When you first start working on a story, you will find a lot of different advice. A lot of it may not apply to you when writing a short story, but many of them will. To get your story noticed, and make sure that it is enjoyable, you will want to consider these tips for writing a great story.

Keep It Simple

Complex stories are not a bad thing, but you should try to keep it uncomplicated by too many different stories going on at once and avoid the stuff that is irrelevant to your overall story. This means if you are writing a story about a man who loves cars, you may want to avoid talking about the one time he rode a horse unless the one time on a horse was what sparked his love of driving fast in some way. This also means you should avoid being wordy. If you can say it in a less complex way, your readers will be happier with the story.

Take It Slow

Characters should be developed very well, but you should avoid throwing too much information about that character out there in the first chapter or the prologue. Your reader will get to know the characters better if it is gradual and not all at once. They will also get to know other less important characters better if they are not introduced at the same time as your main characters. Who knows…you may even decide that you can avoid mentioning some of the others completely.

Be Consistent

If you are writing in the first person, keep it that way from the start to the finish. If you are writing as the third person, continue with it. The same can be said for your past and present tenses. If you are inconsistent in your story, the people who are reading it will be confused.