Short Story Ideas

1. Ideas for short stories come from personal experiences in the real world. Complete the following using the newspaper. Identify four articles that could be ideas for short stories. Indicate the article’s headline and page number below.

2. Many books and short stories relate to the theme of “real life drama.” Use the newspaper to identify four news stories that could be used as a theme in a literary work. (Suggestion: Think of literary themes such as intrigue, tragedy, love, comedy.)

3. If written correctly, a newspaper headline will communicate the main idea of a story to the reader. Write headlines for four books or short stories you have read. Remember headlines should communicate the story’s main ideas.

4. Most news stories would be viewed as more interesting and more reliable if the story included comments from an eyewitness. Use two stories you have found in the newspaper that interest you. After reading the stories carefully, choose a person you think could be an eyewitness. Write what you believe they might have said had they been there.

5. Use a photo from the newspaper. Attach the photo to the back of your worksheet. Write one complete sentence as a cutline (caption) for the cut (photo).

6. Select eight newspaper headlines. Rewrite each headline into a complete sentence.

7. Many news stories and events are important because of the direct and indirect effects they have in our lives. Select three news stories of interest to you. Identify the causes and effects in the story and why they make the story worth putting in the newspaper.

8. Newspapers often bring us face to face with problems that plague society and communities. Using the newspaper, identify a problem that is of interest to you. You are chairman of a community interest group that is responsible for hiring someone to solve the problem. Write a “help wanted” ad for your problem solver. Identify the necessary qualifications the successful candidate will need to solve the problem. (Suggestion: Read the classified ads.)