5 Short Short Stories Every Writer Should Read

[@Notflix_TV_]

1 - Tolstoy - How Much Land Does a Man Need? 2 - James Joyce - The Dead 3 - Hemingway - Hills Like White Elepants 4 - Borges - Funes the Memorious 5 - David Foster Wallace - Incarnations of Burned Children But it will have changed by tomorrow.

[@creativewritingcorner]

Great list! I haven't read that Wallace piece, though. Thanks for the rec!

[@Pluralofvinylisvinyls]

In my opinion, Infinite Jest is DFW best short story.

[@GHOSTDOG637]

“The Garden of Forking Paths” by Jorge Luis Borges. The master short story writer par excellence. I return to this story constantly. I inherited my grandfather’s history of World War II by Liddell Hart as a child so it’s mention in the first lines has always resonated with me. Anything by Borges is to transport yourself to a place few others can. “When described in summary, there is a danger of reducing Borges to a collection of tropes: labyrinths, mirrors, invented books (he avoided “the madness of composing vast books” by pretending they exist and writing commentaries on them). But with these elements he explored some of the most thrilling ideas in fiction. Labyrinths and strange books are both present here, as is a theory of existence that anticipates the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. Extraordinarily, all these elements are enfolded within an account of a wartime espionage mission.” (Guardian)

[@creativewritingcorner]

Borges is excellent. I teach his "The Library of Babel" to my Lit class every year.

[@chadparsons50]

So, after seeing this comment, I just looked up and read "The Library of Babel" for the first time. That's 10 minutes I'll never see again.

[@barrymoore4470]

"Hills Like White Elephants" is not only a masterful story, and perhaps the quintessential example of Hemingway's short stories, but has a superb, evocative title as well.

[@creativewritingcorner]

Oh, for sure. Hemingway was good at that. "Big Two-Hearted River", "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place", "Cat in the Rain", "The Old Man at the Bridge". Each title brings both an image and a question to mind, and all but compels the reader to dive into the story. Meanwhile there's Ray Bradbury with titles like "The Table"...

[@barrymoore4470]

@@creativewritingcorner Bradbury's "There Will Come Soft Rains" is another wonderful example. The late avant-garde artist and filmmaker Jack Smith (1932-1989) once stated that he invested immense importance in a work's title--half of the artistic impact, he argued, lay in the title itself.

[@creativewritingcorner]

@barrymoore4470 He definitely has his winners, title-wise. "The Sound of Thunder" and "I Sing the Body Electric" (cribbed from Whitman) are also excellent draws. Then there's "The Pedestrian". 🤷‍♂️

[@barrymoore4470]

@@creativewritingcornerI just learned today on Wikipedia that the title of "There Will Come Soft Rains" was derived from poet Sara Teasdale! Still, you have to give Bradbury credit for a great eye for the evocative phrase. Incidentally, Yeats also inspired some quite memorable titles (e.g., McMurtry's 'Horseman, Pass By', McCarthy's 'No Country for Old Men').

[@creativewritingcorner]

@@barrymoore4470 Not to mention 'Things Fall Apart'! Yeats is the man.

[@DanishPR.Atheist]

I suggest Saki's The open window. The story holds suspense throughout and it ends with a humorous touch.

[@alidabaxter5849]

I love all Saki's short stories - they are so strange, so brilliant.

[@eronavbj]

I always thought this would have made great Twilight Zone episode.

[@Maintain_Decorum]

Saki is genius. Tobermory is a favorite.

[@JohnDoe-ze8wy]

Great picks, A few I like ...1. Albert Camus - The Guest, 2. Shirley Jackson - The Lottery, 3. Graham Greene - The Destructors , 4. Jack London - To Build a Fire,

[@raulsimon2218]

My (reader's) choice: "A retrieved reformation", by O. Henry; "The Gift of the Magi", by O. Henry; The Willow Walk", by Sinclair Lewis; "Young man Axelrod", by S. Lewis. In addition (not in English): "Peter and Rosa", by Isaak Dinesen.

[@robins.2749]

excellent picks

[@JonathanRobinson11]

The Lottery!

[@erichodge567]

I had never read anything by Jack London, but came across "To Build A Fire" in an anthology. Absolutely mind-blowing.

[@moonroxxit]

@@raulsimon2218 couldn’t get enough O’Henry.

[@BaldAndCurious]

Also. I just bought Bad Art... You weren't kidding when things are going to be weird! 😊 It's like enjoying my morning cereal, when a freight train crashed across the living room before I could even get a spoonful in my mouth.

[@BaldAndCurious]

@@Barklord Luke is the author. :) He has a link I'm the description. You'll be in for a rollercoaster ride I'm sure 😊

[@creativewritingcorner]

Thank you! I hope you enjoy it.

[@dankennedy8266]

Herman Melville's, Bartleby The Scribner, was considered the ultimate Short Story in a compendium of 200 American Short Stories. It ended with a breathtaking, other worldly insight into the dissonance created by an ocean of correspondence unopened that Bartleby was responsible to sort. A short story I always wanted to write was my sister's description of my Grandmother's long term professor friend named Mr. Murhab. Their shared, historic, 5 story Ann Arbor campus apartment building. had a chute for incinerating. One day my sister described a pile she saw next to the 9"x11" shovel/door from which the burnables slowly skidded, and bumped along the flue walls in their descent. They fought the updraft of the venting hot air, fed by the eternal flame 5 stories below. The stack was of his personal photos and awards from decades of teaching at the University of Michigan in the language department. He was a bachelor. My Grandmother had died recently. None of his age group was still alive. No one to cherish his belongings, except by me had I known. It still slams the breaks on my busy itinerary. How much could be gleaned from such a trove, now aborted?

[@tarico4436]

Brakes, but otherwise a superb comment. Also, somehow I think aborted can be improved. Now ash? Now dust? IDK. Anyway, great comment. I still remember Bartleby repeatedly resolutely refusing to scrib. "Nope," he said. "No more of that stuff for me." He said it so many times it would now undoubtedly be called a meme. BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER HIS EXACT WORD OR WORDS!!! It's like "I'll pass." Was it "I'd rather not"? After five minutes of hitting my head with a ball peen hammer I'm pretty sure it's "I'd prefer not to." Nope, that's not it!!

[@anonymike8280]

A good recommendation, but also longer than the terms of this exercise. Start working on your story. Set a limit of 4000 word and take your time.

[@nagendrakumarkolavennu8677]

"Old age, even if it blots the page, is honorable " From 'Bartleby the scrivener'.

[@beechnut8779]

Not just writers, but I think every American adult should read "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, written as warning about where we are most certainly headed.

[@gschear1]

I would add two: Ursula K LeGuin's The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas. Then, The Dead by James Joyce in the Dubliners collection. Both excellent in very different ways.

[@postmodernrecycler]

The Dead is regular Christmas reading for me. A fine example of what the short story can accomplish.

[@mangalapalliv]

I read Ursula K LeGuin's The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas to our reading group. Children enjoyed the subsequent discussion on what their choice would be, had they been the characters in the story...

[@gschear1]

It's such an intriguing story. I'm sure it captured the children's imagination.@@mangalapalliv

[@nl3064]

​@@postmodernrecyclerI've seen the John Huston movie adaptation of The Dead. There's that.

[@postmodernrecycler]

@@nl3064 That's a fantastic movie. Also it really evokes the book.

[@monk7139]

Car crash while hitchhiking - denis johnson. Modern masterpiece

[@MichaelWilson-oy9bi]

I would like to put in a shout out for Larry Niven for his short short stories set in The Draco Tavern. These are gems, some 1 to 3 pages. Great craft to put so much in such a small package.

[@bettyvick2850]

I love that Langston Hughes story about the woman refusing to have her purse snatched. One of my favorite short stories is Horsie by Dorothy Parker.

[@Iron-Bridge]

Kate Chopin's ' Story Of An Hour' is brilliant. Had to almost laugh out loud at that superb ending. 🤣

[@anthonyw2931]

10:36 😅😅😅 short stories are a good idea and not only giving what to read but showing how to do it and what to look for. Great teaching!

[@creativewritingcorner]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@sclogse1]

It may not be a short short story, but when something is only a hundred and eighty two pages, Carson McCullers' .Reflections In A Golden Eye comes to mind.

[@DrawtheCurtains]

McCullers was such a special author. Reflections is my favorite of her novels!

[@deegeraghty9426]

Thank you. I love short stories, so will read these with enthusiasm😊

[@SummerDream3r]

This is probably one of the best writing videos I've ever come across. I've already read 2 of the short stories recommended. Amazing how much skilled writers can do with a short amount of words. This would be a nice series. Would love to get more recommendations, as reading and learning from quality stories is key in writing well, like stories that setup atmosphere really well, mystery stories that leave clues really well so that the payoff ending is believable, and maybe stories to study contrast in styles, like Hemmingway's simple sentence structures and descriptions as opposed to Wilde or Lovecraft's flowery style of writing. But yeah, there's so many short stories out there, but for writers who are trying to learn the craft and do it well, learning from great short stories is key. Again, great video! :)

[@creativewritingcorner]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'll be doing another one like this very soon, so keep an eye out. 😁

[@SummerDream3r]

@@creativewritingcorner Awesome! :) By the way (off the subject) I've come across videos where writers talk about not using, or minimize using, state-of-being verbs (like was, seem, appear, smell, taste, feel) as they say it makes a story "weak" and yet, I see it everywhere: successful authors, classic stories, etc. And it's used a lot. Even the opening paragraph of Langston Hughes' short story, "Thank you, Ma'am." For a person learning the craft, this gets really confusing. It sounds like those "Show, don't tell" kind of writing advice that isn't clearly understood by new writers. Or is this just some stylistic preference for some writers? Would love to know your opinion about this! :)

[@creativewritingcorner]

@@SummerDream3r Like any ubiquitous piece of writing advice, this one does have its validity, but needs to be taken with a grain of salt (just like "don't use passive voice"). The problem isn't "using state-of-being verbs." Of course we use them. Our language would sound forced, stilted, or downright weird if we had to go out of our way to avoid every form of "to be" in every instance. The problem comes when (usually inexperienced) writers use state-of-being verbs in place of or in preference to active verbs - especially when an active verb would be more evocative and have more of the desired emotional impact on the reader. Too many non-active verbs with too few active verbs makes a whole passage sound passive, and makes it more likely to lose the reader's interest. The secret, as with all things, is finding the balance.

[@SummerDream3r]

@@creativewritingcorner Thanks for the reply! Really appreciate it! I see. Thanks for a clarifying this. Makes a lot of sense. This was similar to the "show, don't tell" catchphrase for me when I first started writing, which really stumped me for a while, as people made it sound as if it's a no-no to tell. But then I read a James Scott Bell craft book and he mentioned that showing scenes that have low emotion, low stakes can be handled with a bit of telling. Makes sense, too much showing can slow the pace down and make the book boring if what is shown isn't that important to the story. And too much telling would weaken the engaging or immersive use of language that important scenes in stories require. Agreed, balance is the secret. Thanks again for the insight! Cheers! :)

[@pamelachristie5570]

"A Cup of Tea" by Katherine Mansfield, is a masterpiece much greater than the sum of its parts.The 3 characters - Rosemary Fell, her husband Philip and a destitute young woman calling herself 'Miss Smith' don't say or do much, but with a few carefully chosen words, the author tells us everything we need to know about their characters, past lives and probable destinies. This is like reading three novels in the space of one short story. Another reading assignment I used to give my students was the collection and presentation of memorable first sentences. Of these, by all-time favorite is Ben Hecht's opening line in Count Bruga: "Count Hippolyt Bruga was neither a count, nor was his name Hippolyt Bruga."

[@mangalapalliv]

I love this story....... Truly one of the finest ever written

[@nl3064]

I loved At The Bay by Mansfield.

[@TheAprilanne]

English teacher to English teacher, I'd recommend "The Interlopers" and "The Chaser" as two short masterpieces.

[@creativewritingcorner]

I'll check 'em out. Thanks!

[@grumylynn]

I'm looking forward to reading all of them.

[@cathalmeenagh3898]

All if these are great. I haven't read the Mark Twain's 'Celebrated Jumping Frog' yet. I also like the ones in the comment section. 'The Necklace' by Guy DeMaupassant is excellent. Also Roald Dahl's 'Landlady' and 'Lamb to the Slaughter' are very enjoyable. Lastly, Bill Naughton's collection of short stories, 'The Goalkeeper's Revenge' are great stories especially teenage boys. Finally, William Trevor in my humble opinion, might be the best contemporary short story writer. His collections are very much worth checking out.

[@creativewritingcorner]

Oh man, 'Lamb to the Slaughter' is SO GOOD. A beautiful setup to a deliciously ironic payoff. I'll look up some Bill Naughton and William Trevor. Thanks!

[@helenlyons4887]

The Necklace is great I also enjoy William Trevor and Katherine Mansfield

[@mangalapalliv]

William Trevor - I think is one of the greatest.

[@marymccluer1630]

I'd like to add two short stories from Argentina to this repertoire: 1) "The Secret Miracle" by Jorge Luis Borges. This highly imaginative story, like all Borges stories, reads like a novel condensed into short story form. He packs a lot into a few pages. 2) "Graffiti" by Julio Cortazar. This three-page treasure explores how human connection can flourish even when words are censored, and public assembly is banned. Set in 1970s Buenos Aires under an oppressive military regime, a man engages in a dialog of abstract chalk forms with a stranger.

[@anameyoucantremember]

My grain of salt about those two maestros: My favorite Borges story is "La biblioteca de Babel" (The Library of Babel), the last phrase of the last paragraph on the foot note of that short story is the most mind blowing thing I have ever read. For me, Cortázar has way too many good short stories to choose only one, but some of my favorites are "Carta a una señorita en París" (Letter to a young lady in Paris), "La salud de los enfermos" (The health of the sick) and "Cuello de gatito negro" (Neck of black kitty). I think Cortázar was extremely good at writing about madness from the inside. You don't read about madness, you experience it through his words.

[@christineb8148]

I'm not saying the whole reason for my lifelong insomnia is my dad's readings of Poe at my bedtime, but it certainly didn't help. I always thought The Yellow Wallpaper was really haunting.

[@Serai3]

The definition of a "short short story" as far as I know is one that is at maximum two pages long. The best one I've ever read is Spencer Holst's "Brilliant Silence". An incredible amount of imagery, great characterization, and a wonderful flow with a stunning resolution, all in 1 and 3/4 pages. Amazing.

[@petelutz2967]

Thanks for these suggestions. I've read hundreds of short-stories in the past decade because I'm an audio dramatist and I enjoy adapting pulp-fiction stories for audio. I have adapted Poe's "A Cask of Amontillado", two by Vonnegut, two by Bradbury, and two by Robert E. Howard, among others. One in particular that was a real challenge to adapt was Robert Barbour Johnson's "Far Below", because it was entirely first-person narration -- not ideal fodder for audio drama listeners -- but I made a very exciting play out of it, IMO, by adding new characters who help tell the story. It does, however, work as a story-to-read, much in the same way Twain's "Jumping Frog" does. Anyway, after my shameless self-promotion, I recommend "Far Below". 😁

[@kauffrau6764]

Adapting pulp fiction for audio dramas, what is that? How can we find these?

[@geohaber]

My most-read short story author is Harlan Ellison.

[@creativewritingcorner]

He's in my top 5! Right up there with Poe and Bradbury.

[@GeoffV-k1h]

Graham Green's 'I Spy' told through the eyes of a child hiding in the darkness as a scene he cannot comprehend plays out in in front of him, is an excellent teaching aid. It is barely two pages long and forces to go back and find the clues as to why his father has been arrested and why.

[@bechamimi]

Great choices. I would add The Interlopers by Saki (love that ending), and The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield.

[@elizabethbrown6061]

Yes! the Garden Party

[@nl3064]

Good call on The Garden Party. Personally, my favorite was At The Bay.

[@joebikeguy6669]

For what it's worth . . . my favorite Hemingway short story is "My Old Man". On another note . . . Gogol wrote some very compelling, and humorous, short stories "The Inspector General" being one of my favorites. Anyway, enjoyed the video. Good luck with the channel. Regards.

[@anjou6497]

The Long Dry by Cynan Jones. I've never read such sensitivity to a man's surroundings expressed, light as air; yet heavy as a hammer blow in the darkest scenes. It's about struggle, multi-layered. Remains one of my best-loved books which i picked at random at the library. 🌱🌾

[@anjou6497]

Thank you, maybe you've read it already, but if not i hope you do. 🧡👍🍃🍂🌱

[@stretmediq]

Reading Poe to a kid for a bedtime story 😂

[@creativewritingcorner]

Father of the year, right?

[@jamiepaolinetti5087]

I'm a teacher as well, mostly young adults age 18-30. I did a very un-scientific survey of my student and found out they scroll through their phones an average of 5-6 hours a day in total. The survey was done with them filling out a questionnaire and submitting it blind so as not to bias the results too badly from shame. There were just over 100 respondents. I don't think "time" is the problem for those who don't want to read. Thank you for the great suggestions! I've only read one of them. Try Look At The Birdie if you like KV.

[@tarico4436]

Those teachers are doing it to us all righty. Weening us off of the steak of novels and onto the candy of dog and cat videos. Hehe. I know you can't help yourself. Have to spend 80+% of your teaching day going over stuff that will be on the yearly exams, exams that if too low of a percentage pass... then you don't.

[@CraigerAce]

"All The World’s A Stage" by Jeffrey Deaver. It's found in his short story collection, "Twisted." One of the very best I've read. Peace. Out.

[@oldpossum57]

To read King Lear in 4 pages, try Alan Paton’s The Waste Land. In class I often paired it with (I think) a lesser story, The Sniper, by Liam O’Flaherty. Alistair MacLoed, The Lost Salt Gift of Blood

[@goatuscrow4135]

Great video subject and picks. When I think short stories two pop to mind: O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and, “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” by Salinger.

[@rodsalvador3608]

"Testimony of Pilot" by Barry Hannah is one of the greatest things I have ever read

[@Fromard]

I would add; "I'm a Fool" by Sherwood Anderson. I'm not sure why but this story has stuck with me my entire life.

[@josephcoleman3635]

The Poe Book Cover is printed "Tale-Tell Heart"

[@creativewritingcorner]

@josephcoleman3635 Yep! My students pointed that out to me years ago, but I found it so funny that I, the English teacher, hadn't initially noticed the switch, that I committed to using that version in presentations from then on.

[@NikephorosAer54]

Anton Chekhov!! William Faulkner!! Rudyard Kipling! Graham Greene! POE!!! Guy de Maupassan! Cesare Pavese! George Luis Borges! A Greek friend, Demetrios.(of course all what you mention)

[@danakerjbam]

"Araby" James Joyce - perfect capture of first love, and therefore first shame "The Vane Sisters" Vladimir Nabokov - sweet and simple, until you realize what's going on in that last paragraph. "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" Raymond Carver - best dialogue that sounds realistic at first, and then seems like the purest poetry, then seems like both "Born of Man and Woman" Richard Matheson - the saddest scariest two pages you'll ever read "Half a Grapefruit" Alice Munro - the best still living. There's Tolstoy, Hemingway, and Munro. And she's probably the best even amongst them. Thanks for the list, have much to read this weekend.

[@creativewritingcorner]

Great list!

[@nklinef]

I'd recommend the short stories of Kurt Vonnegut, in particular "Harrison Bergeron" is in no minced words a masterpiece, and so sadly prescient to modern culture and technology.

[@creativewritingcorner]

Yep. I teach that one every year.

[@goatuscrow4135]

The only good Vonnegut is a read Vonnegut.

[@Saltpeanutss]

So everything that I read in freshman English 😂

[@alicet.164]

The Dead by James Joyce, and The Lady with the Dog by Anton Chekhov

[@David-jb5dv]

Thanks for this

[@creativewritingcorner]

You're welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@tommygr]

"The Wall" by Jean Paul Sartre and Hemingway's "The Killers" are great ones.

[@creativewritingcorner]

Excellent picks! I'll be teaching "The Wall" in my Existentialism in Literature and Film capstone course next year. I'll have to reread "The Killers." Can't wait!

[@timkjazz]

1) The Aleph - Jorge Luis Borges 2) The Fall of the House of Usher 3) Car Crash While Hitchhiking 4) Silence - Alice Munro 5) Cathedral - Raymond Carver

[@Susan-pi2gs]

I very much enjoyed your selection of stories. Thank you for your posting. I would like to recommend ‘Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned’ a collection stories by Wells Tower. I like them all but ‘Retreat’ made me laugh out loud, especially funny in a dark sense.

[@lottehoughton648]

Love this video and all the recommendations in the comments. I’ll throw in one of my favourites, ‘Miss Brill’ by Katherine Mansfield. A really masterful example of ‘show not tell’ rule that will break your heart.

[@fredfarmer5952]

Put, "Sony's Blues" on the list. That is one TIGHT story. He must have revised it 20 times or more.

[@andrewbrendan1579]

For great short stories I recommend Alice Munro and Louis Auchincloss and Joyce Carol Oates.

[@raystaar]

"Shredni Vashtar" by H.H. Munro (Saki). One of my all time favorite short stories.

[@joshuawilliams7734]

I think the short story The Outsider is also a story that helped me in terms of what a simple yet great twist is like, it was also the story I read where shortly after finishing it I went back and reread it just so I could see how Lovecraft was able to pull it off effectively it's truly one of his best in my opinion. I think it also partially inspired my own short story WeatherBeast which I wrote while I had a horrible case of the flu one year great selection 😊👍

[@MrUndersolo]

Not a bad list. I have a few my students have liked: The Veldt - Ray Bradbury The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World - Gabriel Garcia Marquez The Baker's Story - V. S. Naipaul Rape Fantasies - Margaret Atwood What Do You Have in Your Pockets? - Etgar Keret

[@DJS11811]

Thank you. Wish I could take the class.

[@donthomas3529]

Midnight Raid by Brady Udall is an excellent short story. Also Lucia Berlin & Edward P Jones are writers I read & reread

[@inapickle806]

Great suggestions in the video and comments. Id recommend Tim Obrien's The Things They Carried, and a brilliant poem (esoecially for teaching analysis) My Papa's Waltz by Theodore Roethke. Barbie-Q by Sandra Cisneros is a timely choice too.

[@BuJammy]

"Black Freckles" by Larry Levis.

[@urideemer4333]

Suggestions! OK, sure. The House of Asterion : J.L. Borges. / Then the little one by Mr. Kafka which I refer to as The Nomads from the North but is oft mentioned as A New Leaf or an Old Leaf from a manuscript or some such.

[@erichodge567]

I don't see how we can talk about great short stories without mentioning Hans Christian Andersen's, "The Little Match Girl". If you're not crying at the end, please check your pulse.

[@OceanRoadbyTonyBaker]

Excellent. Thank you

[@mickeyfinnegan7469]

I get out "Portrait of the artist as a young dog" every few years, visit another time and place.

[@ericfair-layman2429]

A piece of steak by Jack London The destroyers by Graham Greene But I'm excited to read all these. Thank you so much!

[@tomspoors768]

'The Destroyers' is just one of those incredible stories where you get to the end wondering, "Why?" "What was that for?" Where you get close to the end, feel uncomfortable about the clear denouement and still wonder, "Why?"

[@mangalapalliv]

A piece of steak by Jack London: You need to expend age to gain wisdom. But when you get wisdom you will have no age left to use it. I wept when I first read this story. I read it for both my sons and also to children in our story reading club

[@llywrch7116]

One author you did not mention, but whose short-short stories are worth studying is Kawabata Yasunari. These are available in the collection _Palm of the Hand Stories_. While the issue of translation & ignorance of the subtleties of Japanese culture do render some of these stories incomprehensible, even in English translation most do work, surprisingly well. I recommend starting with his "The Silver Fifty-Sen Pieces", although not the shortest (that honor would be bestowed perhaps on "Love Suicides", which is short enough to fit on the back of the dustcover) is one of the most accessible.

[@darklingeraeld-ridge7946]

‘Why We’re Here’ by John McGahern. The subtlest, most insidious story telling.

[@creativewritingcorner]

Sounds awesome! I'll give it a read.

[@thescribe3184]

Thank you for this.

[@roberthoughton8136]

Or you could read any story by Jorge Luis Borges, who could construct labyrinths of infinite complexity in just a few pages. Or just a few paragraphs. He deserved the Nobel Prize for Literature for his strokes of brilliance, but they never gave it to him.

[@creativewritingcorner]

Agreed!

[@BellsCuriosityShop]

As a teen i never has the patience for novels. So i read Poe, Lovecraft, King, Bloch.

[@MartynLees]

“Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl

[@creativewritingcorner]

SO GOOD! Such a perfect use of dramatic irony.

[@chelseyummali]

Dostoevskys White Nights is wonderful

[@creativewritingcorner]

Yes! Dostoevsky is one of my favorite authors, EVER. His characters, settings, and themes wrap me up in his story worlds and refuse to let me go. If I could write with a fraction of Dostoevsky's charm, pathos, or insight into the human condition, I'd be quite pleased with my work.

[@JonathanRobinson11]

I love the compilation in Black Water; in it is Tattoo by Junichiro Tanizaki.

[@davidw9736]

Black Water is a great anthology

[@misquotedbuffalo7125]

Pretty much all the stories in the Norton anthology of short stories

[@greblaksnew]

Some great stories!

[@GeneBasler]

It's Your Move by Louis L'Amour

[@sheilaohiggins3539]

The Dead by James Joyce.

[@matheussterquemendes]

Great content!

[@Argonaut121]

I'm thinking that mentions of both Chekov and Cheever are warranted.

[@therealinformalmusic]

Kipling, who himself knew well how to write great short stories, judged that “Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend” by PG Wodehouse was an almost perfect short story.

[@simonparry3867]

The Rain Horse by Ted Hughes. A picture painted in words.

[@JimiJames]

Mine: 1. A good man is hard to find 2. The Pugilist at rest 3. What we talk about when we talk about love. 4. The hitchhiking game 5. Harrison Bergeron

[@mangalapalliv]

Pugilist at Rest - A fantastic read it was

[@SSNewberry]

Good list.

[@cheers70]

Guy de Maupassant…The Necklace. He invented the short story. Read it.

[@WintersKnight546]

Bartleby, The Scrivner, The Overcoat and Rip Van Winkle

[@Original50]

The Red Room - H G Wells. The essence of suspense and horror.

[@jamestiburon443]

Favorite novelist: Mario Vargas Llosa.

[@rcculture6613]

Recommended: Jorge Luis Borges Julio Cortázar Augusto Monterroso Eduardo Galeano Mario Benedetti They are masters of short stories.

[@LazlosPlane]

Sherwood Anderson. Guy de Maupassant. Faulkner's "Dry September." Mishima, "Patriotism." Tolstoy, "the Forged Coupon."

[@kevinh5349]

In no particular order: 1. The Other Wise Man - Henry van Dyke 2. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - James Thurber 3. The Devil and Daniel Webster - Stephen Vincent Benet 4. The Screaming Woman - Ray Bradbury. 5. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens (though not so short)

[@ajaysinghrawat970]

Short stories are not short anymore.

[@joebeamish]

Outside of school, only writers and would-be writers read short stories.

[@steveconn]

Babylon Revisited by Firzgerald and the Snows of Kilimanjaro are also two good examples of style and structure to check out. Hills is basically an evasive abortion story with not much to it.

[@BaldAndCurious]

Interesting way how Mr Clemens wrote "actual" voice. Question though. I watched a few shows with characters with differing accents. I sort of get it. But if I'm not exposed to the dialect and accent, how should treat the dialogue?

[@creativewritingcorner]

Good question! I deal with this problem myself. I once wrote a story where a guy meets a leprechaun in a bar, and, silly me, I had the little man speak in an Irish brogue. Within a page or two it was starting to read like a bad Lucky Charms commercial. Instead of writing in accent or dialect, these days I prefer to choose a few specific words, phrases, figures of speech, or other colloquialisms to distinguish a character's individual speech pattern, rather than trying to force ALL of what that character says to sound how I think a character of that background might sound.

[@BaldAndCurious]

@@creativewritingcorner Great tip! Many thanks. 🙂

[@anthonyw2931]

@@creativewritingcorner 😂

[@jimdutka2909]

"A Piece of Steak" and "To Build a Fire" by Jack London Savor and 12:39 Enjoy

[@williambentley2802]

Flannery O'connor - A good man is hard to find

[@catherinenoble6214]

Hi. The two characters in the Hemingway are married? The relationship is not specified. And that is as important as one being the “man” and the other being the “girl.”Thank you for this list. I’m reading them as I watch your commentary. I just finished the Hemingway. Wow! What IS the thing they’re talking about? What do people think? I think the two characters are army-related-covert ops, maybe. She’s fallen in love with her handler and he’s using her, lying to her to get her to do the thing, which is why she tries to get him to stop talking. Brilliant story, but, seriously, what are other people’s interpretations?

[@pmull6784]

I appreciate the name-checking of Joyce and O'Connor. I'll throw out my favorite science fiction story, "The Nine Billion Names of God", by Arthur C Clarke, something even genre non-fans can appreciate...

[@creativewritingcorner]

Fantastic choice. His 'The Star' is excellent, as well.

[@hn6187]

The machine stops by em forester

[@ArifIKhan-gg6rx]

Thank you, that was helpful. Curious to know why Chekhov couldnt make the list. Anyways, thanks a lot!!

[@creativewritingcorner]

Chekhov's phenomenal - though I have to admit I know his plays better than his short stories, and those stories of his that I have read are too long to fit my "finish in 20 minutes" short short story criterion here. Is there a specific story of his you'd suggest?

[@idioume1]

​@@creativewritingcornertry 'In the cart' by Chekhov or Gooseberries.

[@creativewritingcorner]

@@idioume1 I'll give those a read. Thanks!

[@idioume1]

@@creativewritingcorner George Saunders did studies of them in his book on short stories 'A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life' Enjoy !

[@ArifIKhan-gg6rx]

@@creativewritingcorner may I suggest "the Bet ". It might just squeeze into a 20 minute read :). Your expert opinion on the story's character arch would be worth the wait...

[@krisbabylon400]

The Dwarf by Hermann Hesse

[@najiakbar9693]

Little woman by Franz Kafka

[@grandadslads1911]

Only #1. The rest just do not really stand up since the time they were written.