Plot, character, dialogue, atmosphere, style and title

Plot is the cause-and-effect map behind the events: 'The King died. The Queen died' is a story; 'The King died and therefore the Queen died of grief' is a plot. Keep direction and momentum; do not wander.

Structure comes from trusting imagination and choosing a point of view; Vanka could have been caught, rescued or beaten — Chekhov's choice made his plight universal. The story's energy centre is the moment he writes 'The Village, full stop'.

Character: store pictures of people (faces, gait, voices); the protagonist is the central character, the narrator tells the story. Chekhov shows the grandfather mainly through what he keeps doing. Dialogue must be true to the speaker, avoid clichés, and follow natural pauses (Galsworthy's shoemaker; the last lines of 'The Necklace').

Atmosphere fixes place and time through telling details, phrases, a period reference and local nuance — as in Neelam Saran Gaur's 'Grey Pigeon' (milk at a paisa a seer). Style: deeply felt stories find their own; 'less is more' (Ruskin Bond's wet fifty-rupee note).

Theme is the meaning, never preached: 'Idgah' mingles fun and compassion. Indian writers adapt English (Raja Rao) or keep it plain (R.K. Narayan's ironic 'Lawley Road'). A title should catch attention and link to the central idea ('Vanka', 'The Necklace').