simple "formula" for writing a short story.....????

Question

how do you go about writing a short story, is there a "formula"???

Answer 1

Start with a situation of some sort and build it from there. The situation could be almost anything:

A woman can't get a taxi in the pouring rain. A guy's TV breaks just before the big game. A child is insistent about wanting a certain toy. The dog peed on the carpet... again. You see your very married English professor going into a motel room with a guy from the football team. A senator learns that the president is going blind from diabetes. Your brand new car smells awful... what could it be? Three vicious rottweilers, raised by your cretin neighbor, get loose and are slowly tearing their way into your house.

Once you have a situation, flesh it out with a character or two who act as normal people would in that situation. It's a short story, so there doesn't have to be a lot happening, but there has to be a beginning, middle and end. Starting with the situation, figure out the ending and then write the story. Be forewarned... some stories take on a life of their own and don't arrive at your planned ending. That's okay -- great things have been written like that.

Good luck!