106 / PART TWO: ENGLISH IN ACTION start with dialogue and this carries the reader straight into the story. Try not to have more than four characters in your short story. Too many become confusing. Aim to give each one a distinctive way of speaking so that each can be easily recog- nisable. There will be no room for detailed descriptions of each so their characters should be established by what they say, how they behave and how the other characters react to them. A story is written to entertain and in your story there should be conflict of some kind. It could be between a parent and child, or between two neighbours. It could be a spiritual conflict within a single character. Should the heroine have an abortion or not? The plot should be simple and there should only be one. There is no room in a short story for a sub-plot. Plots are all around you. Your own experience or some- one else’s could be woven into a short story or you could modernise the plot of a fairy story or a legend. The start of a story is always important. The first sentence should grip the reader and carry him or her forward. Make him or her want to read on. When you have completed the first draft of your essay or short story, check it carefully for errors and see if it can be EDITING YOUR WORK Introducing the story Finding a plot Creating believable characters