Bringing to a conclusion
In your final paragraph draw all the loose ends together and
bring your essay to a logical conclusion. Make sure that you
have already mentioned the points to which you are refer-
ring. Don’t introduce new material in the last paragraph.
Plotting the short story
Although you will probably not need to do any research if
you are writing a short story, it is still important to plan your
work carefully.
Planning the work
Write down an outline of the main events of your story in
chronological order. Then decide where the story is to begin
and how it is to develop. Will the events lead to an inevitable
conclusion or will you use the ‘twist-in-the-tale’ device? The
unexpected ending can be very effective if well done.
There will not be room for any detailed description as every-
thing that is written must move the story on. Your reader
will want to know what happens next. In a short story there
is no room for any unnecessary words so descriptions
of people and places have to be by implication. There is
no room for long ‘flowery’ passages of description (‘purple
prose’).
Writing dialogue
Dialogue is important in the short story as it can be used to
give information to the reader. (See Chapter 4 to learn how
to set out dialogue.) It can also set the scene and help to
create believable characters. Effective short stories often
WRITING AN ESSAY AND A SHORT STORY / 105