Short Story Writing - Planning Character And Theme

A little planning beforehand can make short story writing run a lot more smoothly than if you were to just wade in and start spilling your ideas on to a page, and the end result will be far more successful.
So you have a great idea and you can't wait to start writing. But just stop for a moment and consider your story idea from a few different angles before you begin.

We all wish that writing was as simple as typing the words in your head on to a page. But we need more than that if we want to produce stories that climb above the ordinary. I am going to suggest a few simple questions that when answered will tell you whether you are going in the right direction to creating a good short story.

It’s fair to say that despite all the so called rules and tips we are given about creative writing there will be those who seem to succeed whilst breaking all the boundaries and sublimely sailing past the helpful tips. This proves the exception, and sometimes you may not need to follow any of these suggested tips, but if you are struggling with a half dead plot or you feel your story could benefit from some additional magic then this article is for you.
(To illustrate the different points I will be referring to a short story I wrote entitled The Blanket)

Character

Before we can start talking about plot we must have a character. And that character MUST be someone your reader will care about. Plot is about what happens, and if your reader is not fully engaged in what happens to your character, you will not have a willing and interested reader.

So the first task is to examine your main character and determine how interesting he/she is to a reader. Can your reader identify with this person, and as a result care about what happens to them? If not, is this the type of character that your reader would love to hate, and therefore would care about him getting his come-uppance?

Good or bad, make sure your character falls in to one of these two categories as anything in between will only result in your reader becoming bored. In The Blanket we are introduced to a young girl who is obviously very aware of and curious about her world. We have all been children and have all felt that sense of wonder and confusion when confronted with the new or inexplicable. So we are prepared to follow her journey of discovery – in other words we care what happens to her.

A Unifying Theme

A short story must have some obvious direction that follows a particular theme. The path that your character must take will move him from the start to the finish of this theme.
How does theme differ from plot? I like to think of plot as similar to a road journey that follows a specific route from point A to point B, whereas the theme is the reason for leaving point A in order to get to point B. So let's say have a character - a teenage boy - who runs away from home because his mother is getting married again and he thinks she no longer loves him. The plot would be where he goes and what happens to him from the time he leaves home until he finally gets back with his mother. The theme would be that sometimes drastic actions make us appreciate the misunderstandings that can arise between people who love each other.

In The Blanket the plot is as follows:

- The family go out for the day
- They find a wounded man
- They take him to a hospital

But the day’s outing is not the theme of the story, merely the plot that allows the theme to develop.

So before you start writing try and identify your theme.
- Why does this story happen?
- What is learned by the characters from the events?
- What changes come about because of the events?

The clearer your theme the more powerful the story will be and the better your plot because the plot will echo the theme. Everything that happens to your character should be connected to the theme.

Some stories work best if the theme is evident from the very beginning whereas other stories are most effective when the final paragraph blinds us with a revelation. Either way make sure that you are true to your theme and don't mislead your reader - when the revelation comes it should make perfect sense from what has gone before.

In The Blanket the main theme is about prejudice - the young girl suddenly discovers its existence and is confused and disturbed by it. Her journey is from a state of childish oblivion to an awakening of that compassion within her that will allow her to make her own decisions about human prejudice.