1) Put a man up a tree
2) Throw stones at him
3) Get him down

Writing short stories are not much different then any other story. First develop your protagonist ( the man up a tree) lay a few problems at his feet for him to over come( throw a few stones at him) then find a way for the protagonist to over come the problems.(Get him down from the tree.)

It is very important to make every word count when writing a short story. It will surely be tempting to show of your gift with words, your descriptive writing skills or your skill with dialogue but don’t do it. Every extra word that is not needed only waters down the impact of the story.

Most short stories happen over a short period of time, or are a single very important event in the main characters life. Pick this time or event very carefully, because it will drastically affect the out come of your short story.

When the reader gets to the end of the story, they first should be surprised and delighted that the story was so good and so short, and most importantly they should not feel cheated.