She said that sometimes she uses a formula when writing a short story, which goes ABDCE, for Action, Background, Development, Climax, and Ending. You begin with action that is compelling enough to draw us in, make us want to know more. Background is where you let us see and know who these people are, how they’ve come to be together, what was going

When the reader finds that something on the page creates a vivid image in his mind, arouses an emotion or gives him a stab of insight, he ought to enjoy the moment—and then stop, back up and try to puzzle out how the writer did that to him.