Short Stories: Creating A Short Story

Short Stories: June 10, 2026 Issue [#13788]


 


Creating A Short Story
       Editor: wdwilcox
                   More Newsletters By This Editor  


Table of Contents
1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions


About This Newsletter
Some Quotes By Great Writers

“I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.”
― Douglas Adams

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
― Ernest Hemingway

“If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”
― Stephen King

“One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.”
― Jack Kerouac

“There is no real ending. It’s just the place where you stop the story.”
― Frank Herbert


Letter from the editor
Creating A Short Story

When I write, I try to just get that first sentence. I want to make it catchy. I want it to pull the reader in. That's my goal. I have no idea for the story: no title, no ending. Everybody is different. Some will say to map out an outline. Some will say to have your story in mind before you write. I don't do any of that. I'm lazy. I just want that first sentence to sing. My stories teeter on the crotch of time, and when that first sentence travels down the pant leg of my trousers, I know what to write.

That's how I write. If that beginning isn't great, there is no story. I'm always looking for something different, something new. If you look at my portfolio and read that first sentence of any story, it will show you what my idea was before I wrote the rest. That's how I create.

When I wrote and sold songs, I first created a catchy chord progression and melody, then the lyrics. That carried over into my storytelling. But everybody is different; that's what makes the world go round. No way is the best. Your way is just as good as mine. Just start writing. God only knows where it will go.
W.D.Wilcox


Editor's Picks
The Empty Cottage  (E)
Does the cottage have a ghost? Read and find out for yourself.
#1107558 by judityMail Icon
The End Of Brucie  (13+)
comic confession
#1121918 by ecoderMail Icon
Sugar Doughnuts on a Sleepy Sunday  (ASR)
Title is prompt: Writer's Cramp winner. Very short piece about a daughter's guilt.
#1168619 by phyduexMail Icon
The Courage of a Child  (E)
A short story on the escape plans of a child laborer
Are We There Yet?  (13+)
First place winner in story spinner contest. Based on a true story.
#1581268 by omniblueeyesMail Icon
STATIC
My Favorite Summer  (E)
Short short story. Summer love for kids staying with relatives while school's out.
#1598579 by heartburnMail Icon
STATIC
The Air Marshal  (18+)
An Air Marshal struggles to save a doomed flight.
#1251491 by wdwilcoxMail Icon
 
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Word from Writing.Com
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Ask & Answer
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