short stories 1

who are the characters?

what is the main plot?

what is the form?

these are 3 questions i do not have the answer to. today, I discovered that i'm terrified of writing a short story. perhaps i'm going to regret yesterday's commitment. perhaps i already am regretting it.

however I have read a few shorts stories today and tried to figure out what it's all about. some thoughts:

• good short stories are surprisingly similar to good poems. i'm not sure how.
• the most compelling stories are probably grounded in real world experience - write what you know? it's harder for me to imagine a scenario that is very alien from my daily life than one grounded in my experience. good short stories contain random details and descriptions that immerse you in another world.
• somewhat relatedly, the most compelling characters and dialogue is also probably grounded in your experience
• in order to be a good writer, you need to be good at noticing. describe the mundane with new eyes
• because they are so short, a lot of short stories tend to begin in media res, what is going on in the story only unfolding as the story progresses