scrooge have in
common? They all encountered ghosts!
 A woman who is deeply in love is crushed when her fiancé breaks
up with her. “In life every ending is just a new beginning,” says
Dakota Fanning’s character in Uptown Girls.
 A talented young man’s deepest fear is holding his life back. Your
character’s biggest fear is your story’s secret weapon. Don’t run
from it, write about it.
 A poor young boy or girl comes into an unexpected fortune. Not
all fortunes are good. Sometimes discovering a fortune will destroy
your life.
 A shy, young woman unexpectedly bumps into her soulmate
(literally bumps into him). In film, this is called the “meet cute,”
when the hero bumps into the heroine in the hallway, knocking
her books to the floor, and forcing them into conversation.
A long journey is interrupted by a disaster. Who hasn’t
been longing to get to a destination only to be delayed
by something unexpected? This is the plot of Gravity, The
Odyssey, and even Lord of the Rings.

A young couple run into the path of a psychopath.

Monsters, whether people who do monstrous things or
scaly beasts or a monster of a natural disaster, reveal
what’s really inside a person. Let your character fall into
the path of a monster and see how they handle
themselves.
 She’s a cop. He’s the owner of a jewellery store. A sudden rash of break-ins brings
her to his store over and over and over again, until it becomes obvious that he
might be tripping the alarm on purpose—just to see her. That’s illegal—but she’s
kind of falling for him, too. Write the moment she realizes she has to do something
about this crazy illicit courtship.
 Two dirt-poor art students survive by sharing a nasty little apartment above a
bodega. They struggle through four years, barely making ends meet, comforting
one another through tragedies and triumph, but never openly admit how they feel
about each other…until they graduate, and one of them gets a job in another city.
Is it too late to confess their love?
 Ever heard of Balkan Sworn Virgins? Let’s take that concept further. Unspecified
ancient times; matriarchal society. Only a queen may ascend to the throne, and
only daughters have been born to the royal family for generations—but to
everyone’s amazement, this royal couple had a son. To avoid some unpleasant
relative taking over, the prince must become a princess in appearance, dress, and
behaviour—which makes things REALLY awkward because “she” has been
betrothed to a neighbouring prince before he—er, she—was born.
 She’s a nurse trying to work her way through both her massive student debt and the
everyday living expenses of Boston. Desperate for cash, she takes a job as a model for
a late-night sculpting workshop, and initially doesn’t question why the workshop
organizer keeps paying her more than agreed. Or keeps insisting on ordering delivery
so she goes home with food. Or keeps making sure she gets the job even though
several other people are trying for it. Initially, she doesn’t question anything; when she
finally does, how will she handle this attention? Is it adorable or terrifying?

 After a horrible car accident, Charlene struggles through years of physical therapy to
regain her mobility. Her PT (physical therapist) is a young man she initially assumes is
gay, which is upsetting because she falls in love with him. Describe her reaction the
day she realizes she was wrong
 80% of Soviet males born in 1923 didn’t survive World War II. Describe a young Russian
widow, alone now on her family’s farm, who finds love again in the most unexpected
of places: the jostler hired to care for the horses.
 He’s a cop—one of the good ones—and when an undercover bust went bad ten
years ago, his wife and small child were killed. He swore he’d never love again. Then
his old partner retires, only to be replaced by a wide-eyed, spunky rookie, whose
seemingly impossible innocence and joie de vivre remind him life is worth living again.
This could only end in disaster…right? Dare he make the first move?