If you’re entering Writing Battle, or another writing contest that uses prompts, my system for creating a unique, engaging short story may be useful.
I’ve just completed my third short story for Writing Battle, a writing contest that I’m passionate about! Run by founders Max and Teona Bjork, Writing Battle is a fantastic contest with a supportive, friendly online community and lots of features that you just don’t get with other writing competitions.
In case you’re wondering, I’m not on commission and it was my idea to write this blog post (no arm-twisting involved from Teona or Max!). As a book editor and writer, I’m committed to supporting other authors and would like to share my approach to writing my short stories (at the risk of increasing the quality of my competitors’ stories and thereby reducing my chances of success!).
My advice will apply to any short form of writing using prompts, and even if you’re not using prompts, most of the writing advice will still apply.
For more advice on entering (and winning!) writing contests, see my blog post on this topic.
1. Plan your writing time
I don’t enter a writing contest unless I know I’ll have enough time to dedicate to creating something I’ll (hopefully!) be proud of. If the Writing Battle prompts are dropping on Sunday evening and the deadline is Wednesday evening, I don’t want to be panicking two hours before the deadline because I haven’t had time to make a start until then.
I like to brainstorm and plan my story structure (yes, I’m a planner, not a pantser!) on the first day, allow my subconscious to work on it for a while, write the story the next day, then make final edits and tweaks, hopefully leaving a bit of time to get beta feedback.
2. Receive your prompts
This is an exciting moment! Once the Battle begins, you will receive your three prompts. The first will always be Genre, then you’ll receive two more, usually either Setting and Character, or Character and Object.
The prompts I received for Writing Battle’s 2025 Spring Microfiction contest (500 words) were:
- Genre: Housepet Adventures
- Setting: Courthouse (I swapped out of Trailer Park)
- Character: Deep Sleeper
In Writing Battle, you’ll have the option to swap these out but only a limited number of times, and you can’t return to prompts you’ve rejected if you don’t like the new ones.
I’ve found that a prompt may look uninviting at first glance, but once I brainstorm, I come up with interesting story ideas that I would never have thought of otherwise. It’s a great way of challenging yourself.
What’s more, if you don’t swap out any prompts, you win a little trophy once the Battle is over. The gamification of Writing Battle is a huge part of its appeal!
3. Brainstorm story ideas
I like to brainstorm on paper, then write my story on my laptop. This is purely personal preference, so use whatever medium works best for the flow of your creative juices. Use hieroglyphs if you want!
My main aim of brainstorming is to knock out all the obvious ideas. I want to get them out of my head to make room for the more unique ones to come through. Bear in mind that a few other people will have the same prompts as you (unlikely all three, but it’s not entirely out of the question), so I never go with the first idea I come up with. If it popped into my head first, chances are someone else may think of it too.
My brainstorming for the genre ‘Housepet Adventures’, with a setting of ‘Courthouse’ and character of ‘Deep Sleeper’ went something like this:
Genre Brainstorm
Unusual pet: parrot (comic potential), mini pig?
If I pick an animal in a cage, I could draw parallels with prison. Hamster: deep sleeper.
Or a mouse that is wild, in rafters, watching court case. Focus on specific case.
Could turning point be the mouse somehow affecting the trial? He sees something no one else sees which proves the condemned is innocent or guilty and does something to bring it to someone’s attention.
Character Brainstorm
Is the deep sleeper the pet or someone in the courtroom? Narcolepsy? Too obvious. Is the judge the deep sleeper?
Does the mouse keep falling asleep and missing stuff? Maybe it doesn’t understand the proceedings and inadvertently gets involved.
Could it be a famous case?
Or domestic violence – woman hitting man. She presents as a demure person, says was asleep when assault happened. Wouldn’t even hurt a mouse.
The mouse (with intent or not) runs down and the woman loses her rag at it, gets violent, showing court her true side.
Maybe the mouse overhears her in the toilet and realises she’s guilty.
Setting Brainstorm
Courthouse – traditional courtroom? Or another part of the building?
Does the mouse run in the eves/above ceiling tiles, going where he wants, with access to all areas?
Think Shallow Grave.
4. Structure your short story
I know, I know – some of you are pantsers (writing by the seat of your pants) and hate planning. I envy that freedom to a degree, as I’m a plotter, even for short stories. But this is the approach that works for me. If you’d like to see things from the pantser point of view, head over to Ranen’s blog post, which is full of tips for writing short stories that are less plotted out.
Bear in mind that short stories containing fewer than 1,000 words (flash fiction), especially those in the realm of 500 words or fewer, are often more about capturing a moment than offering a full character arc. They tend to focus on an emotion, a particular setting or one specific element of that person’s life, although you can certainly still apply a structure if you wish.
I like to ensure I have the following elements down for stories of 1,000–2,000 words (and longer):
- Hook (grab the reader from the first line!)
- Inciting incident (event kicking off the main story conflict)
- First plot point (full entry into the ‘Adventure World’)
- Midpoint (a revelation or turning point)
- Third plot point (all-is-lost moment)
- Climax
- Resolution
This structure is taken from novellas and novels, but I find it effective for short stories too. You may choose to have the inciting incident and/or first plot point occur before your short story begins, due to the limited word count. Do what works for your piece, but always consider the reader’s engagement and understanding of what’s going on in your story’s world.
A more straightforward structure you could use for short stories is Freytag’s Pyramid:
- Exposition and inciting incident
- Rising action
- Climax
- Falling action
- Resolution
It’s best to limit a very short story to one scene and two or three characters at most. Concentrate on one scene, one moment, rather than trying to do too much and cramming in lots of complications.
Remember goals and conflict – your protagonist will have a story goal but will encounter conflict that prevents them from reaching that goal. This maximises reader engagement!
Some notes from my structure planning for Writing Battle’s 2025 Spring Microfiction contest follow:
Mouse lives in courtroom ceiling. Helps with trials. Does judge know?
One particular trial – domestic abuse – mouse watching. He either suspects defendant is guilty or it’s not planned, but he goes to ceiling above toilet and sees proof she’s guilty. Is trial going defendant’s way until then? This is Midpoint revelation.
After recess, mouse knows he has to do something or guilty person will go free. Nibbles through ceiling tile (or hole already) and falls into courtroom or runs down curtain to defendant. She loses her rag and through her words and actions reveals her guilt conclusively.
Final scene – judge’s office. Maybe reveal in last line that judge knows mouse is watching and helped in trial. Promises no more poison or gives mouse something he wants/needs (his personal arc).
5. Write your short story
You’ve been so patient holding off this stage, and now all the planning you’ve done really comes into its own. Your story may almost write itself!
Remember elements of the craft of writing: goals and conflict, character arcs, story structure. If these terms don’t mean much to you, I strongly suggest you spend a bit of time studying them (there are lots of fantastic free online sources: Story Grid and Helping Writers Become Authors, to name just two.
Don’t edit as you go. Let your pen, or your fingers, flow.
6. Edit your short story
Now you have your first draft down, it’s time to go through it and elevate your writing. Strip any ‘telling’ in place of ‘showing’ (unless it serves the story), drop in natural details about setting and characters (so your characters aren’t talking in a vacuum), and look out for tropes and sloppy writing.
Check your prompts feature somewhere in your story and that your story matches the genre description provided. The genre and prompts are usually fairly open to interpretation, but be sure to double-check these elements.
If you’ve gone over the maximum word count, trim any superfluous words, phrases, paragraphs, subplots, and other non-essential bits and bobs. My blog post about cutting down your word count may help here.
At this stage, I always submit the latest version of my story. With Writing Battle, you can submit your story as many times as you want. Bear in mind that only the latest version you submit will be considered at the contest stage. Getting something submitted will give you a boost in confidence and will prevent you from inadvertently not submitting anything because you happen to miss the deadline!
7. Craft your short story’s title
You may have already named your story. If so great! Now that you have a solid draft of your story, check your title still works.
I tend to leave the naming of my story until I have a solid draft. Sometimes a line in the story works well as the title, or a flash of inspiration strikes as I’m writing.
Consider that a short story’s title serves double duty, especially if you’re writing flash fiction. A piece of writing that is 250, 500 or 1,000 words needs to make the most of every word in the title, as this doesn’t count towards the word count.
Make sure your title suits the genre. If you’re writing a comedy, you could use a pun, for example. If you’re writing mystery or horror, allow your title to lure in the reader with the promise of something mysterious or horrific.
For my mouse story, I had a few title ideas:
- The Courthouse Mouse (I liked the rhyming here)
- Man or Mouse?
- Behind Bars
- Best Seat in the House
- Safely Behind Bars
I chose Safely Behind Bars in the end, as it carried a double meaning: the defendant will end up safely behind bars, but my little mouse envies his fellow mice who are pets and get fed and watered, unlike him. He would rather be safely behind bars and ends up hoping the judge will put him in a cage, much as he sentences people to prison.
8. Get feedback
Writing Battle has a fantastic beta-reading element to the contest. Provided you finish a solid draft of your story with time to spare, you can submit it for your peers to beta-read and give you feedback. Bear in mind this is usually a reciprocal arrangement, so you give feedback on their story.
I like to get the eyes of at least three beta readers on my work. They always spot something I’ve missed or find something confusing that I’d assumed would be clear (because I’m too involved in my story). Therefore, I’d highly recommend that you don’t skip this step.
9. Submit your story
Once you’ve implemented any beta feedback you feel would benefit your story, give it a final read and submit it.
You did it! Now you can sit back, relax and indulge in the forum chat, awaiting results.
Read my final submission of Safely Behind Bars. It’s not perfect by any stretch, but it was the best I could write at the time, and I’m still proud of it.
10. What next?
You may also be working on longer-form content outside your writing contest entries. If you’re writing a novella or novel and would like support at any stage of your writing journey, do get in touch to find out how I can help!
I offer editing and coaching services for all stages of writing:
- early stages (developmental editing, manuscript assessments)
- mid- to final stages (line editing and a line and copyediting combo)
- final stages(copyediting and proofreading.
I also offer sample edits and edits of the first 10,000 words, useful for submissions to literary agents.
Find out more about my services!
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