by Ngozi Obanye-Stephen

Created on: January 29, 2009

Short stories should be rewritten at least twice to correct any errors. Sometimes, errors are not spotted immediately, and it can take a writer a few rewrites to notice every mistake. Rewrites can be done immediately after the first draft is finished, or the first draft can be left for hours, days, or weeks before rewriting. You can work on sentences individually, striping and re-stripping them, or work on the draft as a whole. Use the following checklist as a guideline to help you to rewrite your story.

The Introduction
Ensure that the reader is engaged within the first 400 words of your story. This holds the readers attention, making sure they read on to the next section. Also ensure that the opening paragraph is not too dense. If it contains too much information, move some of the material to another section.

Repetitiveness
In the heat of the moment a writer can venture far ahead of themselves, which can result in the repetition of words and phrases. The reader may notice this repetition and lose interest.

Irrelevance
Try, where possible, to use minimal description. Allow the reader to imagine the story's setting for themselves. Also, look for ways to heighten the interest of the reader without giving away too much information too soon.

Research
It can be tempting to research more than is necessary, so when rewriting, check for this. Over researched sections are often too weighty with words. This is especially the case when you research minute details, such as for a historical piece.

Language
The overuse of language should be avoided. This involves long and unnecessary phrases, which may sound right at the first or second draft, but on the third rewrite sound over-indulgent.

Style

Spelling and grammar errors are easily missed, so make sure you have a good grasp of punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure. Consult a thesaurus where possible to replace some words with synonyms, thus avoiding repetitions and clichs.

The Characters
Characters should progress steadily throughout the story, and change according to the challenges they face. Changes can be in comparison to their present life or their future dreams. Make sure your central characters encounter some form of disruption or setback in the story, no matter how minimal.

Conflict
Conflict is not always about dramatic situations where characters get physical. The key to creating conflict is to give the main characters a problem at the beginning of your story. This can be in the form of making a decision, or an emotion, such as fear, hope, ambition etc. If there is insufficient conflict in your story, it can appear shallow. Readers know that real life does not always go as they want it to.

When rewriting a short story, the writer should put themselves in the place of the reader, taking into account the reader's perspective. In the same way that you judge other books, readers will judge your book.

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