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<p><img src="http://mumssupportingmums.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/hints-and-tips-image.jpg" alt="" width="247" height="246" id="" title="" /></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 18px;">In no particular order, here are some hints to help get you started:</span></p>
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<li><span style="font-size: 18px;">start your short story at an exciting part or near the end of the story</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 18px;">keep your story under 1,500 words.  Under 1,000 is even better.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 18px;">limit your characters- have maybe less than 5 characters- more characters means more explaining what everyone is doing.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 18px;">always choose suspense and action over death and bloodshed</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 18px;">write about characters you know, like kids your age- you know how kids think, avoid writing about adults</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 18px;">make up your characters- don't use friends' names or we will think about those kids instead of your characters</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 18px;">write about a place you know well and limit your story to one or two locations</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 18px;">limit your story to one day, a few hours is even better- more than that and characters have to eat, go to the bathroom, sleep, tell parents where they are...</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 18px;">create one big problem, have a solution that doesn't work and adds to the problem, then have a solution that works</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 18px;">a clever story doesn't end with "to be continued," it implies that more and different problems are to come in the future</span></li>
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<p><span style="font-size: 18px;">Still feeling lost?  The next page is a Wiki "How to Write a Short Story" site.  It's great for scanning through and checking out their suggestions.</span></p>