A few years ago I wrote a short story, "The Bear Truth," a delightful story about, well, a bear that really wasn't a bear. Ah, but this story never made it any further than the manila envelope it still remains in. Writing short stories for children can be a challenge, especially when you realize that magazines such as "Highlights for Children" and "Spider" want interesting, lively, and memorable stories of no more than 400 to 500 words. Marjorie Flathers suggests these 10 steps in creating 300 to 500 word stories:

1. Plot and Theme. Decide on a simple plot line.
2. Setting. Very short stories need to be limited in time and space.
3. Characters. Your main character will be a boy or a girl. Keep other characters to a minimum.
4. First draft. Write the story in narrative form first and then go back and edit.
5. Substitute. Keeping with the basic plot, begin to trim away as much narrative as possible, substituting dialogue and action for exposition.
6. Edit. Many words, especially adverbs and adjectives, are unnecessary. Cut, cut, and cut until you are close to the required number of words.
7. Opening. Move the words around until you get an opening that immediately pulls readers in.
8. Middle. Work on the lines that get you from A to C [the opening to the ending].
9. Closing. You'll want an ending that leaves the reader satisfied.
10. Final Cut. Set the manuscript aside for a few days. Read your story one last time checking for nonessentials. Every word must pull its own weight.

(For Ms. Flathers' complete article see The Writer, November 2001, pages 48-51.)

Theresa Sneed
ANWA General President