| After several years of reading, writing, and teaching short stories, Mr. Fairman and I have found our beginning writers have the most success with a circle organizer. It seems to lend itself to the tight, single focus that a short story possesses. Sometimes, after presenting Langston Hughes’ “Thank you M’am” or Amy Tan’s “Rules of the Game” I present the structure of the short story as a circle. |  |
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Here is an example of how this works.
You can flesh out the rest.
Balance
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| Disturbance
A loud crash comes from down the road. A woman screams…… |
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Plan
Inside the farmhouse, people wait by the phone…. |
| Obstacles
The doctor stormed through the hall, “What do you mean you can’t contact the husband?” |
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Complications
The storm came in with the fury of a vengeful child: unpredictable and destructive. There was no chance to land the Cesna. |
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Crisis The three men stood in the police station. Only one was certain he knew what was in the stained folder…
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Results
There would be no permanent damage. The schedule for physical therapy would be grueling, but… |
| New Balance
The setting sun glowed, and the house cast a cool shadow on the dog who circled and settled on the front porch. |
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| I hope you have enjoyed this little exercise. |  |