Choose Your Future (a short story)

Choosing your life stories can indeed change your life. In this fabulous book, Others lead to short term the future, a globalised protective story is created. 'I.
Table of contents

The prompt should act as a way to get you started, but it should not feel restrictive or limiting in any way. A writing prompt can be anything from a phrase, such as "I remember You can also use a phrase from a favorite poem or a book, as well as a phrase from a favorite song. You can find a list of writing prompts at http: You can also try an online random http: Once you have written some raw material for the story, you should take a moment to read it over and see if a protagonist emerges.

The protagonist is the character whose fate matters the most in the story. This does not necessarily mean your protagonist has to be a hero or pure evil. Your protagonist should be the character readers will care about or sympathize with the most, flaws and all. Your protagonist should drive the events that occur in the story and their fate should give the story meaning. Create a plot outline. It may help you get started with the writing of the story by sketching out a plot outline so you know what is going to occur in the story.

Most writers avoid doing this as they do not want to feel limited by a plot outline. But if you are struggling to start your story, it may help to identify your protagonist, the setting of the story, and the events of the story.

Top 10 contemporary short stories

This is also called the big "want" in the story, where your protagonist wants something from herself, another character, an institution, etc. A plot outline should also note the consequences for your protagonist if she does not achieve her goal. These are also called "the stakes of the story", where the protagonist will suffer in someway if she fails to reach her goal. Having high stakes in a story usually encourages a reader to stay engaged and care about the fate of your protagonist.

Many short story writers will try to start their stories in a scene, usually a scene that feels important and engaging. Starting in scene will hook the reader right away and ground them in the story. The reader gets access to the main event and experiences it with the characters.

This type of beginning is useful if the setting of your story is essential and you want to establish a certain mood. Perhaps your story is not very plot heavy but it does have a distinct setting that you want the reader to get into right away. My breathing grew slower, falling into step with the creaking of the hull, until I could no longer tell the difference between the faint rhythmic motion of the cabin and the sensation of filling and emptying my lungs.

If theme or plot is more important to your story than setting, you may start with these elements first. You should still try to start your story in scene so your reader is engaged right away. Introduce your narrator or main character. Another option is to start with a strong narrative voice or a strong description of your main character. This may be a good option for stories that are character-driven, rather than plot driven. Often, first person narratives will start with a voice driven opening line.

You can show the reader how the narrator views the world and present their voice so the reader knows what to expect for the rest of the story. The narrator has a distinct perspective that gives the reader a good sense of what the rest of the story will sound like. Open with a line of strong dialogue. Starting your story with a strong line of dialogue can be effective, but the dialogue should be easy to follow and to the point.


  1. La nutrition efficace - Votre programme minceur facile à suivre pour avoir un ventre plat, le corps .
  2. As The Hague Ordains!
  3. Short Story Ideas;
  4. 10 Short Story Ideas.
  5. Dystopian Short Stories.

As a general rule, dialogue in a story should always be doing more than one thing and never be there just for the sake of conversation. The dialogue is also usually spoken by a main character or one of the central characters in the story. Present a minor conflict or mystery. This could be something as simple as a character considering a recent event and their reaction to the event or a more complex mystery, such as an unsolved murder or crime. Avoid presenting a mystery that is too big or confusing for the reader right away.


  1. DUNCS DOLL (Culpepper Adventures).
  2. Choosing the Right Name for Your Story!
  3. More Short Story Ideas?
  4. How to Begin a Short Story: 15 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow.
  5. Christianity: the One, the Many :What Christianity Might Have Been and Could Still Become Volume 2.
  6. 10 Short Story Ideas;
  7. Dystopian Short Stories | Owlcation.

Let the first line hint at a larger mystery and ease the reader into the conflict. This is a minor conflict, but it can be an effective way to ease the reader into the larger themes or ideas in the story. Read the beginning again once you reach the end of your story.

Though you may think you have crafted a perfect opening for your story, you should revisit it once you are finished with the story to confirm it is successful. Sometimes, stories can change or shift the further you get into them and your brilliant beginning may not make as much sense as it once did. Read the beginning again within the context of the rest of the story and consider if it still fits. You can always file away your old beginning for another story or a future project, especially if you think it is strong but just does not fit that particular story.

Tighten up the language. A Few Sources to Jog the Imagination: A title can be a popular expression. A title can be a play on words.

Red Card | S. L. Gilbow

Sometimes a "twist" of an existing expression. A title can have a hidden meaning, later revealed in the story. A title can come from an existing work. The Bible, Shakespeare, etc.

Top 10 contemporary short stories | Books | The Guardian

A title can be a person's name. A title can be a place name. A title can be a possessive. A title can be an association of ideas. Often these are words that have a "double meaning," and refer to more than one thing in a story. A title can be an "event" or "activity. A title can be a memorable line from the story itself.

Looking for Dystopian Novels?

A title if long can have a "rhythm. A title if it fits the story can be simple. In fact, it has been said that most titles on bestseller lists are no more than three words long. But they have to be the right words. They create titles that follow a pattern unique to their particular "series" of stories. Janet Evanovich uses numbers: Sue Grafton uses letters of the alphabet: For James Michener, it was one-word titles: Chesapeake, Space, Hawaii, Caribbean, Alaska.

John Sandford's trademark is the word "prey": Martha Grimes used names of English pubs: Robert Ludlum's thrillers had three-word titles: James Patterson chooses nursery rhymes: This kind of approach is of course not required to sell or publish your books and stories. But, especially if you've considered writing a series, it never hurts to have a recognizable "signature" of some kind, a bright flag that your fans can look for in the bookstore. Titles can provide that.

Your Answer

But this challenge has been nothing against the request to choose stories to fit the title for this piece. There are approximately 17m to choose from. Where do I even begin? I am a fickle and forgetful reader. This list, then, is not hierarchical or canonical. My choices are, simply, 10 tales from this century that I have read and that I think do something interesting or startling or just downright swoony with the form of the short story.

Choosing Your Future with Rick Warren (with Korean Subtitles)

I look forward to having my reading horizons broadened in the comments. With this story, and the rest of the collection it comes from, Tenth of December, he was clearly taking his gifts for voice, character, and satire, and pushing himself to do something much harder and more humane. This story starts awkwardly, in tune with its two gangly teenage protagonists, and stutters through a lovely character study to suddenly burst into an action tale and an unlikely outbreak of heroism.

This story begins at the dawn of time and ends round about now, which is expansive enough for anyone, I feel.