The Anatomy of a Successful Short Story

How a short story’s success is measured is defined by the person who wrote it. I could write a story with the intention of selling it. In this case, I would rate the success of my short story based on how many dollars I have in my pocket from the sales of my literature. On the other hand, if I was a Grandfather who wrote a short story simply to make my grandchildren smile, then the rate by which I would measure my story’s success is based on how big and how inquisitive their eyes become when they read it.

These measurements are connected- for how can you sell or capture a reader’s imagination if your story isn’t good? Here are some things to remember for your short stories to be successful.

1. Relatable Characters

The characters always come first. No reader would read a story when he or she could not relate to a character. A reader must have somebody to root for; somebody they can associate with.

2. Enemy

No story would be worth reading if the protagonists simply get what they want. They need to have nemeses, people who would want nothing but to see them fail. They can be subtle or outlandish evils. Perhaps they don’t need to be evil at all. They just need to be people who want to achieve their own goals, which just happen to go opposite of your main hero’s goal.

3. Short Timeline

This is why they are called “short stories.” The events in your story must happen on a short time span only, a few moments on your characters’ lives.

4. Intriguing Ending

The ending’s goal depends on you. Do you want to close the entire story? Do you want the reader to think more? Do you want them to read the story again? Do you want to keep them guessing?

Your ending doesn’t necessarily have to be a happy one- heck, it need not be an ending at all; it could be just a transition, where you know the protagonists will have a better time adjusting to. For the ending, I would suggest an ending where there is much more to do, and the characters know that their journey is not yet finished.

This way, I know where to pick up if I decide to write a sequel. It also has a bonus of letting the reader know that the characters are alive and well- getting through life- just like them.