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Not everyone can write a compelling short story.

Though most anthology books follow a theme, not every writer can squeeze into the correct mindset. Themes are often very specific. When compiling an anthology book, the editor will look for themes that are popular. Spiritual anthologies are quite popular, as are other true story anthologies such as those found in Chicken Soup books.

must be a true story (unless otherwise stated)

must be a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end

must be inspirational or teach a lesson in some way

one to three characters must be involved (rarely more)

must be told in third person (unless specified)

characters must be active (show, don't tell)

characters must be fleshed out

dialogue is required

every word must move the story forward

emotion must be felt in every sentence

must fit the theme and adhere strictly to guidelines

must not exceed (usually) 1,000 words

Anthology writing is popular because each story can be written and read fairly quickly. Writing nonfiction short stories is also tempting for writers because it can provide the necessary launching pad needed to catapult a writing career into the next market.

While anthologies tend to be similar, different anthology books will have different guidelines and themes. The best way to write a short story is to write from the hip. In other words, sit down at your computer, recall the memories the story evokes and then write. 44 year old Dental Specialist Brenton from Yellowknife, has many hobbies which include rafting, Message In A Bottle Gifts and dumpster diving. In the previous year has completed a trip to Historic Walled Town of Cuenca.

Edit your story after you have finished it, not as you go along. Editing as you go tends to pull you from the story. Get the bare bones down first, then worry about rewrites. One very important item to remember is to write your short story according to specifications and guidelines. Short stories that do not adhere to the rules end up in the rejection pile.

Types of Anthology Books

Know - your genre

Follow - rules and theme constraints

Give - of yourself

Believe - in what you're doing

Never - second guess yourself

Forget - your critics

Unfortunately, learning how to write a short story is not as easy as one might think. In fact, inspirational true stories often are among the most difficult type of stories to write.

If your goal is to write a short story that will be chosen over hundreds of other similar short stories, a few rules should be followed.

General Rules for Writing True Stories:

Finally, the most important thing a writer needs to know when it comes to learning how to write a short story is that every compelling and/or inspirational story also includes a teensy-tiny, non-refundable, yet solid, piece of their heart. Without this last ingredient, any nonfiction story is doomed.

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If you can follow these few rules, you will succeed in the short story writing world.

Follow the guidelines and write a great story; don't get caught up in the writing and simply forget there are rules.