How to Write a Composition/Story

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Cluster pre-writing makes the tough job of writing a composition or easier to complete. Following these easy you can write an excellent composition or story.

Steps

1. Use a plain piece of paper to complete the process. Some people like to use a standard piece of writing paper while others like to think big and use easel size paper. Alternatively you can use a chalkboard to draw the outline diagram. Either way leave lots of room to complete the process.
   
2. In the center of the paper, or chalkboard, state the subject briefly. Draw a circle around the subject.
   
3. In the next set of circles write your main ideas.
   
4. In the final set of circles, write ideas under the topic of the secondary circles.
   
5. Re-check the clusters to help brainstorm for further ideas.
   
6. Use the clusters to outline and write your story or composition.
   
7. Write the composition using the clusters to help create the topic sentence, supporting paragraphs and summary.
   

Tips

• You can always add more circles to your guiding diagram if you think the much you have is not sufficient.
  
• Remember there is no time limit. So take your time and let your ideas run free.
  
• Open source software called FreeMind can help with the pre-writing process.
  

Sources and Citations

• [*http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page]
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Write a Composition/Story. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How To Write a Composition - For Students

The word 'composition' may mean different things in different circumstances. It could be a personal narrative, a short work of fiction or prose, an essay, a dramatic work or a poem. Each of these works has its own set of rules. This site has articles describing the how-to process of several types of composition: poetry, the essay, and others. This article will give you a general overview of the composition.

1. Know your purpose: What type of composition is this going to be? Make sure you understand the expectations. Typically, your teacher will provide you with an explanation and lecture on what you are to write. Read this over carefully. Ask your instructor if you have questions. You will find several helpful links at the end of this article for online resources also.
2. Choose your topic: Decide what you will write about. Here are suggestions based on different types of compositions.
• Essay: Practically every essay topic can be approached from multiple perspectives. Choose a topic and take a stance; your essay will seek to convince readers of the legitimacy of your stance. Choose something that is important to you. It is easier to write about what you believe in. Write this in 'first person' -- 'I' (like you are talking) to 'second person'-- 'you' (a person you are speaking to).
• Personal narrative: Personal narrative is a story about you. Choose something that made an impression on you, negative or positive. It might be a vacation, a funny experience, a crisis, a death, a dangerous or frightening situation you encountered, etc. Write in first person.
• Play: Write about what you know. Your play could develop from a personal narrative. But regardless, include things you have some knowledge that is grounded either in personal experience or research, or both. The play is written in dialog with the speaker indicated. Stage directions - defining the elements of set and telling characters how to speak lines or move on stage - are written italicized and in parentheses.
• Short story: This is a form of prose fiction, a creative non-poetic kind of composition. Write this in third person (as if you were a narrator) or first person if you speak as your main character. If first person voice is your choice, then your short story will read much like a narrative, but it is not necessarily something that happened to you. You can base it upon something you have experienced, but you tell it as a general story. Your options are unlimited; you could write about anything that exists in reality, or make up your own world for a short story.
• Poetry: Poetry is focused on sound, syllabication, rhythm patterns and descriptive language. It might be free verse, or instead written in one of many rigid poetic form like sonnets or Haiku (very short Japanese poems).
3. Write your introduction: For every composition except poetry, you will need to introduce either your topic and position (for an essay) or characters, plot and setting (for narrative, short story and play). See the article 'How to Write an Introduction.'
4. Develop the 'body' of your work:
   • Essay
     • Brainstorm a list of 10 points you want to make about your topic. Jot down ten details or ideas that will support the point you are making. These may be facts, examples, data, statistics, quotes from a source, or just common sense ideas.
     • Group the 10 points into three groups. Organize your list of details into three categories based upon similarity. Like the bicycle, these will be the supporting 'spokes' of your topic.
     • Label the three groups. The labels will ultimately become the topic sentences for each body paragraph of your essay. The three or four details in each group will be the supporting sentences. Using this outline, you will have the meat of your essay.
     • Write your three paragraphs: Write the main points and details into complete sentences. Remember to keep each organized and follow your outline. This will form the body of your essay. If you are required to make your essay 200 words long, you should have more than enough already. If it needs to be longer, make each of the three topics into two paragraphs.
   • Narrative, short story and play: Weave these details into your composition.
   • Character: Describe how your characters look, think and act. Weave these details into the story.
   • Setting: Describe time period, area, and where story takes place (house, hospital, etc.).
   • Plot: What happens in the story is basically the plot. Plots follow this sequence:
   • Situation: This is what's happening as the story opens.
   • Details of problem: Every story centers around a main problem, in literature called a 'conflict.' There are 5 basic conflict scenarios:
   • man vs. man
   • man vs. society
   • man vs. himself
   • man vs. nature
   • man vs. God or the supernatural
   • Climax: All details lead up to one confrontation, center of action, or ultimate action.
   • Denouement: This is the 'aftermath,' the tying up of loose ends, the explanation.
   • Poetry: Follow the rubric for the poetry type you need to write.
5. Write your conclusion (for all but poetry): This simply wraps up what you have said in your composition. It can basically restate what you said in your introduction. If you composition is longer, you can sum up your main points. Try to phrase them a little differently so it will not sound repetitive.
6. Use P-O-W-E-R: You have done the P-plan, O-organize and W-write components; now you will finish with E-edit and R-revise. You will do this for every type of writing. Reread your work. Look for spelling, grammar, and content problems. Use your computer spell and grammar check but use your own wisdom also. You can have someone proof-read it also.

   Every good piece of writing goes through two or more revisions. Let your thoughts 'gel.' Come back to the composition and you will see improvements you might not have seen when it was still 'hot.' A composition is like a piece of pottery: first it's plastic, then its greenware, then it's bisque and finally glazeware!

7. Rewrite your final copy. If you type your composition, be sure to save a copy for future reference. And who knows, you may submit it and find you have great potential!

Never underestimate your writing skills. Writing is 'art in words.' I always tell my students that everyone has a composition - or many - locked within. Everyone around you has a story to tell. All you need is to practice the skills to write your composition.

Required Tools:

Use a computer to prepare and edit your compositon.

Use your spell and grammar check.

Use a thesaurus or the thesaurus function on your computer.

Caution:

Don't 'bloat' your story with extra words just to add to your word count.

Use descriptive language; avoid overused words.

Quick Tips:

Use clear, strong, complete sentences and organized paragraphs.

Use your thesaurus to find descriptive word options.

http://www.howtodothings.com/hobbies/a4279-how-to-write-a-composition.html

How To Write A Whole Composition

How To Write A Whole Composition

The following is a general structure to follow for many kinds of writing. Adapt it to specialized assignments as appropriate.

I. Introduction

The introduction is intended to draw the reader into the body of material to follow. It should begin with a general statement or question, sometimes called the "thesis statement" or "thesis question," followed by a quick narrowing down to the main theme to be developed in the body. Set the stage quickly, give appropriate background, then move right into a transition sentence that will set up the reader for the body.

II. Body (Argument)

The body of a written piece is where you elaborate, defend, and expand the thesis introduced in the introduction. The body should support your main contention with supporting evidence and possible objections. A good body presents both sides of a case, pro and con. As you make your case, save your best argument for last. When presenting contrary views, be sure to set forth the strongest arguments so you can avoid being charged with erecting a "straw man." The body includes three components:

Elaboration:	Spell out the details by defining, or by clarifying and adding relevant, pertinent information.
Illustration:	Paint a verbal picture that helps make or clarify your point(s). Well illustrated pieces are easier to read and follow than abstract ones.
Argumentation:	Give the reasons, justifications, and rationales for the position or view you have taken in the introduction. Draw inferences for the reader and explain the significance or assertions or claims being made.

When moving from one sub-point or argument to another, use connecting or transitional words and phrases that enable your reader to easily follow the flow of your thinking. The following is a partial list of logical connectors that you can use:

exceptions - but, alas, however, etc.

illustrations - for instance, for example, etc.

conclusions - thus, so, therefore, consequently, etc.

comparisons - similarly, by contrast, etc.

qualifications - yet, still, etc.

additions - moreover, furthermore, etc.

III. Conclusion

Make your final appeal to the reader, a finishing, all-encompassing statement that wraps up your presentation in a powerful or even dramatic fashion. Normally a single paragraph, brief and concise, will suffice. The purpose of the conclusion is to leave the reader with an idea or thought that captures the essence of the body while provoking further reflection and consideration.

Help for Students!!! How to Write a Short Story

How To Write a Short Story

The big idea

In my class, a "short story" is anything that is prose (that is to say, not poetry) and tells a made-up, or fictional, story. "Short" can mean anywhere from about a page and a half for fifth graders all the way up to ten or twelve pages, or even more, for eighth graders. When students ask me how long a story needs to be, I always say, "As long as it takes to do a good job."

Before you begin

To do a good job, a story must do these things:

• have an interesting main character that the reader cares about
• have a clearly-described setting
• show the main character solving--or trying to solve--a problem.

How to do it

The Characters

Stories need characters. Interesting characters are those that do and say interesting things. They have fears, friends, enemies, hopes for the future and favorite things they like to eat for breakfast, just as you have. In fact, I have a form that I often have students fill out before they start writing, on which they list these character details before they start writing. That way, the details are at their fingertips and they can slip them into the story at strategic points in order to make the writing more realistic. (NOTE: you need to USE these details where they would naturally show up in the story. You DON'T just list them at the beginning.) We also use those same details to generate the main problem of the story, as you will see below. Even if you don't use the form, however, you should spend some time thinking of these character details before you get going.

The Setting

The setting is the where and when of the story. You don't have to go overboard in describing the setting. If everyone in the story is riding horses and hanging out in a saloon, I pretty much get the idea that the setting is somewhere in the west in the 1800's. If the story starts with the hero riding the turbolift to the spaceport to catch the next rocket to Mars, I understand that I'm reading a science fiction story set in the future. Don't get things mixed up, though: When you have a medieval monk take a break from his work copying books in the scriptorium to go play Nintendo 64, I'm going to get confused.

A few well-placed details of setting can really set the mood. If the first scene opens in the dead of night with rain pounding against the windows and the wind howling outside, I'm ready to settle in for a really spooky story.

Don't ignore setting. It can help your story.

The Main Problem

If you don't have a main problem, you don't have a story. All stories have problems that must be solved: the Good Terminator has to protect Sarah Connor from the Evil Terminator; Jim Hawkins has to elude the pirates and bring home the gold from Treasure Island; Dr. Grant has to save the kids from the rampaging dinosaurs of Jurassic Park. Let me make this clear: STORIES ARE ABOUT CHARACTERS SOLVING PROBLEMS.

In class, we try to have big problems grow out of the details we have developed for our main characters. If our character wants to play professional football, what would be a good main problem for a story? Any number of things:

• His girlfriend--the love of his life--will leave him if he continues to play football
• He gets in an accident and has to fight his way back to playing condition
• He gets in an accident and must learn to adjust to life without football
• Congress passes a law prohibiting football
• In order to liven up the game, the NFL replaces the ball with a bomb set to explode at some randomly-determined time.

If the main character you've developed is deathly afraid of spiders, what could your story be about?

• Her house is invaded by millions of spiders
• The only job she can find is as the spider keeper at the zoo
• She finds herself slowly transforming into a spider
• She crash-lands in the jungle and must live among the !Lwana tribesmen of the Amazon basin, for whom enormous spiders are a staple food

You get the idea. Big problems for stories are easy to come by. A good story is about an interesting character facing--and trying to solve--a big problem.

Other Tips for Story-Writing Success

• Unless you're writing a fairy tale, do not begin a story with the words, "Once upon a time" or its evil twins "One day," "One dark night," or anything similar.
• You should also avoid, "Hi, my name is..."
• Do use a lot of dialogue. People talk a lot, so characters in stories should, too. It brings stories to life. Just remember to make a new paragraph every time you switch speakers.
• Get a good mixture of dialogue and narration, so the reader can visualize the setting, what the characters are doing, and so on.
• Try beginning a story with either dialogue or action.
• Don't be afraid to rewrite. If it's not great, fix it.

http://millennium.fortunecity.com/donald/368/help/story.html

How to Write a Short Story

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Whether you’re an aspiring professional writer or a stay-at-home mom with something to say, the short story is the perfect medium. While writing a novel is a Herculean task, just about anybody can craft and, most importantly, finish, a short story. That doesn’t mean that short stories are easy to write, though, and it certainly doesn’t mean that they aren’t as artistically valuable as novels. With practice, patience, and a passion for writing, they can be every bit as moving and memorable as their much longer cousins.

Steps

1. Read plenty of short stories. Nothing can help you “learn” how to write a good short story better than reading good short stories. Choose authors that you enjoy, and also choose some of the “classics.” Pay attention to how the authors develop their characters, write dialogue, and structure their plots.
   
2. Gather ideas for your story. Inspiration can strike at any time, so carry a notepad with you wherever you go so that you can write down story ideas as they come to you. Most of the time, you’ll just think of small snippets of information (a catastrophic event around which you can build a plot, a character’s name or appearance, etc.) but sometimes you’ll get lucky and a whole story will reveal itself to you in a couple of minutes. If you have trouble finding inspiration, or if you need to write a story in a hurry (for a class, for example), learn how to brainstorm.
   
3. Choose an idea and flesh it out. At the very least, a story should have an exposition (the story leading up to the climax), a climax (a turning point in a story brought about by conflict between characters or within a character), and a resolution (a satisfying ending to the story in which the central conflict is resolved - or not). Move backward or forward from your starting idea (it may or may not be the beginning of the story), and ask “What happens next?” or “what happened before this?”
   
4. Know your characters. For a story to be believable, the characters have to be believable, and their actions should appear inevitable given who they are. In other words, you should know as much as possible about your characters, from what their central motivations are to what their favorite foods are. You won’t include all this information in your story, but the more you know, the more your characters will come to life, both for you and for the reader. Sometimes it helps just to listen to unimportant conversations between characters in your head, even if it won't be in the story.
   
5. Limit the breadth of your story. A novel can occur over millions of years and include a multitude of subplots, a variety of locations, and an army of supporting characters. The main events of a short story should occur in a relatively short period of time (days or even minutes), and you typically won’t be able to develop effectively more than one plot, two or three main characters, and one setting. If your story has much more breadth, it probably needs to be a novella or novel.
   
6. Decide who will tell the story. There are three main points of view from which to tell a story: first-person (“I”), second-person (“you”), and third-person (“he” or “she”). In a first-person story, a character in the story tells the story; in the second-person the reader is made a character in the story; and in the third-person, an outside narrator tells the story. (Second-person narration is rarely used.) Keep in mind that first-person narrators can only tell what they know (which will be limited to what they see firsthand or are told by others), while third-person narrators can either know everything and explore every character’s thoughts, or be limited to only that which can be observed.
   
7. Start writing. Depending on how thoroughly you’ve sketched out your plot and characters, the actual writing process may simply be one of choosing the right words. Generally, however, writing is arduous. You probably won’t know your characters and plot as well as you thought, but it doesn’t matter. Outlines are not the same as stories, and actually writing a story is the only way to complete one.
   
8. Come out swinging. The first page—some would say the first sentence—of any writing should grab the reader’s attention and leave him wanting more. A quick start is especially important in short stories because you don’t have much room to tell your story. Don’t dilly-dally with long introductions of the characters or uninteresting descriptions of the setting: get right into the plot, and reveal details about the characters and setting piece-by-piece as you go along.
   
9. Keep writing. You’re almost certain to hit some bumps in the road to finishing your story. You’ve got to work through them, though. Set aside a time to write each and every day, and make it a goal to finish, say, a page each day. Even if you end up throwing away what you wrote on that day, you’ve been writing and thinking about the story, and that will keep you going in the long run.
   
10. Let the story write itself. As you write your story, you may want to turn your plot in a different direction than you had planned, or you may want to substantially change or remove a character. Listen to your characters if they tell you to do something different, and don’t worry about scrapping your plans altogether if you can make a better story as you go.
    
11. Revise and edit. When you’ve finished the story, go back through it and correct mechanical mistakes, as well as logical and semantic errors. In general, make sure the story flows and the characters and their problems are introduced and resolved appropriately. If you have time, put the completed story down for a few days or weeks before editing. Distancing yourself from the story in this way will help you see it more clearly when you pick it back up.
    
12. Get some second opinions. Send your revised and edited story off to a trusted friend or relative for revisions, edits, and suggestions. Let your reviewers know that you want to hear their real opinions of the story. Give them time to read it and think about it, and give them a copy that they can write on. Make sure you consider everything that your reviewers tell you—not just the parts you would like to hear. Thank your reviewers for reading your story, and don’t argue with them.
    
13. Incorporate whatever edits, revisions, and suggestions you feel are valid. Your writing will be better if you can carefully consider constructive criticism, but you don’t have to follow all the advice you get. Some of the suggestions may not be very good. It’s your story, and you need to make the final call.
    

Tips

• Can’t find friends or relatives honest enough to tell you what they really think about your story? Consider joining a writers’ group, where you can learn tips and tricks from other writers and get (hopefully) quality critiques. You can probably find a local club, but there are also online groups.
  
• You can write about a past event or a fantasy that you have. Your main character can be an adaptation of yourself or someone you know. But be careful, because real people are often not as dynamic as story characters.
  
• Do research. Yes, really. If you are trying to set a story in the 1950's, research the family dynamics, clothing, slang, etc. of the period. If you try to write without knowing the background of what you are writing about, the story will probably seem amateurish.
  
• You may not need or want to go through the brainstorming and pre-writing work; many writers skip these steps, and you may find going through all the steps of the writing process superfluous. That said, everybody should try pre-writing at some point, even if it’s just once. Also, without planning beforehand, it is very unlikely you will have a good story.
  
• If you're having trouble brainstorming, try making a web or table; create about five main sentences for your short story. It might help to do a "freewrite" which is to simply write or type everything that comes into your mind for a certain time period, usually between 5 and 30 minutes.
  
• Develop your own style. Your unique voice will only come through practice. You can start by imitating other writers or, if you are trying to write for a particular genre, you can try to tune your thoughts to that “frequency.” In the end, though, you just need to write voluminously to develop your voice.
  
• Make sure you don't work your mind too hard at any one time. If you're having trouble coming up with ideas, just do something else. Come back to your story after a few hours or after a good night's sleep, and you'll be amazed at what you can then come up with!
  
• While you may sometimes want to scrap a story, make sure you’ve got a good reason—not just an excuse—to do so. If you’re just stuck temporarily try to work through it. Sometimes you’ll come up with another idea that you’re more excited about. You may want to work on the new idea, but if this happens frequently, it can turn into a problem: you’ll start a lot of stories, but you won’t ever actually complete one.
  
• Design a format. This is not particularly necessary unless you are showing it to other people. For instance: Is the story in center alignment? Are there chapters? Do the fonts differ? Are there paragraphs? Do you indent at the beginning of each paragraph? All of the above things are simply ideas that can help to organize your writing for better results if shown to others.
  
• Is there a song or type of music that gets you connected to the emotions and events you want to convey through your writing? Try playing some during or before you start writing.
  
• Think carefully about all the elements of a story, for example main character, setting, time period, genre, supporting characters, enemies and conflict, and plot.
  

Warnings

• Don't become too proud of your story after you've finished it! Don't set yourself up for disappointment, which, in all likelihood, will come--especially if you submit the story for publication. Instead, remain professionally detached from it, as you would if you were taking care of a friend's dog.
  
• Don’t get discouraged. If you’re trying to get your story published, it will most likely be rejected. Rejection is a big part of being a writer; sometimes it’s warranted, but sometimes it’s not. Be proud that you have completed a story—no easy task, at that—and keep practicing your craft if you enjoy it.
  
• Don't get lazy about spelling and grammar! Show the readers you know what you're doing by presenting an error-free story.
  
• Short stories are the hardest kind of fiction to write. You have to do everything that happens in a novel (introduce characters, create conflict, develop characters, resolve conflict) inside of twenty or thirty pages. Respect the genre. It isn't easy.
  
• Do not steal published ideas, this is a serious crime. You may read and get story ideas but don't steal the author's plot.
  

Things You'll Need

• pencil & paper (or computer)
  
• patience
  
• friends or fellow writers to critique you
  
• brain
  
• creativity
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Participate in NaNoWriMo
  
• How to Write a Novel
  
• How to Write a Children's Story
  
• How to Write Political Fiction
  
• How to Brainstorm
  
• How to Freewrite
  
• How to Create a Credible Villain in Fiction
  
• How to Write a Bestseller
  
• How to Write Fiction
  
• How to Avoid Plagiarism
  
• How to Create and Publish a Novel As a Teenager
  

Sources and Citations

• Howtowriteashortstory.wordpress.com Free storytelling lessons for beginners.
  
• Storiesville.com Online community for short stories of various genres.
  
• ShortStoryGroup.com A free forum where you can get your work critiqued by other writers (and critique theirs)
  
• Seton Hill University Short story writing tips
  
• Shortstorywiki.com Write your own shortstory or continue on an existing. This wiki exists for you to have fun.
  
• Short Story Writing & Critique Group, a free online community of writers. We write, critique each other's works, and in general have a good time. There is a free forum for discussion & a weekly prompt for those who feel a little 'blocked'.
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Write a Short Story. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.