"I think it's a short story writer's duty, as well as writing well about emotions and characters, to write story"

Eric Brown’s observation presents a nuanced understanding of what makes great short fiction. Many aspiring and even seasoned writers often focus on crafting evocative characterizations or exploring a broad range of emotions within their narratives. While these elements are undoubtedly significant to any engaging story, Brown highlights an equally crucial, yet sometimes neglected, aspect: the imperative to actually tell a story. The short story form, by its nature, offers less space than novels to meander or indulge in lengthy introspection or mood pieces alone.

Readers of short stories enter expecting to be taken on a journey, even if brief, a journey propelled by something happening, some movement not just of emotion but of events, decisions, or realizations. Brown’s emphasis is a reminder that the short story writer’s artistry is not just in sensibility and sentence craft but in their ability to shape and deliver a complete narrative experience within a compressed form. This can often mean wielding economy; choosing the efficient but evocative detail, building tension quickly, and using each paragraph to move the story closer to an impactful end.

The characters in a short story should feel real, and the emotional undercurrents powerful, but for those elements to resonate most deeply, they must exist within a framework of narrative action. The story itself is the thing that lingers with the reader, a revelation, a surprise, a catharsis or a moment of meaning. A story without plot may leave readers with a mood, but not the marrow-deep satisfaction which comes from witnessing a tale unfold. Brown’s insight serves as a call to writers: richly draw your characters and their inner lives, but do not forget to set them in motion and deliver a story that commands attention and delivers its payload in full.