What is the main thing in the story? How to write about yourself in an interesting way? The fence of my childhood

Getting to know each other is an obligatory stage of communication with people around you. Of course, it is easier to contact old friends: these people are aware of your character, habits and other individual characteristics. And the new ones have to tell everything again. It’s also good if we are talking about a casual conversation in the company of friends! But you often have to talk about yourself in writing, sometimes even in official documents. All kinds of profiles, resumes, accounts and interest clubs can’t wait for you to tell them information about yourself. For some, this is a mere formality, limited to a couple of standard sentences. But it happens that a lot depends on your description. In this case, you need to write about yourself not only honestly and competently, but also as interestingly as possible, so that your story does not get lost among other similar autobiographies.

Telling a story about yourself, whether spoken or written, is not easy for everyone. There are people for whom self-presentation is a habitual and even pleasant thing; they willingly share facts from their biography and present them in an exciting way, like a literary work. But for most, the need to write about themselves, and even in a special, non-standard style, is a serious test of their natural shyness, creative imagination, and simply their writing talent. For such people, we have prepared a kind of “cheat sheet” with hints and small tips on how to start, build and design your work, so that readers would be interested in reading about you even if no outstanding events occurred in your life, the description of which can become the basis of an adventure novel. In fact, everything is much simpler: even the biography of an average person who leads the calmest and most peaceful life can be read avidly if it is written in an interesting way.

Telling a story about yourself: rules, nuances and tips
An interesting feature of autobiography as a genre is that the same person can have any number of descriptions of his life. Moreover, life also remains one, and all the events that happened in it are true. But, depending on the style, purpose, and writing conditions, these works turn out completely different. As in any text, while maintaining one plot, an almost infinite number of plot development options are possible, where the narrative will be chronologically sequential or artistically distorted, logically correct or creatively adapted. As they say, there is a time and place for everything, and an autobiography when applying for a job has little in common with self-presentation when applying to a theater school. The only factor that unites them is you, or rather, the actual events of your life. Therefore, let’s first determine why and for what purpose you needed to write about yourself. The most common options are:

When applying for a job, study or service. This is the shortest, essentially formal and therefore simplest option. It is not difficult to cope with it even without special tips, especially since in such cases the autobiography, as a rule, is written according to, right down to filling out the fields of the questionnaire. But even if you have a blank sheet of paper in front of you, you are only required to present in chronological order basic information about the time and place of your birth, education received, professional experience and, briefly, marital status. Formal autobiographies do not require more. An exception may be biographies of representatives of creative professions: journalists, copywriters, editors. They are more demanding in terms of vocabulary used and possibly examples of work. But a portfolio is a separate task and it is also formed according to its own standards, independent of the autobiography.
When joining a thematic organization/club/section More detailed information about the candidate may be required. Depending on the direction of the establishment, include the relevant data in the list. For example, tell us about the sports awards, diplomas, medals and certificates won for participation and victories in Olympiads, intellectual games and competitions. If we are talking about a creative workshop, then it would not be amiss to talk about your preferences and tastes, favorite genres and techniques, idols and role models. The task of your life story in this case is to reveal your own character to people who still don’t know anything about you, and to join their formed team. Therefore, the more friendly and open your written story is, the more likely it will resonate and you are more likely to receive an invitation to an in-person oral interview.
When registering on a social network/dating site There are not and cannot be any hard and fast rules. But there are certain techniques that can be used to make your story about yourself interesting and attractive to other users. For example, many representatives of the fair sex use poems, lyrics of their favorite songs or quotes from literary works for this purpose, which, in their opinion, correspond to their character and worldview. This tactic should be considered quite ingenious, because, in the absence of confidence in your own literary talent, you can take advantage of the win-win creation of a recognized genius. One way or another, your task is to create the image you need in the eyes of strangers, and even invisible to you, people. And for this it is not at all necessary to adhere to documentary accuracy. Allow yourself a little invention, complete your own image in your imagination so that you like it - then others whose tastes coincide with yours will also like it. But don’t get carried away with fantasizing - you are still writing about yourself, and not creating a fictitious image of an ideal, but, alas, non-existent person.
When creating your own blog and/or literary work It’s interesting to write about yourself, it’s easy and difficult at the same time. On the one hand, for a professional writer, telling a story about yourself is not even work, but a pleasant relaxation bordering on subtle intellectual pleasure. And, since you have dared to become the independent “parent” of an entire book or mass media (and a blog can easily be equated to an information publication), then writing an original and fascinating autobiography should not be a problem for you. On the other hand, it is self-narrative that takes many professionals by surprise. Because it’s one thing to analyze and present information within the framework of a well-studied and interesting topic. And it’s quite another thing to reveal yourself to readers as a person, to demonstrate to them not only your fundamental knowledge, erudition and talent, but also the traits characteristic of mere mortals, sometimes far from the qualities of an ideal creator. Plus, not all creative individuals are the same in their desire to speak publicly. And for writers, unlike actors and musicians, this causes many internal barriers: embarrassment, fear of excessive frankness, etc. In this case, it is advisable to call on your sense of humor to help. A successful joke can disguise unsightly facts and even turn them into advantages, or it can simply fill a pause or fill the content with unexpected meaning.

These recommendations were not invented yesterday or even last week; biographies have been created according to similar canons at all times, starting with the most ancient events in human history. Depending on the incidents and cultural values of that time, not only and not so much facts of personal life were documented, but socially significant achievements. Thus, the eastern kings wrote down stories about their military victories, the ancient military leaders took over the baton from them, and Julius Caesar subsequently created “Notes on the Gallic War,” which is both a manual on military affairs and a fascinating story about the events of those times.

Medieval philosophers, travelers and even skilled craftsmen described their lives for students and descendants. The genre of autobiography then gained such popularity that it even became an independent literary movement, the classic and witty parody example of which remains, for example, “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen” by Rudolf Raspe. It is difficult to remember at least one writer who did not publish a description of his own life in his books. It was possible to find out a lot of details about even the most mysterious personalities through their personal diaries and correspondence. By the way, the epistolary genre is an inexhaustible source of inspiration when writing a story about yourself. After all, people try to be sincere in letters and trust the recipients with a lot of secret things. This can serve as a good school and a storehouse of ideas for you. Therefore, do not be lazy to read the biographies of famous people, feel free to borrow interesting techniques and speech patterns from them.

An example of an interesting story about yourself
So, we have dealt with the theoretical aspect of writing a story about ourselves, it’s time to move on to practice. Because no one but you will write a biography about you in such a way as to reveal to readers all the facets of your character and bright individuality. Don’t forget that the most difficult thing is to start, to overcome the resistance of a blank sheet of paper. And then, word by word, the story will flow by itself if you allow yourself to surrender to creativity. You can gain such emancipation gradually; to do this, start with something simple: first write a formal autobiography, then expand it with introductory phrases and artistic vocabulary, and then completely color it with beautiful images and literary devices. Moreover, save each next option separately, it will be useful to you in the appropriate situation. This way, you will receive the blanks of several stories about yourself at once and will be able to use and modify them as necessary.

Example of a formal autobiography:

“I, Ivanov Ivan Ivanovich, was born on June 13, 1980 in Kiev. In 1987, he was admitted to the first class of secondary school No. 13, from which he graduated in 1997 with honors. In the same year he entered the Kiev National University. T.G. Shevchenko to the Faculty of Philosophy, majoring in Political Science. During his studies at the university, he completed full training in the reserve officer training program and received the rank of junior lieutenant. He graduated from the university in 2002 with a degree in political science. Immediately after completing his studies, he began working in a news agency as an analyst and consultant to the editor-in-chief. In 2008, I took the position of editor of the politics department, which I hold to this day.

I am married and have a 7-year-old son and a 2-year-old daughter. Wife, Anna Valentinovna Ivanova, born in 1986, a journalist by training, works for a monthly publication. I am interested in photography and painting, and love to travel. I lead a healthy lifestyle, regularly go to the gym and ride a bike. I don’t have any bad habits; I prefer to spend my free time from work with my family and on active recreation.”

Now let’s imagine that this person, already a little familiar to us, decided to join the ranks of the club of travel photojournalists. The club is virtual, the main communication between its participants takes place on its own forum on the Internet. And now our friend will have to register and greet the old-timers of the club, at the same time explaining to them who he is, why and why he came to the forum. The text of the story about yourself in that case will differ significantly from the one given above. It could be, for example, like this:

An example of an interesting autobiography:

“Dear friends, allow me to introduce myself! My name may seem funny to you at first glance, but believe me: it is real. That’s exactly what my parents named me, thanks to their sense of humor, and that’s what it says in my passport - and this, by the way, is an official document! In general, my name is Vanya, my last name is Ivanov. You can start making fun. But it will be even easier to remember me this way J

I have been interested in photography for quite a long time, for about seven years now. But, unfortunately, I only recently learned about your community. I really hope that you don’t have hazing and that newcomers are not barred from entering the club. Because your work and accumulated experience interested me extremely. I had the courage to look through the photo gallery presented on the site, and I am ready to take off my hat to the authors of these photographs. The accuracy of the reporting, the quality of the photographs, and the artistic flair of the photographers are very impressive. For my part, I promise that I will make every effort to meet this high level and adequately present my creativity.

As for me personally, I am a very ordinary person and practically not outstanding in anything. I make a living doing what I love most and what I know best: building hypotheses and making forecasts about the political situation in our country and beyond. It’s a troublesome and thankless task, but someone has to do it. But at home, waiting for me is an almost adult son, a first-grader, a sweet daughter, and, of course, my beloved and only wife, Anya. All three of them, by the way, also know a lot about travel and beautiful photographs.

In general, if I have not yet tired you too much with my biography and can be at least somehow useful to the respected community, then I will be very glad to be accepted into its ranks. I promise to be disciplined, polite and obediently follow all the rules of the club. A special greeting to all Kiev residents and an invitation to Sunday bike rides. To everyone else - just my immense affection and best wishes J"

Do you feel the difference between the first and second text? It is completely justified and caused by the specifics of communication and the purpose of the story about oneself. Analysis of the features of the given texts will help you understand the nuances of presenting information and in the future can be used by you when writing your own biography:

In both cases, the author did not sin against the truth and provided truthful information about himself. But in the second story, he deliberately omitted those facts that were not relevant to the case. But I included in the first paragraphs what might be of interest directly to this group of readers. A very correct tactic from the point of view of self-presentation - it takes into account the interests and characteristics of the audience’s perception.
The same goes for presentation style and vocabulary. In the first case, it is dry and official, as required by the documents. In the second, it is replete with colloquial expressions, figurative expressions and other means of language that are unacceptable in business correspondence. But for a group of friends with similar interests, this language will be the most understandable and pleasant.
Unlike the first, strictly text, in the second story the author makes full use of humor and personal charm, expressed through language. He verbally paints before the readers the image of a kind of joker and an easy-going person who is endearing to himself. This is a great way to make talking about yourself interesting because it takes away the rough edges of writing with the ease of friendly chat.
In the second story, the author constantly maintains contact with readers. Talking about himself, he managed not to get hung up on his beloved self, but to always address the audience. Use this technique to interest the reader, because every person enjoys being given special attention.
The author even took into account the fact that his story about himself would be perceived not aurally, but visually, and on a platform intended for interactive communication. That is why he allowed himself to use graphic symbols that were unacceptable in printed correspondence or a handwritten note. You can do the same: if you need to write about yourself on the Internet, then feel free to use emoticons and Unicode characters. But use them sparingly, do not overload the text, because an excessive number of pictures irritates the reader.

As you can see, with the right attitude and preliminary theoretical preparation, writing about yourself in an interesting and not dry way is not at all difficult. Finally, let me give you one final piece of advice. Before you start your story, make a list for yourself in which you list several of your most striking and characteristic features. These could be personality traits, outstanding achievements, or just fun facts from the past. By describing each of them, you will be carried away by the memories and involuntarily make the text fascinating and expressive. And it will be much more interesting for readers to learn about non-standard situations than about the average “born/studied/worked”. In general, write in such a way that it would be interesting for you to read about yourself, as if in front of you was the biography of some other, unfamiliar, but witty, cheerful and friendly person.

There is an opinion that a writing career should be started with small forms: stories, short stories, essays. This statement is not without meaning, since in small forms of prose works it is easier to maintain the plot, avoid factual errors and avoid contradictions in the plot line. Many classics wrote their great novels, which made them famous throughout the centuries, based on previously written stories, essays or novellas. For example, the world-famous and beloved novel by Mikhail Bulgakov “” was actually written on the basis of the feuilletons “Moonshine Lake” and “Three Kinds of Swineness” previously written and published by the author. That is, the mystical novel grew out of short satirical prose works. And this is far from an isolated case. Sometimes previously written stories are woven entirely by the author into the fabric of the work, just as the story “The Legend of the Inquisitor” is woven into Dostoevsky’s novel “The Legend of the Inquisitor.” But we must understand that small forms also require a lot of writing work, sometimes even more painstaking work than a voluminous work.

So how to write a story? Remember Chekhov's stories - the shorter the work, the richer the language should be, the more clear and consistent the idea should be. Working on a small form, and in particular on a story, requires constant proofreading, crossing out unnecessary things, “squeezing out the water.” Lengthy lyrical digressions, to which young authors are so prone, would not be appropriate in the story.

In order not to get confused in your own ideas and ideas about how the work should turn out, do not rely only on inspiration and divine illumination, which in itself is good, but you cannot build a good text on them alone, at least at the beginning of the creative path the author needs some kind of scheme -a hint, a guide on how to write a good story. Here are a few points that, if followed, will help you eliminate unnecessary things and not forget about important points.

How to write a story

1 . The first stage at which a story is born, the very necessity of writing it is manifested - this is the emergence of an idea.

The concept of a literary work is an initial idea that grew out of the author’s life experience, worldview, or imagination. The source of the idea can be the political life of the country, observations of the animal world, experienced feelings, a book read and rethought. Not a single famous author began work without a plan. One of the strongest examples of the author's intention is Balzac's "Balzac". Deciding to reveal to the world the culture and customs of French society during the restoration of the monarchy and the rule of the Bourbons, Honore de Balzac developed a very complex concept, wrote 137 separate works (with the presence of cross-cutting characters traveling from book to book), and worked on his “comedy” 26 years. And he managed to carry out his plan to the end.

It is better for a novice author not to take on such complex concepts, and to postpone large-scale plans until his pen has been sharpened. You can learn to choose a design that is correlated with the scale of small forms from Chekhov and Kuprin. There are the classic “three pillars” of Russian prose: a little man, an extra man, a new man. Try to describe one day of one of these archetypes of Russian classics, passing it through the prism of your perception. It will turn out at least psychologically, you will learn to hone your characters, and at maximum you will reach a big idea that you can implement in your future work.

2 . When the author has an idea, he can begin to work. But “getting to work” does not mean at all that you can sit down and write. No, first you need select material, do some good research on what you want to write about.

Ideally, a novice writer should choose a story topic that is as close to him as possible. If you are a doctor, write about doctors and patients; if you are a student, write about school life. This will help you avoid factual errors, and it will be more interesting to write about what you understand. The only danger with this approach is that a novice author may accidentally write not a fictional story, but an article on a professional topic. Don’t forget that you are writing for the general public, don’t go into details if the plan doesn’t require it, and don’t overdo it with professional vocabulary.

If you decide to choose a time, location, or topic that is not typical for you, then you will have to surround yourself for some time with literature (not fiction, but scientific) and, for example, the press of the times you are writing about. Why do you need to take specifically historical and specialized scientific works and journalism, and not works of art on the topic? It's simple, it will help you avoid the temptation to imitate the master of the pen, and not blur your own view of things.

If such preliminary preparation does not seem particularly necessary to you, then you will be surprised - absolutely all the classic prose writers worked exactly this way. You can write a pulp popular novel without resorting to sources, but a good story is not written that way. Most of the writers sat on books for months to understand the issue, and some even had to travel to the place they wanted to write about in order to catch the mood and evaluate the location personally. For example, in his stories about animals he was guided by personal observations, which he carefully recorded. To give the world one story about birds, he could spend months observing their lives, photographing and recording.

After the idea has been formulated, the materials for its expression have been found, assimilated and comprehended, you can proceed directly to writing the story.

3 . You need to start writing a story with drawing up a plan. In this case, the plan means not only the sequence of plot events, but also the formulation of the goals of writing, the main idea, a description of the main characters and their path of development. Purpose refers to how you would like your work to affect the reader. When it comes to entertaining, aim for a rich plot. If you want to convey a concept or idea, then clearly state how and by what means. This is necessary first of all for the author himself. If you want to write a story about the philosophy of Tao and have clearly set this as a goal for yourself, then you will no longer rely on plot, but devote more attention to allegory and, for example, hone a short but succinct dialogue. A well-set goal and a fixed idea will themselves suggest the means of writing. Next, we describe the sequence of events in the story. If you want to break the linearity of the composition and swap the points of the plan, it is better to do this after you have written the draft. This will help you not to get confused in the chronotope of your own work.

Example of a story plan

Suppose an idea arises to write a story about the Decembrists exiled to Siberia, but not about the fact itself or their life in Siberia, but about a difficult road through uninhabited territories.

Target: write a social, everyday, philosophical story about the stage of the Decembrists in Siberia;

Idea: Decembrists overcome a long journey to their place of exile and make plans for the future;

a description of one of the Decembrists and his illness, acquired in the terrible conditions of the transport to Siberia;
a small lyrical digression about the conditions, an everyday sketch;
the sick Decembrist does not know whether he will get to the place where he will now have to live, a little reflection;
talking with a friend about politics and what's next;
thinking that Siberia, which will be the place of their exile, does not seem like hard labor when he risks not reaching it, but seems rather like an oasis in the desert;
the moment in which the main character supposedly dies in silence, but this is as inaccurate as possible;
behind a thin plank partition, at the moment of supposed death, two Decembrists talk about how nature in Russia is harsh, so as to be a good decoration for a harsh life.

As a result of writing the plan, you need to get a similar, almost cinematic, storyboard.

What else should there be?

locations(if we take the above example, these are the settlements of the stage, located along the Siberian Highway, rest points on the stages);
names- in an artistic, rather than a specific historical story, it is better not to take the names of real personalities, but to invent them (if we take the same example, then call the acting characters by any noble name or surname that does not evoke associations, but in a story to mention real historical figures is will give credibility) or use ours.

How to write a story?

The writing of a story itself is not as filled with nuances as the preparation, this is already the territory of creativity, but these nuances are still there.

First of all, if you decide to write a story, then write it every day. Find a time to write when you can devote at least 3-4 hours a day to writing. But, especially at the beginning, you should not write for days. Good thoughts leave a tired head, so do your studies, work, household chores or just take a walk, but keep a notepad or laptop ready to write down an unexpected and interesting move - while you are doing other things, your brain does not stop working on the work. Sort out the thoughts that arise during the day; not all of them will necessarily fit your story.

Secondly, try not to use hackneyed, boring moves in terms of plot and language. The most famous plot cliche is, perhaps, the rain that falls when the main character is sad. Perhaps this move was interesting when it was first used, but now it is an example of bad taste. Speech stamps work the same way. What was once said was good and beautiful, but then it was repeated thousands of times and the charm of the verbal image was destroyed, leaving only a misunderstanding of why the main character always has a “strong-willed” chin, tears are exclusively “stingy,” and whether this can somehow be avoided.

There is an opinion that only those who are given it by nature can compose. Is it true? Perhaps, but people who have truly achieved success in writing almost unanimously claim that it was perseverance, not talent, that helped them.

What about talent in general? Predisposition? No matter how talented a person is, he still cannot do anything good without effort.

Much in the world begins with an idea. Idea lies at the heart of every human creation. How to write a story? Start with an idea. Choose it, be inspired by it, and the rest will work out on its own. The composition of the story, the images of the characters, etc. will come naturally. As long as there is inspiration based on a specific idea that evokes an emotional response in you.

How to write a story

Is it even worth trying? Yes, it's worth it. Understand that this activity is not punishable. Suddenly something worthy will actually turn out. If it doesn’t work, delete everything you wrote and you’ll forget it like a bad dream.

As mentioned above, you need to start with choosing an idea. An idea can concern not only the plot, but also the location of the story, its hero, some plot device, twist, and so on. It's good if the idea is connected with meaning. Having come up with the meaning, it will not be difficult to come up with a plot and characters.

You can write according to a plan or without one. How to write a story according to plan? To get started, come up with a beginning and an end. The end of the story in this case should be clearly indicated. It means what you are writing for, what the heroes of your creation must sooner or later come to. Having a beginning and an end, it's not that difficult to come up with plot devices that connect them. Take your time and don't be afraid to change your plan. The very first ideas are most often the strongest, but sometimes the best comes from rethinking.

Write down the names of the characters on a piece of paper and write their descriptions. Take the time to come up with a little backstory for them.

How to write a story without a plan? Just sit down and start writing what comes to mind. Is it important to know the ending? In this case, no. It’s good to have some guidelines, but you can just rely on your imagination. Many writers believe that writing stories without a plan is much more interesting and exciting.

Anyone who thinks about how to write a story should be aware of how developed his imagination is. You can't do without imagination in writing. Try testing yourself. How to do it? Write down the first two things that come to mind on paper and try to come up with a short story about them. Find connections between them, similarities and differences. We also recommend saying to yourself: “It would be great if...” What next? Anything. If trains had legs, houses hung in the sky, and so on. Expand every “if only.” This will help not only develop imagination, but also find some non-standard ideas and moves for the plot of the story.

You can write several times. It's like working with a plan. What are we talking about? That you can write a short story first, then re-read it and write a more detailed story. In principle, you can edit indefinitely. The ability to constantly make changes is both good and bad. Why is she bad? Yes, because authors like to get hung up on the same thing. Perfection cannot be achieved. Things can always be better or worse.

Or a story, you already understand, but how can you understand the quality of what is written? There are many options. The simplest one is to write it down, put it on the table and don’t touch it for a week or two. Then read it - everything will become clear to you right away.

An objective assessment can be obtained from third parties. However, keep in mind that not every friend will tell the whole truth about your creation. If you decide to test your genius through a friend, then present this creation to him as the creation of someone else. In this case, get an objective assessment.

For many writers, short stories are simply the ideal way to work. While writing a novel can be a Herculean task, almost anyone can come up with and, more importantly, draw up on paper short story. As with a novel, the content of a short story should be entertaining and captivating to the reader. With the right approach to selecting ideas, preparing a draft of your manuscript, and then editing it, you can successfully write your own short story in no time.

Steps

Part 1

Selection of ideas

Come up with a basic plot or script. Think about what your story will be about and what will happen in the story. Think about what you want to address or illustrate. Decide what your approach or point of view will be to the events that take place in the story.
- For example, you might start with a simple plot in which the main character receives bad news or receives an unwanted visit from a friend or relative.
- You can also resort to a more complex plot, for example, when the main character wakes up in a parallel world or finds out someone's worst secret.
Concentrate on describing the main character's personality traits. Most stories have one or at most two main characters. Try to come up with a main character who has a clear goal or aspiration, but is also full of contradictions. There is no need to choose a clearly good or bad character. Give your hero interesting traits and feelings so that his image is quite complex and harmonious.
- You can use real people you know in life as prototypes for the main character. Or you can observe strangers in public places and use them as the basis for your main character.
- For example, the main character might be a young teenage girl who wants to protect her brother from school bullies, but also wants to fit in well at school. Or the main character could be a lonely older man who decides to become close friends with his neighbor and, as a result, learns about her criminal activities.
Create a central conflict for your character. Any good story must have a central conflict in which the main character faces some issue or problem. The conflict must be introduced to the reader at the very beginning of the story. Make the main character's life difficult and difficult.
- For example, the main character may have a desire or aspiration that he cannot realize. Or the hero may find himself in a bad or even dangerous situation, and he will need to decide how to survive in such a situation.
Come up with an interesting setting. Another key element of a short story is the setting, or the place where the main events of the story take place. For a short story, you can choose one central location and add detailed descriptions of certain episodes involving the characters. Choose a setting that will be interesting to you and that you can present in an interesting light to your readers.
- For example, the setting of the story could be a regular school in your hometown. Or the story could take place on a small Martian colony.
- Try not to overload your short story with too many different settings to avoid confusing the reader. For one short story, one or two settings are usually sufficient.
Think about a specific topic. Many short stories build on a specific theme and explore it from the point of view of the author or the main character. For a story, you can take one of the broad themes like love, dreams, or loss and explore it from the point of view of your main character.
- You can also focus on a more specific topic, such as love between siblings, the desire for friendship, or the loss of a parent.
Plan for an emotional climax to the story. All good short stories have a cliffhanger where the main character reaches an emotional climax. The climax usually occurs in the second half of the story or even towards the end. At the climax, the protagonist may feel overwhelmed, trapped, desperate, and even out of control.
- For example, an emotional climax may occur when a single man confronts his neighbor about her criminal activities. Or the climax may come when a teenage girl finally stands up for her brother in the face of school bullies.
Think of an ending with a twist or surprise. Sketch ideas for different endings that might surprise, shock, or intrigue the reader. Avoid corny endings where the reader can guess the ending ahead of time. Give the reader a false sense of security that they know how the story will end, and then redirect the reader's attention to another character or another situation to shock them.
- Try to avoid the usual tricks for ending your story. In an attempt to surprise the reader, do not rely on clichés and familiar plot twists. Gradually build tension and suspense as the story progresses so that the reader is shocked at the end.
Read examples of short stories. Understand what makes short stories successful and interesting to the reader by reading stories from experienced writers. Read stories in a variety of genres, from literary fiction to science fiction and fantasy. Notice how the authors use the main character, theme, setting, and plot of the story to make their story incredibly effective. For example, you can read the following works:

Part 2
Preparing the first draft
1. Prepare a plot plan. Organize your short story according to a five-part plot outline: exposition, setup, development, climax, resolution, and resolution. Use this outline as a basis for writing your story so that it has a clear beginning, middle, and ending.
  - You can also try using the snowball method, when you first describe the story in one sentence, then describe individual parts of the story, prepare a description of all the characters in the story, and prepare a list of scenes with their participation.
2. Come up with a catchy opening. At the beginning of the story there should be action, conflict or an unusual picture that will attract the reader's attention. Introduce the reader to the main character and setting right in the first paragraph. Attune the reader to the key theme and message of the story.
  - For example, a beginning such as “That day I was lonely...” not only does not say anything at all about the narrator, but also does not interest the reader in any way.
  - Instead of the above example, you could try starting a story like this: “The day my wife left me, I knocked on my neighbor’s door to ask her for sugar for the cake I had no intention of baking.” This line of description introduces the reader to the past conflict, the presence of a wife, and the current tension of the situation between the narrator and the neighbor.
3. Stick to one narrative angle. Short stories are usually told in the first person, and this narrative perspective remains unchanged. This helps give the story a clear focus and perspective. You can also try to write a story from a third person, however, this can distance you from the reader.
  - Sometimes there are stories in the second person in which the author uses the pronoun “you”. This is usually done when the use of the second person is essential to the writer, as in Ted Chiang's story "The Story of Your Life" or Junot Diaz's story "That's Why You Lost Her."
  - Most short stories are written using the past tense, but a story can be written in the present tense to give the story a more lively atmosphere.
4. Use dialogue to better reveal the character and further development of the plot. Dialogue in short stories should always serve more than one function. Make sure the dialogue tells the reader something about the character speaking and adds to the story of the plot. Include explanations in the dialogue that will reveal the character and also add more tension and conflict to the dialogue scene.
  - For example, instead of opening a conversation with the phrase “Hi! What's your news?”, try writing “Hey friend, what's up?” or “Where have you been? I haven’t seen you for a hundred years!”
  - Try to supplement the dialogue with the author’s words like “she faltered,” “I hissed,” or “he shouted,” to expand the description of your characters. For example, instead of writing “Where have you been? - she asked a question...”, you can write “- Where have you been? – she asked demandingly...” or “Where have you been? - she yelled at him.”
5. Include a sensitive, detailed description of the setting. Think about what the main character feels, hears, tastes, smells, and sees. Describe the scene in terms of human feelings so that it comes to life in the eyes of the reader.
  - For example, the old high school building can be described as “a giant piece of industrial architecture that smells of sweaty gym uniforms, hairspray, broken dreams and chalk.” Or you can describe the sky above the roof of your house as “a white sheet covered with thick gray haze from the fires that spread through the nearby forest in the morning.”
6. Finish with a description of the outcome. The outcome does not have to be direct and obvious. It can be presented as a subtle hint that the characters are beginning to change and see things differently. The resolution can be made open to speculation or complete and clear.
  - It can also be supplemented with an interesting scene or dialogue that reflects the changes that have occurred in the character's character.
  - For example, a story might end with the protagonist turning his neighbor over to the police, even though this means he loses her friendship forever. Or the story might end with the main character helping her bloodied brother get home in time for dinner.
Edit the story to make it clear and harmonious. In most cases, short stories are limited to one to seven thousand words or one to ten pages of text. Don't be afraid to cut parts or delete entire sentences to shorten the story and make it richer. Leave in only those details and moments that are essential to the story you are trying to tell.
- When it comes to short stories, the rule “shorter is better” usually applies. Don't leave sentences that don't say anything, or scenes that don't have any purpose other than what you like the way they sound. Be ruthless about shortening your story to include just enough information.
Come up with an interesting name. Most editors and readers look at the title first to decide whether they want to read a story. Choose an intriguing or interesting title for your story that will entice the reader to read the story itself. You can also use the story's theme, a specific visual scene, or the name of the main character as a title for a story.
- For example, the title of Alice Munro’s story “I’ve long wanted to tell you” can be considered a good example, since it is an excerpt from the words of the main character of the story and addresses directly the reader through the pronoun “you,” indicating that the author has something to share with the reader.
- The title of Neil Gaiman's story "Snow, Mirror, Apple" is also good, as it introduces the reader to three objects that are interesting in themselves, but it becomes even more interesting how they are connected to each other in the story.

1. Correct and beautiful presentation of the sentence.

Most often this applies to novice authors who know what they are writing about, but their writing turns out to be very short and completely boring. I call this the “Ala-many dots effect.” It seems that the narrative, like a sausage, has been cut into pieces. And I suggest you resort to this competent solution: re-reading what you have written and combining several short sentences into one using conjunctions, prepositions or participial and adverbial phrases. Writing long doesn't mean it's bad! But you don’t have to make your entire story be one sentence.

The sun was shining brightly outside. Its rays penetrated the room. The room was bright. The only thing that stood out was the black curtains.

Solution:

The sun shone brightly outside the window, persistently penetrating into the bright room, in which only coal-black short curtains stood out.

I'll add it here! That you should not make a lot of exclamatory sentences! And in general! You should handle emotional coloring carefully! Your text! After all, too many emotions can scare away the reader!

2. Zombie apocalypse or spineless heroes.

I won’t say that it is found much more often than short sentences, but such a bad beast is still present. And this happens because authors who work without assistants cannot or simply do not want to evaluate their heroes from the outside. Because of this, they all become one single embodiment of the ficwriter himself. The heroes become the same type, they have no “zest”, they have the same manner of conversation, actions that do not shine with variety and differ little from each other, at best - in one or two features, no more. Such a story would be simply uninteresting to read.

When writing fanfic (as well as the original), it’s worth sketching out an approximate psychological portrait of the characters in advance, for example, “bold and awkward in communication, cheerful and headstrong, favorite phrase “What do I care” and “Screw them.” Naughty, you can’t force someone to do something by force, but there is a weakness - to help the poor and weak.” After approximate traits of the heroes, you should reconsider the planned plot and think about whether these heroes will do exactly this, taking into account the psychological portrait that you hastily sketched.

This means that if some girl is very kind and is generally an angel descended from heaven, she will not rape animals in her basement! Unless, of course, this is a parody.

3. Storyline? No, we haven't heard.

There's no doubt that the vanilla-filled heart pies are delicious. But their cloying nature makes you want to wash it down with tea without sugar. Everything in life is never that good. People who have tried life will understand what I mean. Yes, we all love to dream, but I don’t recommend putting this into practice on a monitor. You will be mistaken for a naive little girl (even if this is true, we hide it, gentlemen and ladies, we hide it!). If you don’t want some kind of wonderful relationship that will make the sky light up, this is the place for you.

The crack is visible almost immediately if you look closely at the plot. One heroine could not confess her love for a long time, she is trying to please some guy, he cannot understand his feelings, besides, he recently became interested in another girl and now does not even know what to do. Then suddenly both meet one fine evening, kiss, relieved and joyfully shouting “I love you!” and “Oh, I love you too!” Then they throw themselves into the whirlpool of passion. In the morning everything is fine, happy ending, all my worries and problems are forgotten (like the second girl, to whom the guy was not indifferent).

The inadequacy of the plot is obvious. Very often, a good idea ends abruptly in the middle, developing into an unexpected “I love you!”, usually followed by a night of passion and the end of the story. Usually, the same brief psychological portrait of the heroes described in paragraph 2 helps to cope with this. Try to imagine yourself in the heroine’s place, remember all her doubts and fears, assume that her lover may not believe her, just like she does. That's if she's smart, of course. Don't slip away into the perfect world! The story will be much more interesting if everything is realistic and logical; the ideal picture “hurray, we love each other” should not be made the main culmination of the story, unless it is a parody. This most terrible phenomenon will appeal only to a narrow eleven-year-old circle. That's all. Undoubtedly, you want to write something like this when in reality everything is already bad, but it’s better to write it just for yourself, otherwise the haters will kill you. Well, or me.

4. Lack of character motivation

It often happens that the hero does things “just because”, because the author wanted it that way or the plot needed it that way. Basically, the hero’s different actions are driven by experiences of the past, his own principles, and so on. Don't forget to celebrate it! Let it be clear to the reader why the hero did what he did. The more fully the hero is revealed, the more readers will love him. Stop floating away into the world of unicorns who shit fucking cookies!

Of course, a very common moment is when everything is very bad for everyone, it seems that this is the end, and then BANG! And everything is perfect, the main character flies in on the wings and saves everyone in five seconds. Well, don’t, it’s already so boring! I'm not saying that everyone should die, we just need to find some other solution to this problem. Not so vanilla and merciful.

5. Description of the surrounding world.

Every story takes place somewhere. Even if it is an emptiness where the heroes hang and talk calmly, it also requires at least two words of description, or even a whole paragraph. But you don’t need a lot of descriptions either, and even more so just descriptions of the characters’ feelings. I’m generally silent about some dialogues. Occasionally, the details of the situation are described only by the capacious word “sofa” or “room”, sometimes, however, there is a “red sofa” and “bright room”. A story without a description of the surrounding situation is very poor, each reader is forced to invent the setting of what is happening, and usually the situation simply floats in a kind of fog, which does not add vividness to the story. Also, do not forget about the same small portrait of each character, imagine, for example, the approximate style of his clothing and do not forget to insert it into the description.

Example (few descriptions)

I went downstairs for dinner. Everyone was already sitting at the table, I sat down and began to eat.

Elsa, Anna, have you bought textbooks for school? - Dad asked.

Yes, we bought it! - we said.

Solution (at least like this):

I went downstairs; dinner was about to start there. The room in which the dining room was located was very bright and spacious, huge chandeliers practically touched the tables. There was a terrible crash of cutlery and the screams of children, which made my head hurt. Everyone was fussing and could not sit still, trying to grab a better table for themselves. I instantly found my family and quickly sat down next to them.

Elsa, Anna, have you bought textbooks for school? - Dad asked, putting down his fork and knife.

Yes, we bought them,” we said, looking at each other, as if remembering whether we really bought them or not.

6. Little things in life

We coped with short sentences, we created a psychological portrait of the characters, thought out the plot, beautifully come up with descriptions, and the story flows as it should, reading is a pleasure. If we are writing a short story, then this may well be enough, but for a medium and large work this is not enough. If you're writing something serious, there should be some minor characters, small everyday problems, etc. Let the hero meet an indifferent butler and grimace after him, this butler will no longer appear in the story, but this small episode will significantly enrich the scene, and in addition will better reveal the character of the main character and his attitude towards indifference. Describe small details, they are also important. Even the fact that the hero’s favorite comb broke and he walked around irritated one day, although this has nothing to do with the plot, also contains a piece of life. True, here we should not forget that there may be too many such details, and point 5 about oversaturation with descriptions will help here. But usually the little things of life in big stories never get in the way, but, on the contrary, make the plot more interesting and smoother.

7. Bed scene: pathos VS plot. Round!

Very often there are fanfictions that are written for the sake of a sex scene, but something does not allow you to write just that, and a plot tries to attach to the sex scene, which, of course, turns out to be very interesting, to put it mildly. The bed scene itself is replete with colorful descriptions and real pathos, which categorically does not correspond to the previous style of storytelling. Don’t be afraid to replace pathetic descriptions with the feelings of the characters, confusion, doubt, happiness, incoherent scraps of thoughts, all together will create a unique picture. The main thing is to say “no” to templates, vocabulary allows us all to describe what is happening in our own way, there is no need to be shy, but we must remember to be realistic.

8. Mary Sue.

One of the most global problems of ficwriters is the presence in the story of heroes who are simply mama-ama-ideal. These heroes are pure evil and the crap of hell is a very bad and wicked thing, because they put so much pressure on the psyche and nerves that you just want to take them and cut them into pieces, just like our text with dots. And their image: an angel who descended from heaven, the personification of beauty, kindness and all the best qualities in the world... The main character does not mean the best. The main character is the character who is the main focus of the story, not the entire universe! This should not be forgotten, because the presence of such a character is a sign of your mind flying in the clouds, not your mind. At least make sure that this hero’s life isn’t a piece of cake (but there’s no need to exaggerate either, then it will be even more merciful). The main thing to remember is that there are good Marys and there are bad ones. And if you decide to write about Marysyush’s character, please make his image light.

Good luck and good writing everyone! :3
It will be gradually supplemented.