Be specific and concrete. A story may lead to an abstract kind of conclusion—like “I learned to always give people a second chance”—but how you got there must be spelled out and feel real.

Fiction writers take trouble to use colorful language and uncommon words. Graphic language is evocative—see V. L. Brunskill’s View From the Field—but simple, unassuming language can work wonders: short everyday words, simple sentences, a natural flow.