A week or so ago I posted 10 things that make me reject a short story as a slush reader.

I had to think harder for this one but here are 10 things that will likely make me RECOMMEND a story.

I’m not saying I’m looking for ALL of these things, but the more the better (thread)

1/ High concept premise. A creative take on something or something I’ve never seen

2/ Very competent prose, whether it’s masterfully efficient or hauntingly poetic (but not overly flowery or apparent the author is trying too hard)

3/ Punchy dialogue/ no rambling

4/ Efficiently but solidly drawn characters. A good idea of a character’s personality with a few key moments

5/ Exposition that is skillfully blended into the story, usually through dialogue or character introspection rather than dumped into large paragraphs of information

6/ Characters I enjoy reading about, whether they are exceptionally competent, sympathetic or relatable

7/ Speculative element is readily apparent (a story being set in a vaguely medieval or post apocalyptic setting with no explanation why doesn’t make it speculative to me)

8/ Expert pacing. No lagging middle. Something compelling in every paragraph

9/ A satisfying ending, one that drives home the purpose of the story—encapsulating the theme, message or thought experiment evident in the story—and punctuates the narrative, making it feel complete

10/ Purpose. Something that indicates to me that this story is “art”. It’s interrogating something, saying something, reflecting the world back to me in a significant way. It’s more than a premise. To me a premise is not a story, it’s the means by which to convey the story