The reason is simple: there are no rules to a good short story. Formula writing is non-creative by definition, like painting by the numbers. Creative writing is not verbal brick-laying and cannot be learned like a trade. It is an art and not a science. The so-called rules of a good short story are inferred after the fact by literary scholars. They are artificial logic maps imposed on the largely-unconscious creative process, but the map is not the territory. The actual territory consists of dreams, fantasies, memories, hallucinations, hopes, fears, phobias, compulsions and other aspects of the inner life not governed by logic. No writer worth his salt ever thought about rules when he was composing a short story. The experience is more like a trance than an act of consciousness.
Paul Theroux has a useful suggestion: write a story like it has never been written before. The only way to do this is to rely on the uniqueness of your own perspective and life experiences. Psychologically speaking, each person lives in a different world. To write an interesting short story requires a temporary suspension of ordinary consciousness to tap into that world for inspiration.
However, only practice makes perfect. For one thing rewriting is an absolute necessity because no writer ever gets it right the first time. This is a deeply unpleasant part of writing -- the 90% perspiration to go with the 10% inspiration.
The other half of the unpleasantness is the fact that you will write some bad stories before you ever learn how to write a good one. This can't be avoided any more than rewriting. Think of it as paying your dues as a writer. Do your best on each story, but move on to the next one if you hit a wall. Too many new writers get discouraged and quit writing because they were unable to turn a bad idea into a good story.
The art of the short story is really the art of getting in touch with bits of your inner self and learning how to share that experience with readers.
William Starr Moake has written more than 50 short stories. Most have been published by various magazines and in his paperback collection "Time Is But A Stream." He is also the author of two novels.
The reason is simple: there are no rules to a good short story. Formula writing is non-creative by definition, like painting by the numbers. Creative writing is not verbal brick-laying and cannot be learned like a trade. It is an art and not a science. The so-called rules of a good short story are inferred after the fact by literary scholars. They are artificial logic maps imposed on the largely-unconscious creative process, but the map is not the territory. The actual territory consists of dreams, fantasies, memories, hallucinations, hopes, fears, phobias, compulsions and other aspects of the inner life not governed by logic. No writer worth his salt ever thought about rules when he was composing a short story. The experience is more like a trance than an act of consciousness.