In responding to a question about his usual conception of a short story, Ernest Hemingway implied that no system consistently works for him. "Sometimes you know the story," he said. "Sometimes you make it up as you go along and have no idea how it will come out." Hemingway's conclusion to this point is of special importance to beginning writers: "Everything changes as it moves."
While the changes in a story a writer is composing may be palpable, they are not always. This inevitable encounter with the constant state of flux inherent in settings, characters, plots, and even premises in story-writing demands patience with the process as well as flexibility with preconceived notions about narrative lines and dramatic outcomes.
While the changes in a story a writer is composing may be palpable, they are not always. This inevitable encounter with the constant state of flux inherent in settings, characters, plots, and even premises in story-writing demands patience with the process as well as flexibility with preconceived notions about narrative lines and dramatic outcomes.
