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| Introduction | |
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| The Short Story, as against the Novel and the Sketch | |
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| Character and Action | |
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| Fixed Action, as against Moving Action | |
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| As the Story Begins and Ends | |
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| Loss of the Last Chance to Change | |
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| Recognizing the Crucial | |
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| Naming the Moment | |
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| "Epiphany" as a Literary Term | |
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| The Inevitability of Retrospect | |
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| Enhancing the Interaction of Character and Plot | |
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| Techniques of Foreshadowing | |
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| Foreshadowing and Suspense | |
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| Techniques of Suspense | |
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| Mystery and Curiosity | |
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| Conflict and Uncertainty | |
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| Tension and Anticipation | |
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| "Agreement" in Character and Action | |
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| Movement of Character | |
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| The Character Shift, as against Movement of Character | |
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| Slick Fiction, as against Quality Fiction | |
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| Moving Characters, as against Fixed Characters | |
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| The Series Regulars, as against the Guest Stars | |
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| Types of Character | |
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| Types as Exceptions | |
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| Type Characters, as against Stock Characters | |
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| The Dichotomous Stereotype | |
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| Differentiating from Types | |
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| Knowing a Character | |
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| Motivation | |
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| The Stress Situation | |
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| The Importance and Unimportance of Plot | |
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| Plot in a Short Story, as against Plot in a Novel | |
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| Selection in Plot | |
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| Scenes | |
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| Plot Structure | |
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| Beginning | |
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| Middle | |
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| Ending | |
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| Sequence and Causality | |
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| The Frame, as against the Flashback | |
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| Pattern in Plot | |
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| Choice as Technique | |
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| Point-of-View Methods | |
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| Limitations and Advantages in Point of View | |
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| When Point of View is "Wrong" | |
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| The "Question" of Point of View | |
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| Point of View and "Involvement" | |
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| The "Moved" Character and Point of View | |
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| The Focusing Power of Point of View | |
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| Monologues, and the Pathological First Person | |
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| Irony and Point of View | |
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| Setting | |
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| Style | |
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| Theme | |
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| The Short Story and the New Criticism | |
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| The American Short Story "Today" | |
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| Afterword: Writing in General | |