Summarize the following:
If you want to write sad stories, you'll have to start by seeking inspiration. Consider what makes you sad. For about 10 minutes, free write on the topic of sadness. Talk about the kind of situations that make you sad.  There are a lot of changes that come in life that can make people sad. Friendships and other relationships ending can cause sadness. The death of a loved one can also make someone sad. Sadness can also be caused by more minor events. Losing a family pet can be sad. Having to move to another city can be a cause of sadness. Consider what you think sadness is. What thoughts and emotions do you associate with sadness? As you write, talk about your own personal experiences with sadness. For example, when in life did you feel the most sad? Why? You may be able to use experiences from your own life in a short story. The best way to become a better writer is to read more. If you want to know how to write sad stories, you'll have to read a lot of stories with unhappy themes and plots.   Read sad stories. Ask your friends and teachers for recommendations for sad stories. As you read, do so actively. Pay attention to how writers build their stories and characters. How do the stories start? How do they end? Why do you have an emotional response to these stories? Ask yourself these questions as you read. Pay attention to what works in these stories. When writing a short story, you only have a short period of time to get your reader's attention. As you read short stories, pay attention to opening lines. How does the writer get your attention? Where does the story start? Many short stories may start when some of the important actions or events have already occurred. Authors may recount such events in flashbacks or imply them through means like character dialogue. If you want to write a story, you'll need to know basic story structure. Stories are made up of exposition, rising action, a climax, falling action, and a resolution. The first parts of the story come with exposition and rising action.  Your exposition comes at the beginning of the story. This is where you explain who the main character is and what he or she is doing at the beginning of the story. Exposition should be brief and grab the reader's attention.  A story's rising action is the series of conflicts that move the story forward. No story can exist without a problem that needs resolving. In a sad story, there should be an element of tragedy to that problem. For example, maybe your main character is caring for her sick dog. The rising action could include her taking the dog to the vet, finding out the sickness is worse than she thought, and struggling with the setbacks and challenges of her dog's medical needs. Once you've figured out basic story structure, write a short outline for your story. Write out how your story will begin, what rising action you'll include, the climax, and how the story is resolved.  An outline can be brief. It's not necessary to use full sentences in an outline. You just need to have some sense of the basic events that will occur. You can separate your outline into the five elements of story structure: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution. An outline should use numbers and letters for structure. Big headings, like "exposition," can be marked with a roman numeral. You can use letters or regular numbers to elaborate on aspects of that heading. For example, "I. Exposition, a. introduce Susan." To help you see how to write an outline, let's return to this article's example. You could begin the outline with something like this: "Exposition, a. Introduce Ada, crying in art class, b. Sad to be reminded of her father's cancer, c. Returns home alone (her mother is at work) to help care for her ailing dog."

summary: Free write about sadness. Seek inspiration. Learn how to begin a story. Outline your story.


Summarize the following:
If you find yourself pining to look at your ex’s social media sites, pull out a sheet of paper and write down a list of reasons why your relationship didn't work. This can keep you from jumping to conclusions and missing a bad relationship. Relationships can be intense and a partner can be a significant part of your life. It’s natural in relationships to mention your partner and you may be tempted to do this even after you’ve broken up. However, this can remind you of the person and make you want to find out what he or she is doing. Consciously not talking about your ex can distract you from thinking about the person.  Remember that it’s normal to mention an ex—especially if it is about a good time—sometimes. Avoiding any mention about the person with friends may feel awkward for everyone involved. If you need to bring up your ex as a way to process your feelings, do so but avoid making it a regular habit. Ask your friends to avoid mentioning your ex around you. This may remind you of your ex and could make you want to find out further details on social media. There may be situations, especially with mutual friends, where your ex’s name is mentioned or even discussed. If this happens, step away from conversation until there is a new topic. You may not be feeling great after a breakup. But this can be a great opportunity to lean on and reconnect with family and friends. They can help distract your and provide support if you need it—even to take your devices away so that you can’t stalk your ex. Be open with your support system about your feelings. You can even let friends and family know that you’ve been following your ex on social media. They can offer you a open ear and advice, or remind you that talking about your ex is hurting you. In addition, your support system can do activities with you to distract you from your feelings and social media. It can take a lot of time to get over a relationship. But concentrating on yourself can help distract you from your ex. Do stuff that you couldn’t do with your ex, which can help you realize that you don’t care what he or she is doing or have feelings for the person.  Do things like getting a massage or attending a yoga class, both of which can help you focus on you and relax. Spend time reading books that you didn’t get a chance to do with your ex. Try new activities that your ex doesn’t do. This can distract you from checking social media and reinforcing bad feelings. For example, you may have wanted to learn how to cook but your ex hated the idea. Taking a class and mastering different dishes can take up a lot of time that you may have otherwise been stalking your ex on social media. Give yourself a chance to distract yourself from your ex and any mutual friends by meeting new people. In fact, you may even have a better time with new friends and acquaintances and entirely forget about stalking your ex on social media.  Meet new people at new activities or by joining a group of something in which you’re interested. For example, join a running club or go to a different happy hour in a new place. Group activities are a great chance to meet new people and divert your mind from your ex. Flirt with new people you meet. You might not be ready to date, but a little harmless flirting can boost your self-confidence and distract you from your ex.
summary: Remember why you broke up. Avoid mentioning your ex. Lean on your support system. Enjoy your “me” time. Get to know new people.