CW-Stories

So, here's a metaphor that our teacher's been using during class.
In a story, you have a person on one side of a river. The river is dangerous, with currents, undertow, crocodiles, ex. And there's something on the other side of that river that s/he wants to get to.
That's what a story is. A character has a motivation, and he needs to overcome obstacles to reach for it (and maybe he doesn't get it).
The place where the character's motivation and the obstacle clash is the climax.

Here's some hints for the short story (less than 10 pages, double spaced, which is our next assignment).
For a short story, you need a narrow focus. It can't be too complex.
It should cover a short amount of time.
The motivation is only one thing (you can show through action, dialogue, memory, ex).
In a short story, the climax doesn't have to be big.