This presentation is a brief summary of how to compose a brilliant short story for the Higher School Certificate. It contains 8 key tips about the construction of a well-rounded short narrative.

1. For HSC
Short Stories

2. Short Stories
○ Short
○ Catchy
○ Unique
○ Character driven
○ Based within a single setting
○ Cover a very limited time frame
○ Rich with imagery
○ Include pertinent dialogue
○ Trace an important character decision
○ Are just the climax or a larger piece

3. What we judge a good short
story on…
1. Fluency
2. Narrative Voice and narration
3. Characterisation and Character Relationships
4. Time (temporal structure)
5. Dialogue v Description (balance)
6. Dialogue (natural and relevant)
7. Figurative Devices
8. Theme and link to Area of Study

4. Fluency
○ A mixture of short and long sentences
○ Tense is consistent
○ Characters are consistent
○ Full stops, capital letters (the basics)
○ Correct Text Type (i.e. is not a personal
rant or a diary entry)

5. Narration
○ First person or third person
○ Internal or external
○ Is a character in their own right OR has a
judgment on the events either way can’t be
totally neutral.
○ Unique viewpoint (limited and quirky)
○ Word choice matches narrator’s voice.
○ Not overwritten. Say it once, say it well.
○ Death by adverbs! argh!
○ Death by cliché phrases! Argh!

6. Characterisation
○ Character driven story
○ Should have conflict regarding one other character
(either internal or external or both)
○ You are writing about a key event for that character
in their life
○ The relationships are most important, not actions.
All actions are merely symbolic representations of
their motives and reactions.
○ Should have a ‘life’ outside your story in order to
be real.
○ Feel free to make characters we don’t like too.

7. Time
○ Short stories happen at the climax of a
longer story.
○ Usually they are paradoxically the
beginning and the end of something
○ The actual time ‘story time’ is usually no
more than a couple of hours.
○ Reflection and clever reference to things
that have gone before allow you to bring in
more time

8. Dialogue v Description
○ It is not a script, so should not be dialogue
driven.
○ Is also not a description.
○ Overwriting! argh!
○ 80% narration 20% dialogue

9. Dialogue
○ No dialogue is real. Real talking is haphazard
at best.
○ Think about word choice for characters. They
are not all you.
○ Dialogue should reveal character traits we
can’t see otherwise.
○ Dialogue should be pertinent to the story line.
○ Silence as a response is as important.
○ Punctuated correctly

10. Figurative Devices
○ Similes, metaphor, sensory imagery
○ Not cliché, try to think a characterised ways
to observe the world.
○ Sometimes understatement is best.
○ Avoid adverbs- use verbs
○ Avoid adjectives- use good nouns
○ Less is more- one or two descriptions then
move on

11. Theme and link to genre
○ Always explore human conundrums
○ Conflict within the theme- paradox and
complexity
○ Avoid cliché situations and narrators
○ Explore, mimic and expand the genre
○ Write a story above all else

12. Tricks
○ Think of a narrator that has a unique viewpoint or
voice
○ Set the story somewhere very specific that you
know really well, then make it post-apocalyptic
○ Design your characters to have relationships that
are not usual (uncles and nieces, brothers and
sisters, boss and employee)
○ Use first person present tense if possible it created
immediacy and engagement.
○ Start with a clear action or dialogue, end the same.