Steps to a great story continued

Okay, so now you have all the tools you need to start your masterpiece. You are ready to write. Here are continuing steps to ensure your story will succeed.

Step #2: Get yourself a title. I don't care what it is. It doesn't even need to reflect anything involving the story whatsoever. The title is so you can mention it while in company and sound important. "Well, I finished ten more pages of Chairs on Mars today." And people will wonder if they're out of the loop when they have no idea what you are talking about. Then you know something they don't. How important are you?

Step #3: Put some people in there. Like three. Maybe four, if you're feeling adventurous. But two is definitely not enough.

Step #4: Make them do stuff. And make them do it until the end of the story. Also, they should say things. And there should be bears.

Step #5: The story should have a moral. People loved being tricked into learning things they should already know like 'War is bad'. And 'Don't leave broken eggs in the refrigerator'.

Step #6: End it with a twist. No one likes to be able to predict the outcome. Killing off all the characters suddenly with a nuclear bomb or asteroid usually does the trick. Because, after all, your characters will have been doing stuff until the end. And that is what they should be doing.