My short story Desolate 4869 won a Silver Honorable Mention in the Writers of the Future contest. Great! Now let's tear it down and examine what could have morphed it into a First Place winner. Download it and read along with me.

Words are like an Alcubierre drive, warping the fabric of the spacetime of mind, allowing us to perform the impossible: perform telepathy.

Short story structures are delicate things and can get out of hand quickly. But if you stand it up on these four pillars, short stories can be robust and not easily toppled.