Damon Knight on structure:

Structure is there to draw the reader into the story, keep them reading, and satisfy them at the end. “Whatever in a work of art is not used, is doing harm.” (C.S. Lewis.)

If tension falls to zero anywhere before the end, the story will probably fail.

Plot is one way of organising a story – not the only one. In the “lean-to” story, the structure leans against our expectations of how things work, for example.

Physical movement through different spaces is another structure, economical because it also provides setting and background at the same time.

A group of people anticipate an arrival, then there’s conflict, then a resolution. That’s a structure.

Beginners often have “tunnel vision” – they look down the story from the beginning, hoping to reach the end, but can’t see (or create) the structure until they look at the tunnel from the side.

To fix:

– Vivid image. If you started with one, look for one at the end. You may need one in the middle as well.

– What else is nearby?

– Who else is nearby? What’s their relationship with the main character?

– What happened before the story started that’s important to how it unfolds? Does the character have a secret?

– What does the story mean? Does the ending support that?

#shortfiction