Here are a few techniques and considerations useful for fiction writing. Many of these can also be used in nonfiction academic writing. However, academic writing tends to have stricter rules about proper expression. Because fiction writing is more flexible in nature, it's a good place to learn about and try new styles and techniques.
When you're struggling to get started with fiction writing, read more short stories. Look for authors who have nice writing styles. Learn about some common tropes. Examine some ways of playing with perspective or time. Along with reading, brainstorming is a great tool. When you're making a choice about where the plot should go next, try to think of several ideas. Although you might only use one idea in the particular story you're writing at this exact moment, keep the others in the back your mind, and you can use some of them in the future.
If you're just getting started with fiction writing, you might enjoy microfiction.
Alliteration – repeated leading letters leads readers to look at it
Dialogue – formatting guidelines for speech and thought
Pace – find ways to play with time that keep the reader interested
Parallelism – repeated grammatical patterns can be artistic and engaging
Point of View – the narration perspective
Tense – most stories are in past or present tense
Theme – what you say when someone asks what your story is about
One tactic for writing fiction is to write nonfiction. If you experienced something yourself, or you were there and saw it happen, take advantage of your memory. When you're writing, reuse that scene from your life. Change the characters and some details, but leave many of the original aspects just as they were. Your description of the scene will sound real because it is.
A related tactic is to use actual facts about the world from the past or present. If the main character goes to a restaurant in Paris, for example, why not find a real Parisian restaurant's website? You can see what decor looks like, find out what's on the menu, and even mention the nearest subway station.
Here are some famous short stories that might be of interest. There are countless short stories you might want to read, depending on your interests. These were selected because they're famous, very short, are great examples of writing techniques or styles. They're also in the Public Domain.
Kate Chopin – The Blind Man (1897)
Kate Chopin – The Story of an Hour (1894)
Roald Dahl – Lamb to the Slaughter (1953)
Philip K. Dick – The Eyes Have It (1953)
Charlotte Perkins Gilman – An Extinct Angel (1891)
Ernest Hemingway – Hills Like White Elephants (1927)
Ernest Hemingway – Soldier’s Home (1925)
O. Henry – A Strange Story (1881)
O. Henry – After Twenty Years (1906)
O. Henry – The Gift of the Magi (1905)
O. Henry – The Last Leaf (1907)
Leo Tolstoy – How Much Land Does a Man Need? (1886)
Kurt Vonnegut – 2BR02B (1962)
Here are some other notable short stories.
Ray Bradbury – All Summer in a Day (1954)
Ernest Hemingway – Old Man at the Bridge (1938)
Ursula K. Le Guin – The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas (1973)
Paul Milenski – Tickits (1985)