Length- The length for this genre depends on the author’s preference. The topic of the story impacts how long it will be. A story that has a lot of details that are necessary will most likely be longer than one that is written for entertainment. Complexity- Usually short stories are less complex than novels. Short stories are usually fictional too. Detail- Short stories should have lots of detail. The details should add to the story not take away from it however. They should draw the reader in. Purpose- Why are you writing using the short story genre rather than a poem or a different genre? Why are you writing what you are writing? Some are written to tell the story of someone or something. While others are written to get a point across.
Setting - The setting of a story is the place or places it is going to occur. Characters- There can be one or multiple main characters. Usually there are other minor characters as well. Path of character- What happens to the character? How they get to where they end up? Needs and wants of the character- What the character wants or needs. Language- The language needs to be appropriate for the audience. Vocabulary that is to advanced for the audience will make it hard for them to understand and read, but if it is too simple then it is possible to lose the attention of the audience. Sentence structure- The sentence structure for this genre is complete sentences.
There are multiple audiences when writing the short story genre. The sub- genres under short stories also play a role in the audience. The audience could be anyone from children to adults. Ultimately it depends on what the short story is about and sometimes who the author is that determines who the audience will be. From personal experience, I feel that a short story that is written by Edgar Allen Poe is not a suitable short story for someone who is in middle school. It is more for the audience of high school students and above. This is based on my own experiences of reading Poe. At the school I went to we were not introduced to his work until our junior year, because our teachers felt that we would not understand his writing style. When we did read his work no one in my class understood it. Other schools are different though so to some it may be considered appropriate for that particular age range.
~Children Audiences~ Cat in the Hat The Princess and the Pea Little Red Riding Hood ~Adult or Adolescent Audiences~ The Raven The Legend of Sleepy Hollow The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The rhetorical situation in some aspects will determine the audience. Some one who wanted to write about one specific personal experience could do so but it would then limit the short story to one particular audience. This particular audience would most likely be one that has had a similar experience or is interested in learning about it. The writer can choose to write about virtually anything that they want to, that will then decide the rhetorical situation that they are writing for. Some short stories are written to teach a lesson. Others are written for entertainment purposes.
When getting started on a short story, there are many things that need to be decided upon. 1.What do I want to write about? You have to decide what you want your topic to be about. Usually it it's best to write about something that you are interested in. When you choose a topic that you are not interested in it makes it hard to write about. Make sure to research your topic if you don’t know a lot about it. After a topic is picked one may choose to do an outline of the story. 2.Next you will have to decide on characters. How many characters do you want the story to have and how many of them are going to be main characters? Depending on if your character goes on a "journey" can also help you determine how many characters you want/need. 3.Choose a setting for your story. Sometimes it makes for a interesting story when you choose the setting to be a place that you care about or like going to. It in certain ways connects you to your story.
4. Once you have decided about where you want the story to take place it’s now time to really consider what you want to happen in the story. What is going to make your story different from all the other short stories out there? Is your main character going to leave what he/she is familiar with in search of something new and unfamiliar or is something tragic going to happen to them? 5. After you have decided upon all of these things it’s is now the time to begin writing your story. Many writers will begin their piece and totally change their mind on how their story is going, and others may totally change the topic of their story. The choice it completely up to the author.
Research is very essential to the whole writing process. Knowing a lot of information about your subject will allow you to make your writing more believable. The library is a great place to go and do research. There are many books on the subject matter of short story genre as well as for any research you may need to do on a topic. Another option would be to use the internet. Now there are pretty much websites for everything so it shouldn't be too hard to find a website that has good quality information about this genre as well. Some websites that are helpful are: There are plenty others out there as well.
A written piece does not fit into the short story genre if it does not have some essential parts. Theme-The theme is the main structure of the short story. It holds together everything else that you put into the story and “glues” it all together. Characters- It can not really be considered a short story without characters. Characters are very important and you can’t really have a story without them either. Characters are who the story is ultimately about, a story would clearly be incomplete without them. Setting- A place or the places the story occurs. Every story needs a setting. There can be more than one setting too. If a character is on a “journey”, sometimes it will take them to another place. Story Line- The story needs to flow together and all make sense. There should be an introduction, a rising action, climax, resolution and a conclusion.