How do you Write a Short Story?

In the past couple of months I have recently joined a group of fellow Indie Authors in an awesome venture... into the land of short stories.
Some of these authors have been writing for years... some are newbies... and then there are some like me who have been around a little while, but have yet to ever write a short story for publication.
A proposal was pitched a few weeks ago for 25 of us to write individual short stories with the theme of 'Relationships,' and they will be compiled into an anthology. All royalties from the sales of said anthology will be given directly to MacMillan Cancer Society Charity.
I thought, "Sweet! I definitely want to do this! Sign me up! Woo hoo!"
It was then a few days later that I realized... "Katie, you have never written a short story... you might want to find out what that officially IS and the requirements."
So I did.

3500 words...
3500 WORDS?! That is impossible! No way! The shortest snippet I had ever written was 14,000 Words and it wasn't even finished yet! How do you write a story in only 3500 WORDS?!
I sort of began to freak out and think... "Okay, this is for the people who have written SO LONG that they can just whip it up in five minutes and it be perfect."
Right?!
Well, I decided to sit down and think. Go figure... What would I write about? The theme is relationships... no stipulations... it could be any type of relationship, any aspect of a relationship... okay, okay, okay... hmmm... what is a type of relationship that would be a fun, quick read packed with lots of descriptive details and leave the reader smiling... because that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to show the fun side of relationships... not the heart wrenching or the sexy-time side... but the fun side. The side of relationships that doesn't always have to be serious. The dating side. The whole, "Hey, he's cute. I'll go talk to him." Side.
So it hit me.
Speed Dating.
Yep.
Speed Dating.

I had it. Could be fun, right?
So I went for it. I sat down and began typing up a fun story about the trials and errors of speed dating from the perspective of a man and a woman. I've actually had a lot of fun writing it.
I am not finished. I have reached that dreaded half-way marker... the one where I inwardly freak out that I'm not going to be able to finish it in less than 3500 words... but at the same time, it is right where it needs to be, so there is no reason for me to freak out at all... but it's coming together nicely. I even had a friend, Yvette, read what I had written so far, just to make sure it was as cute and fun as I thought it was... because you can never be too sure you are as funny as you think you are...
And she liked it. BOOM!
So now, I am Katharine E. Hamilton.. .Children's Author. Fantasy Fiction Author. AND Short Story Extraordinaire!
(Maybe not extraordinaire...yet)
BUT you get the picture. :)

The ETA for the Anthology is December... Just in time for Christmas.
It's going to be cool, folks.
25 Authors. Different genres. Different personalities. Different aspects of 'Relationships'.
I'm so excited about it, and I cannot wait to read all the stories.... So I will keep you posted, so you can check it out.
Mine will be the story snuggled in the middle with 3501 words. ;)