The Life Starter
Sign up
All courses/Create

Course 291 · Create course 20

Write and Revise a Short Story

Write one small, complete prose story. Practice premise, character pressure, close viewpoint, a consequential choice and two different revision methods using original library-display examples.

Before you start

Use a local text editor, paper or an accessible document tool.

Read, Write, and Study for Work and Training See everything you’ll need

Free download · Original practice data · No external account required. Download the starter pack

What you’ll leave with

An original 600–900-word story with a character want, obstacle, consequential choice, two revised passages and an editing note.

Start course Start without an account. Sign in to save lesson progress across devices.

Your project

Start with the practice files. Build your project one lesson at a time.

Practice files are free without an account. Sign in to save your project record in My Proof: a description, checklist, and optional work link. Keep the original files in your own app or notebook; saving a project record does not upload them.

  1. Get your materialsDownload practice filesSupplied practice cases, a blank working record, complete lesson instructions, and annotated worked examples.
  2. Make your projectView the project checklist Work in your own notebook, document, or software. Use the supplied practice examples when you prefer.
  3. Keep a private recordSave a project record Sign in to save a description and checklist, then return to update them.
Course handbook

Know the route before you begin.

Here’s what you’ll need and what you’ll make. You can return to this guide during any lesson.

Who this is for

Learners age 14 and older, including adults; no paid account, current job, customer or outside participant is required.

Prepare before lesson one
  • Use a local text editor, paper or an accessible document tool.
  • Use the supplied fictional card/display premise or invent another small safe situation.
  • Create sections for premise, character, scene, choice, revisions and final story.
Your final project

Finish with proof you can use.

An original 600–900-word story with a character want, obstacle, consequential choice, two revised passages and an editing note.

Save a project record in My Proof
See project checklist and review criteria

Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.

What to include

  • Compose an original 600–900-word story or clearly stated accessible equivalent.
  • Show a character want, meaningful obstacle and choice with consequence.
  • Maintain an intentionally chosen viewpoint.
  • Include two before/after passages and specific edit reasons.

Review and revise

Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.

  • Story causality: decisions lead to consequences.
  • Craft: viewpoint and scene/summary choices serve the event.
  • Originality: text is learner-created, not copied source fiction.
  • Revision: evidence shows specific changes and their effects.
Three ideas to help you along the way
Three useful ideas

The rules behind the steps.

01

Character acts

Reveal priorities through choices under pressure.

02

Scope enables completion

A small cast and time window allow a finished prose event.

03

Revision is purposeful

Each changed passage addresses a named reader-experience problem.

What do these words mean?
Key words

Key terms worth knowing.

Premise
A concise statement joining a character, change and problem.
Viewpoint
The position that limits what the narration can perceive or know.
Scene
A passage showing a consequential event through actions and dialogue.
Summary
Compressed narration of events or elapsed time.
Turning point
An event or choice that changes the available next actions.
Your route

6 lessons.
One useful project.

Work in order the first time. Each lesson makes something the next lesson can use.

  1. 1
    Up next

    Turn an observation into a premise

    Create a premise that joins a concrete detail to a character, want and obstacle.

  2. 2
    35 min

    Create a character with competing wants

    Show a character’s two conflicting wants through behavior and a specific cost.

  3. 3
    35 min

    Choose a viewpoint and scene boundary

    Keep a passage within one viewpoint and use summary to connect scene boundaries.

  4. 4
    35 min

    Build an obstacle and meaningful choice

    Create a causal turning point whose consequence follows from a character’s decision.

  5. 5
    35 min

    Revise a scene and summary passage

    Revise one passage for concrete action and another for purposeful compression.

  6. 6
    35 min

    Deliver a complete story with edit evidence

    Assemble a complete bounded story and distinguish unresolved plot from deliberate uncertainty.

Use the tools

Tools to help you practice.

See all tools
ZIP · practice files

Write and Revise a Short Story practice files

Supplied practice cases, a blank working record, complete lesson instructions, and annotated worked examples.

Text worksheet

Your course project worksheet

A downloadable text worksheet with each lesson’s working output, space for your answers, and the shared final-project checklist. Save your own copy.

Source transparency

Sources and further study.

Explore the references behind the lessons and take your learning further. Source notes explain access and reuse.

Portland State University: EmpoWORD, Describing a Scene
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Read sensory imagery, precise nouns/verbs and purposeful description; original LifeStarter samples and exercises replace source activities.

Access: Public page text or PDF was opened and read through the web reader on 2026-10-01; no signup required for reading.

Reuse: Linked for further study. All LifeStarter scenarios, samples, assets and assessments are original; no source exercises or artwork are copied.

Open University: Creating characters
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Read the public character section and its discussion of character/event relationships through the web reader; linked source exercises are not reproduced.

Access: Public page text or PDF was opened and read through the web reader on 2026-10-01; no signup required for reading.

Reuse: Linked for further study. All LifeStarter scenarios, samples, assets and assessments are original; no source exercises or artwork are copied.

Open University: Setting as antagonist
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Read public discussion of setting and plot links; this course uses its own original fictional clockwork-library scenario.

Access: Public page text or PDF was opened and read through the web reader on 2026-10-01; no signup required for reading.

Reuse: Linked for further study. All LifeStarter scenarios, samples, assets and assessments are original; no source exercises or artwork are copied.

Ready when you are

Start with the first useful move.

You’ll always know what to do, what to make, and where to go next.

Start lesson one