Begin at the bottom of the ladder of abstraction, at the level of bloody knives and rosary beads, of wedding rings and baseball cards. Then ascend to the top to summarize and analyze, discovering meaning in the world's random details. Reveal telling character traits and the glories of human speech. Avoid adjectives when describing people. Read the story aloud to hear if it sounds like you.
Structure Take advantage of narrative opportunities.
You want to writestories, not articles. Think of action, conflict, motivation, setting, chronology, and dialogue. Place gold coins along the path. Don't load all your best stuff high in the story. Space special effects throughout the story, encouraging readers to find them and be delighted by them.