WRITING GREAT SHORT STORIES

By Margaret Lucke. According to the author, "few pleasures are as basic and satisfying as hearing a good story—unless it’s the pleasure of writing one." In accessible text that abounds with excerpts from published stories, skill-related examples, checklists, and tip sheets, Lucke helps students find ideas (newspapers are great), devise well-structured plots, give birth to blood-and-bones characters who are beset with conflict (the more troubles the better), paint vivid settings, and develop a strong narrative voice. Each chapter ends with multiple exercises designed to reinforce story-writing skills. Appendixes contain short story reading lists and guidelines for submitting manuscripts. Grades 9 and up. Index. McGraw-Hill. 160 pages. ©1999.