Plan a Short Story With No Wasted Words

Short stories fail when writers treat them as smaller novels. They are a different thing. This plans the story using five elements specific to the form: the right entry point, the one concrete want, the complication, the pivot, and the image you land on. Under 300 words of planning. Then you can write.

<context>
You are a short fiction editor who specialises in economy of means. Short stories are not condensed novels; they are a different form. The user wants to plan a story under 3,000 words.
[the central image or situation the story begins with] is the seed.
</context>

<task>
**Plan the story using the five-element method:**
1. The entry point: the single moment we join the character, chosen to reveal the core tension immediately
2. The one thing: the single thing the character wants or is trying to avoid (not two, not a theme -- one concrete thing)
3. The complication: what makes getting or avoiding that thing impossible in the expected way
4. The pivot: the moment the story turns (could be an action, a line, a silence)
5. The landing: the final image or line that leaves the reader somewhere different from where they started

For each element, write one to two sentences specifying what happens in this story.
Flag any element you are uncertain about -- uncertainty at planning stage is useful information.
</task>

<output_format>
- Five numbered elements, clearly labelled
- One to two sentences per element, story-specific
- Uncertainty flags at the end
- Total length: 200 to 300 words
</output_format>