Manly Fellowship of Australian Writers

Pippa Kay (right), Author and Short Story Speciality, and Beatrice Yell, President of the Manly & Peninsul FAW.

I'm a member of the Manly and Peninsula Fellowship of Australian Writers (FAW). We have about 25 members and meet on the second Saturday of each month at Warringah Mall Library.

Today we had Pippa Kay, short story specialist, conduct a workshop, which was very informative.

Pippa's exercises helped me get started on a new concept I'm working on, the first book in a new series for boys aged 7+. One of the exercises Pippa had us go through was writing a very, very short story. This is how to do it:

1. Start with a sentence about setting.
2. Add a sentence to introduce your characters.
3. Next, add a line or two about the characters in action and a some dialogue interchange. Make sure you add some conflict to keep readers interested.
4. Add a sentence or two about the inner thoughts and reflections of one of the characters.
5. Finally, a sentence to resolve the conflict and finish the story.

And there you have it, a super short story! I found this is a great way to start a longer work, too, like the first chapter of a novel.