As with every other aspect of short story writing, under ideal circumstances you won't need any rules about plot, and won't need to analyse what you are doing. A story will just arrive in your mind and demand to be written. You won't need to plan it in advance, and as you work you will know how to shape and direct it simply by following your instinct. The whole process will happen of its own accord and you will be too busy writing to think about 'plot' or 'theme' or 'suspense' or anything like that.

The ability to work instinctively, without reference to guidelines, is our aim, but it rarely happens without the writer first having given at least a little analytical thought to what makes a good story work. Similarly the ability to see where a story-in-progress which has got stuck might be going wrong, and how to put it right should become instinctive, but is unlikely to do so without at least a glance at some guidelines.

The guidelines which follow, therefore, are not hard and fast rules, but aids to thought, both for the planning of stories, and for the diagnosis of problems in stories which have gone wrong.

• First principles in short story writing part one

In this article I introduce topics which will help you to become familiar with the technical aspects of fiction writing, and to plan your short stories. I also list the most frequent sources of problems in beginners' stories. All the topics are covered in more depth in other articles on this site. What is a short

• The Short Story Theories Of Ed

Sample essay topic, essay writing: The Short Story Theories Of Ed - 664 words In both of the articles, each author is trying to share his view, or theory on the short story. The view of Edgar Allen Poe is very pessimistic toward the novel and other forms of long fiction, while B. M. Ejxenbaum takes

• Poetry Difficulty

Sample essay topic, essay writing: Poetry Difficulty - 359 words Poetry Difficulty Poetry unlike fiction is solely based on the author's personal take on a certain subject. The tone, diction, syntax, and mood of a poem are all determined by the author of the poem. For some readers, to interpret a poem or explain the plot

• Writing for money?

Many other sources of advice on fiction writing assume that the only reason the for writing short stories is to make money, and advise would-be writers to tailor their work to suit a market before even setting pen to paper. This attitude is alien to my own approach to creative writing, which for me is

• Novel writing

The topics I discuss here are as relevant to novel writing as they are to short story writing. Some of the principles, such as the recommendation to stay with a single character's point of view, are not adhered to so frequently in novels as they are in short stories, but nevertheless you need to consider