Short Story Skeleton

How are we expected to arrange the skeleton of a short story before we flesh it out?

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You're not. Write the first draft. Then, during revision, arrange it into the most effective "skeleton."

You seem to know a good amount about story structure. Here's what you should do: 1) Write a first draft; and, while doing so, don't worry too much about structure. 2) Set it aside for a while so that you can gain objectivity. You want to see your work from the same critical distance you'd see another writer's work. 3) Use your knowledge to shape the story into something effective.

Content dictates form. You won't know how to best structure your story until you write it and put it aside for a while.

You're overthinking it.

Also, fwiw, I think the first paragraph would be more interesting without the second sentence.

For me, I need to have an idea of where I'm going in a short. I typically write a draft of the first scene, then I write the last. Then I write the parts in between.

I agree. You are overthinking it. Just write the story. Worry about revisions later.

Also, your first sentence should probably give a name, rather than "he." And drop that last sentence. It gives away too much and takes away from the suspense.

You're making a number of basic assumptions. You say you read short stories, which is good, but maybe you'd benefit from reading a whole bunch more, and from a broader range than currently? Can't do you any harm. The more you read, the better the feel you get for how others have done things, though you're not constrained by what's gone before. I've read a great many shorts, and many of those didn't follow 'typical standards'. I think short stories are a great place for experimentation (depending on the market you're aiming for, of course: if your audience has expectations you usually ought to satisfy them).

The quote you provided doesn't appeal to me at all, but that's fine because it's just a tiny quote and I may not be in your target audience anyway.

Main point, as with everything, is to make it interesting. Start strong, finish strong, and don't let it sag in the middle.

Well, if you're concerned with the structuring of a short story, then perhaps Lester Dent's Master Plot Formula will be of interest to you. He was a prolific writer of pulp stories. While his formula may be a bit too, well, formulaic for some, it doesn't hurt to try and follow a pattern like this one when writing a story.

The first rule of short story writing is simple. The story must be about something, and this something must matter to the protagonist.

Start the story by putting an interesting character in an interesting situation, meaning in trouble. Then let him work his way out of trouble. Start with a problem that needs solved, a question that needs answered, or both.

This is the opening. The ending comes when the situation has been resolved, the problem solved, and/or the question answered.

The middle is everything the character has to go through, all the obstacles he must get past, in order to resolve the situation, solve the problem, and/or answer the question.

I don't flesh out, for that matter. I sit down, find a title I like, the title gives me story, and the opening gives me direction. I just write the story without thinking about anything except resolving the situation, solving the problem, and/or answering the question. A three thousand word short story generally takes me four or five hours to write from the time I sit down until the final draft is finished.

I write short stories fast because I don't think about fleshing anything out, and I don't worry about a skeleton. I just tell a story, and the opening I write determines exactly what that story will be. It's the opening that provides the entire story that follows.

I actually like that sentence as an opening, though I, too, would add a name. Your ending is less common, and won't be popular with many readers. As a reader, I love a mystery I have to solve, but at the end of the story I want to know whether I was right or wrong. If you leave me hanging, I probably won't read you again.

I like your beginning. I have no clue who 'he' is yet or what's going on exactly. Hopefully by reading on, I will discover that, and get involved in more issues, problems, predicaments, and so on.

As long as you resolve the main issue in your story, you can end your with an unanswered question or two - it makes your readers wander off thinking okay, but what about ...

I do this (sometimes) and my readers ain't complained yet.