HOW TO WRITE THE TWISTED STUFF

A bunch of posts in and I haven't said diddly on the most basic question many a writer would have about short stories:  How do you write them?

There are plenty of techniques a writer can use to generate a short story.  But frankly, anyone can write a short story if he/she puts in enough time.  Odds are we all had to do a short story at least once in our lives (English class, most likely).  And if you do enough of them, with the aim of honing your chops, you'll be top-notch someday.  It's like cooking, dancing, or speaking your native tongue: you only learn by doing.

Some basic parameters for writing short stories:
1. Keep it within 1,000 - 3,000 words (a good middle range for a story). 
2. When you write that very first draft, don't worry about it being perfect.  Just knock it down and polish it up later.
3. It's easier to write in the past tense than the present tense.  Whichever tense you pick, stick with it.
4. Keep your plot different and unpredictable from other stuff.  Your reader shouldn't see your story's entire plot coming a mile away.
5. Balance your details.  Tell enough for the reader to understand/enjoy the story (scenery, descriptions, etc.).  But don't bog the tale down with tons of useless details either.
6. Good dialogue enhances a story, especially if it's something memorable (silly, odd, etc.).  Don't believe me?  Think of your favorite movies and you'll probably remember cool lines from it. 
7. Realism matters (even when doing sci-fi or fantasy).  When you're done with that first draft of story, look for - and weed out - anything that doesn't make sense.  If you're writing a western, where the cowboy whips out a six-shooter and fires fifteen times (without reloading), that's a reality gap.
8. Conflicts are key.  Without it, it's hard to keep a story from becoming just a bunch of (probably) boring events written in prose.  Whether the conflict's violent or a subtle test of wills, think your conflict through before you write it down.  Good conflicts aren't necesarily run-of-the-mill.  Shoot for a dilemma that's not so easy to solve/avoid.
9. Don't be afraid to show your characters' flaws.  If the hero' an alcoholic womanizer with a heavy fear of heights, so be it.  Such imperfections can be played beautifully.
10. Make up a bit of back story for the main characters.  Know (at the vey least) their past, what motivates them.  Armed with that info, you can direct their actions a lot more easily.  I wrote a story about a husband killing his wife and how he almost got away with it.  A fried of mine looked it over and asked "why'd he kill her"?  I didn't put it in or even think it over ("duh" on me).
11.  Make sure the ending has some kick to it.  A snappy line.  A dramatic exit.  Or, at the very least, make the ending a logical place to stop.