Hi @becca-mac. That's great that you follow your muse, as they say! I agree, there are many forms for fiction.

What I have found in my many years of being involved in fiction communities, and writing many many stories, as well as getting a master's degree in creative writing, is that there are some key principles in fiction writing. This is what we teach and encourage in our community, to help our community members develop and improve their skills.

Briefly, there must be some combination of dramatic elements, a conflict, a setting, characters, interaction between characters, a story arc and a resolution to the story's conflict. Without at least a few of these important fiction elements, what you have is an essay, not fiction. (Bear with me! I'm trying to find a way to share this with you to help you, not to lecture you!)

As admins in The Ink Well, we look for those elements, and curate stories based on them. The best stories include most of those elements. Stories that don't include the important dramatic elements of fiction are presumed to be essays, and are not curated.

All that said, we are here to help you on your writing journey! Everyone starts somewhere. I encourage you to read our articles in the catalog of fiction writing tips. You’ll find some great education there!

Thanks for conversing on this.