I hate exams.

2. Write a catchy first paragraph

The first sentence of your narrative should catch your reader's attention with the unusual, the unexpected, an action, or a conflict. Begin with tension and immediacy. Remember that short stories need to start close to their end. Example:

• "Sometimes I feel like I'm an illiterate!" A very irritated and frustrated Aditi said while shutting her laptop. Her worst nightmare, the writer's block, seemed to be visiting her frequently these days. She had just finished a rather gruelling battle with the block for a couple of hours; but as usual, she had to give up. On the opposite side, empty boxes of Chinese fried rice littered her dining table.

• Watson rushed over to Sherlock who was peacefully relishing his cigar while reading the newspaper in his armchair. Much to Watson's surprise, Sherlock still didn't give away his tranquil demeanour even after seeing him out of breath and in shock.

• She's just a normal girl. She has good grades and great friends that she trusts to no end. She has always taken a great liking to the myths. Only, what happens when she gets found by a real life version of her favourite myths; vampires?

3. Write meaningful dialogue

Dialogue is what your characters say to each other (or to themselves).

Each speaker gets his/her own paragraph, and the paragraph includes whatever you wish to say about what the character is doing when speaking.

Instead of:

4. Use setting and context

Setting includes the time, location, context, and atmosphere where the plot takes place.

• Remember to combine setting with characterization and plot.

• Include enough detail to let your readers picture the scene but only details that actually add something to the story.

• "There's a possibility that he got into a brawl with the culprit while trying to save himself. A deep wound on the back of his head which could have been caused by the fall and some scratches on his wrists; seems like there was no clear attempt of murder. But, the question still remains; what did he have that the culprit wanted?" Sherlock studied the body again in silence while Watson was trying to look for more evidence to why the victim got into a brawl in the first place.

5. Set up the plot

Plot is what happens, the story line, the action.

Brainstorming. If you are having trouble deciding on a plot, try brainstorming. Suppose you have a protagonist whose husband comes home one day and says he doesn't love her any more and he is leaving. What are actions that can result from this situation?

1. She becomes a workaholic.
2. Their children are unhappy.
3. Their children want to live with their dad.
4. She moves to another city.
5. She gets a new job.
6. They sell the house.
7. She meets a psychiatrist and falls in love.