This guide to writing compelling, memorable short stories gives you all the essentials without wasted words. It tells you how and where to get ideas, how to establish and sustain excitement, how to create live, colorful characters, and how to plot, develop and bring home your story. It even includes exercises to help you perfect your story-telling skills. Full of tips and techniques that work, it makes an indispensable, reliable collaborator. You'll find it ideal whether you're studying alone or supplementing a creative or fiction writing course, conference or workshop.

Great short stories the Schaum's way

Write the kinds of stories that keep readers glued to the page from start to finish. Quickly and simply, this concise guide gives you clear explanations, proven tips and techniques--plus dozens of examples from well-known authors--that show you how to come up with dynamic ideas, create living, colorful characters, and develop a unique plot.

This simulating guide will help you to start confidently, write freely, finish strongly, and make the most of your talent.

Look to Schaum's Quick Guides for

• Step-by-step guidance to help you move quickly through the essentials
• Do's and don'ts for avoiding common errors
• Clear explanations and practical how-to's
• Checklists and exercises for fast skill-building