This is only intended as basic guide to writing a short story and based on more conventional styles and structures.  With an understanding of the following short story concepts, the personal and creative possibilities and choices are many.

Important to remember is the notion “Show, don't tell.”  “Show, don't tell” refers to allowing your characters to express the story through their actions and dialogue not through you the writer telling the reader what is being expressed.  Here is a simplified example of how it works.  Instead of telling the reader through your writing “Joe was really mad at Kate for cheating with another man” you should show this with your writing: “With an ache in his stomach and a heart that had been torn apart, Joe was grinding his teeth as he approached Kate without initiating the customary kiss that had become routine during their year together.  His pulse raced as he took in a deep breath, attempting to calm the rage that was hammering every thought he had of her.  Kate couldn’t look Joe in his crazed, red eyes.  Instead, she fiddled with her hair as Joe’s stare pierced though her masked guilt as he yelled: ‘I hope he was worth because now we’re through!’”

Developing a story idea is the first step.  Choose an idea that excites you and ignites some passion and then define it with these important components.

Theme

The Theme of the story you are going to write could be something that can help in our lives or convey a message.  Subtlety is important because you don't want to be preachy to your reader and at the same time you shouldn't have to explain what the moral of the story is.  The reader should be able to learn and recognize the theme through your story.

Plot

In order to keep the reader excited and interested it is important to have a Plot, conflict or struggle that your main character has to overcome.  This struggle can be with another character or it can be something a character struggles with inside the character like feelings or emotions.  Most often the main character or the hero/heroine should win or lose on their own and not be rescued by someone else.  Conflict usually intensifies as the story moves forward until it reaches its climax at the end of the story.

Story Structure

With Story Structure, it’s imperative to quickly whisk the reader directly into the action and introduce the main character or hero/heroine.  This is where you'll have to decide whether to tell your story in "first person" or "third person."

Writing in First person is telling the story as if it were happening to you by using the pronoun "I."  Writing in Third person is telling the story as if it's all about other people by using the pronouns "he," "she," "it."

At first, writing a short story from the first person point of view seems simple, you just write as if you were the character telling the story.  However, when getting further involved, there is more to consider.  There are three different kinds of first-person narrators: "I" who tells his/her own story, "I" who tells the story of someone else they have observed, and "I" who retells a story told to them.  Additionally, there are many other techniques for writing such styles of narrative, these include:

Dramatic monologue – The story is written as if the viewpoint character is speaking aloud to an audience.

Interior monologue –The story is written as the viewpoint character feels it, relives it and reflects on it.  This type of story takes the reader along the character's journey of self-discovery.  Usually the reader will end up knowing more than the character does.

Journal or diary – The story is written as if the viewpoint character is making a private record of events in a journal or diary without the intention of being read by others.

Letter - The story is written as if the viewpoint character is recording events, either as they happen or after the fact, in a letter to one or more individuals.  The narrator is aware that at least one other person will read it, but what they record may depend on whether this is a private, intimate letter to one person, or a more general letter to a whole family.

Public journal - The story is written as if the viewpoint character is recording events, either as they happen or after the fact, for more public consumption. Imagine old explorers who kept journals of their expeditions and then published them later or sent parts home to be published as the journey went on.

Using the Third person point of view tells the story through the eyes of just one character-usually the hero/heroine.  The third person point of view is the most common for writing fiction, but choosing this point of view is more complicated than simply writing "he," "she" or "they" to describe the action.  There are three types of third-person narrators with many possible variations for each. 

Omniscient – The story is written in the third person omniscient point of view where the narrator knows everything, allowing the writer to mention the thoughts and feelings of any character, and to insert narrative comments.  The narrative can also skip around to different places and times, filling in back-story at any point in the present story.  The challenges of this point of view are that sometimes it is difficult to maintain a consistent voice, it can feel impersonal to the reader and it is less believable than the other styles.

Objective – The story is written in the third person objective point of view, the narrator knows only what can be heard and seen from outside the characters.  Imagine the narrator as recording events like a movie camera.  All the thoughts and emotions of the characters are unavailable, so the story must speak for itself.  The challenge of this point of view is that it can lack emotion and often create a cold and uninvolved feeling to the story.

Limited – The story is written in the third person limited omniscient point of view where the narrator knows everything about one character including thoughts and feelings.  The other characters are only known through that one person.  This type of viewpoint can be so close to the character that it is nearly a first person point of view, or it can pull back for a broader view.  Because of its many advantages, this point of view is often thought of as the default.

After choosing a point of view one must decide whether to tell the story in the present or past tense.  Past tense is writing the story as if it already happened, present tense is writing the story as it is happening right now.  Once you have chosen your tense it is important to stick to it and not switch between tenses because it will confuse the reader.

Setting

Decide on a Setting for the story, a place and time that are interesting and familiar to you.  You can create and imagine a fantasy setting or research a specific setting but it is important to be comfortable with what you are writing.  Write what you know about.

Style and Tone

Style and tone is the language or dialogue you use that is right for your story.  Always use action and dialogue to let the reader know what's happening whenever possible.  Remember when writing your short story to "show, don't tell."

Characters

Dialogue should be in direct quotes like "Come help!" instead of indirect quotes as "He told her to come help."  Don't complicated dialogue with difficult words or with too many words. To write well, simpler is usually stronger and less is most often more.  Finally, choose the best word-the one that is closest to your meaning and gives the clearest image possible. If you can't think of a word, use a thesaurus.

Now that you have some insight into story structure, the next step is to start writing your short story.  The concept of a beginning, middle and end can be considered and kept in mind but many interesting short stories don’t take that linear approach.  Reading short stories is a great way to learn about them and the many different styles in which they can be written.  Writing your short story should be a creative process that reveals itself to you as go along.  As you grow into the writing process you will know what is right and what works because it will feel organic to you when it does.

Andrew was educated at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland and the University of California at Santa Cruz.  He has authored The Cigar Connoisseur along with numerous magazine articles on cigars, food & wine and travel.  Aside from these areas of interest, Andrew has written for both film and television having sold an original screenplay as well as a two-hour A&E Biography.