When I thought my story was good…

There is a danger, when writing shorter fiction stories, that you get careless. Sometimes write things you regret later. This danger disappears from novels and longer stories because you are afforded more time and space and often think long and hard during and before writing.

My cheatsheet tip is to be 100% focused on the aspects of one concept only when writing 3-5, even 6-7 pagers. Also, don’t have more than 1 central / main character, and keep to just a few scenes / venues. These tips I learned from reading famous writers.

Just like in music, or dance, a satisfying story must have all the moves in the right sequence. Short stories are primarily regulated by emotions, even ones like awe, boredom or frustration. An experienced writer knows when emotions should change, stop or end. Bend your story around the dance and be tightly focused and you will produce a good work.