Structuring a Short Story

How to do More With Less

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Ever been stuck in a conversation where a person would not shut up? If you are not careful, this can be how people feel when they finish reading your story. They will feel you have gone on too long, that too many details were used, and that there wasn’t enough action. Being able to tell a complete story in fewer words is a hard task, but one that can be learned.

So, what’s the difference between a long and short story?

Most people define a short story as a story under 1,500 words. There are a variety of names for the various lengths of stories under 1,500 words: drabbles, flash fiction, microfiction… the list goes on. It all still falls into the category of short fiction. So, for the purpose of this conversation, short fiction is anything under 1,500 words. Anything over 1,500 words is a long story.

Now, all stories—long or short—have four things in common.

They all need an introduction, exposition, climax, and ending. I’ve written about this before, but the way you use these in a short story is a bit different than how you use them in a long story. They still go in order, but they move a bit quicker. The emphasis is on different parts. It’s important to pay attention to how you use each part to tell your story.

Intro

In a short story, the best thing to do is start in the action. Unlike a long story, you do not have time to set up the scene. There isn’t space for backstory. Your dialogue, exposition, and climax all need to do double duty—they must fill in anything you want the reader to know as you go along. You can’t dilly-dally about family lines or world-build in a short story.

Exposition

The exposition is the meat of the story. You want to get the most out of your story here. But you must be sharp in your description and not use too many filler words. Precision is key. Only say what you need to, but do your best to make it do double duty by filling in both current details and any backstory you need to tell.

Climax

The climax is the ultimate part of the story. Here, everything is heightened. You want this moment to be powerful. But in a short story, you may only have a five-sentence paragraph to get this ultimate moment out. Be powerful, be moving, be succinct.

Ending

The ending. There are many types of endings you can use, and they can all make a story feel complete, even if the end is ambiguous. The key is to nail the final lines. In short fiction, you only have a few lines to make your point come across, so those last lines have to pack a punch.

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A longer story will use all four of these elements to tell its story too, but it has the ability to include arcs, provide more detail, and structure multiple climaxes and endings. Something can end for one character and continue for another. Most short stories focus on one small scene and not a lot of characters. Space is limited for the short story writer. We must do more with less.

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To review: make your introduction catchy, have your exposition do double duty, make your climax powerful and succinct, and ensure your ending packs a punch.

I’d love to know any takeaways from this—please share in the comments.

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