3 Short Stories to Instantly Make You A Better Writer

[@t3amtomahawk]

Thanks for this one! I cannot agree enough with the Discord as a resource.

[@t3amtomahawk]

My recommended short story "I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream". The story behind it is Harlan Ellison writing in one go and only editing down after being told it was too graphic. Even now, it is one of the most terrifying tales and antagonists I've ever encountered

[@ether-real]

Yeah the discord is great! Really wholesome community

[@barberousse1149]

thanks! I should write short stories instead of struggling to write a crappy novel. Then maybe spin off from all this.

[@binky777]

Thanks. Good video😊

[@jinchoung]

hmmm. it's interesting that the yellow wallpaper doesn't seem to do what it's supposed to do... at least for me. i read the short story first and then looked up her wikipedia page. and evidently, she wrote it as a statement against the kind of treatment the story is depicting. and i guess on retrospect, i can kind of see it in that light. but just reading it blind without any background information, it comes across to me as a "descent into madness" kind of story ala edgar allen poe... or even an outright supernatural kind of tale ala hp lovecraft. and most definitely as a story with an unreliable narrator that made me suspect her sanity just as much (if not more) than the possible malice of the people around her. as a complete stand-alone story without an explanation or pre-amble, i don't think it works well as a "social issues" story AT ALL. i would expect to find this work in a horror magazine sooner than in something like the new yorker feminist issue or what have you. kind of like the genre getting in the way of the message - if that message was the intent (and since the wikipedia page says she sent the story to the doctor who invented the therapy, i suppose she did). oh but you do make a mistake about exercise. that is actually a part of her introductory regimen, along with "taking in the air" and walks in the garden. she isn't locked up. which is interesting again in that it is at odds with the treatment as described in the wikipedia article and would be at odds with the statement she wanted to make. along with being able to receive visitors like her (his?) mother, it again undermines the sense that there is malicious intent, even if unintentional. the story reads fine as just straight horror but if you try to take into consideration what she evidently intended, it's a weird-ass story.

[@vCoralSandsv]

I really enjoyed "Africa Kills Her Sun" by Ken Saro-Wiwa is a letter of a man to his former lover. He is a man who has done wrong, but he is also in a corrupt place and wants to unburden his soul before being unalived as is his punishment. I found his thoughts and musings so interesting and it was a great short read.

[@roseanneveillette2714]

Love your personality! Thank you for linking those stories for us to find.

[@TheMightyPika]

20th century shorties - 1. The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst scarred me in childhood 2. Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Bonnegut was the first time I stopped breathing while reading 3. I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlen Ellison - I mean, does it need an introduction? 4. The Box by Bruce Coville is the most beautiful fairy tales for adults ever written 5. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams was considered by David Foster Wallace to be one of the greatest works of English literature

[@GilmarGirl]

Hello from the discord! :)

[@ether-real]

Thank you! I love watching your videos while I draw ❤

[@PsychOnlineAldrian]

I know that it's too late, but "Last Night" by James Salter. A modern classic with a gut punch of an ending.

[@Writing-Theory]

I’ll have to check it out!!

[@BooksForever]

Leaf by Niggle is definitely pronounced to rhyme with wiggle. Tolkien had confessed his own tendency to niggle around (fuss about) the edges on seemingly minute details… like focusing upon one leaf of a tree in forest within an entire landscape…

[@MillenniumStoryteller]

How to Tell a True War Story by Tim O'Brien is one of the best short stories put to page imo

[@august8679]

Wow, I've never really been one to write short stories, but I think I'm going to try it out

[@MusicProducer808]

Discord invite expired?

[@Writing-Theory]

Just updated it!

[@jemajoy8839]

Yep, middle is the best part!

[@sherrihollister5588]

The Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill

[@r.e.holding]

Sooooo ... didn't realize I wasn't subscribed.... derp. I like to write short stories when I'm stuck on my main story. Someday I'll compile them all and it will be a trippy descent into madness!