r clears his head of any notion
that the verbal coherence of the dramatic short story involves some
indefinable unity in its matter or story-idea, or some equally
indefinable singleness of effect, the better for him, his work and
pocketbook.[Q]

There would be no great profit in summarizing here the items of
technique treated in other chapters. All are of use in the short story,
functioning as in other forms of prose fiction. Apart from the matter of
characterization, the peculiar technique of the short story is
constructive and supervisory, rather than executive. The writer must
make certain that he has one story and nothing else, for only one story
can be adequately developed within brief limits. In writing, he must
take care to transcribe only story-matter, for the same reason. But in
narrating an event, or in describing a setting, after he has determined
that event and setting are essential to his single story, the writer may
employ the technique of general narrative or descriptive writing.
Whatever the form of fiction, its aim is the same, to show real men and
women doing in a real world the things one might expect from their
natures and the circumstances of their lives.

In the chapter on story types something was said as to the current
insistence upon the verbal compression of the short story. As stated
there, the short story, dramatic or atmospheric, is not the result of
mere rhetorical compression, rather of the inherent brevity of the
conception. The executive technique of long story and short are
identical, except as to the single matter of characterization. The short
story develops its fewer episodes with as much rhetorical elaboration as
the novel develops its many, and the writer who conceives that a short
story can be produced by verbal paring and filing is on the highroad to
failure.

FOOTNOTES:

[Q] The root cause of all the unintelligent discussion of the short
story's unity in books on technique is failure to distinguish between
form and content. The mere fact that no word without relation to the
story-idea can be transcribed does not mean that the story-idea--complex
of people, events, and settings--is a unity. The short story is a unit
in that it is one story, rather than two or ten, but--it is not
impertinent to ask--what of it? A single story may involve great
diversity and complication of elements. And it is what is known as a
short story if it can be presented adequately within some few t