Short Story Fiction Writing

Dive into the world of fiction with a pen in hand and a wealth of imaginative narratives in mind! This engaging book is your playground for learning how to craft captivating, concise tales that pack a punch. Explore the elements of storytelling, including character development, plot structure, and dialogue, and learn to apply them to short forms from flash fiction to novelettes. Whether you've got a head buzzing with potential whodunnits, ghost stories, or heartfelt dramas, we'll guide your journey from the first spark of an idea to a fully-realized short story. You'll learn to weave ...

Writing can be a lonely art. Distractions and writers block are just two of the many impediments to a burnished stream of prose. But sometimes two heads really can be better than one. Collaborating and sounding off of one another, in the right circumstances and with complimenting skills, can work wonders as these very talented duos now demonstrate.

Writing flash fiction is a fun, easy way to break into print and quickly establish yourself as a professional author. This book shows you everything you need to write great stories under 1,000 words, as well as how and where to get them published. It concludes with tips for re-publishing those stories all together as a book.

“Short stories can act like little tuning forks, helping us to clarify our own values,” writes guest editor Celeste Ng. “In a time when our values are being tested daily, it’s hard to think of anything more important.” The Best American Short Stories 2025 resonates precisely at this...

The prestigious annual story anthology, featuring prize-winning stories by a diverse and exciting array of writers, including Wendell Berry, Alice Hoffman, Dave Eggers, Ling Ma, Lori Ostlund, and Anthony Marra. Continuing a century-long tradition of cutting-edge literary excellence, this year's...

This audiobook, read by Audie award-winning narrators, includes unabridged recordings of all Mark Twains's greatest works: 12 novels; over 120 of his beloved short stories; Chapters From My Autobiography; 5 pieces of short non-fiction; and 6 pieces of his groundbreaking, wide-ranging travel writing.

Featuring many of the beloved characters from Sylvia Price’s bestseller, The Christmas Arrival, as well as a new cast of characters, Amish Love Through the Seasons centers around a group of teenagers as they find friendship, love, and hope in the midst of trials. ***This special boxed set includes the entire series, plus a bonus companion story, “Hope for Hannah’s Love.”*** Tragedy strikes a small Amish community outside of Erie, Pennsylvania when Isaiah Fisher, a widower and father of three, is involved in a serious accident. When his family is left scrambling to pick up the pieces...

If you're aiming to win a flash fiction competition, you probably know how hard it is to write a compelling story in 500 words. The challenge of flash fiction lies not in the number of words, but the emotion and originality of the tale you can tell with these few words. Participating in competitions, with entry fees as low as $5 and prizes up to $1,000, isn't about luck; it's about skill and creativity. As a judge, I've seen over a thousand submissions, most of them perfectly polished. So choosing a winner is extremely hard, though the best often stand out on first reading and stay with you...

A stirring literary collection that explores the human experience with wisdom and honesty, by award-winning author Dustin Beall Smith. In Free Fall, author and writing teacher Dustin Beall Smith delivers a powerful collection of personal essays, talks, short fiction, and poetry. With a broad range of subjects—from American culture and academia to desire, failure, love, and the impermanence of all things—Smith delves into the lived life. At the same time, he champions the importance of process over product, attention over intention, and implicit meaning over overt messaging.

Writing Flash Fiction with AI is your quick guide to crafting compelling short stories with ease. Learn to spark ideas, beat writer's block, and polish your prose using AI tools. Whether you're new or experienced, this guide helps you write captivating flash fiction in minutes. Unlock the power of AI today!"

Have you ever wanted to write a short story, but had no idea where to begin? Have you looked for tips, hints, or advice about how to develop characters and plots without being able to be sure you're getting advice from the experts? Look no further than this guide here before you!

The groundbreaking trans-genre work of Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) has been insinuating itself into the structure, stance, and very breath of world literature for well over half a century. Multi-layered, self-referential, elusive, and allusive writing is now frequently labelled Borgesian.

There’s nothing like a well-crafted, guided story starter to put a stop to that dreaded empty computer screen! Story Prompts That Work includes enough detailed prompts to write a story a week for an entire year (and then go back and use the prompts again the next year). Each prompt has enough options and examples that they’ll work well for just about anyone. Carly Berg is a freelance writer who’s also been both an editor and a teacher, so she’s got you covered on this one. Other Books by Carly Berg: Writing Flash Fiction: How To Write Very Short Stories and Get Them Published (Then ...

Struggling to start your short story? This book is here to inspire you! Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced writer seeking fresh ideas, Write Your Short Story is your go-to guide for crafting compelling narratives. Begin with a concise introduction to short stories and their key elements, followed by practical tips to enhance your writing. Then, dive into 101 creative story prompts, thoughtfully organized into three categories: situations, first sentences, and last sentences. Feel free to mix and match these ideas to spark your next masterpiece! Why choose this book? 101 unique ...

Featuring many of the beloved characters from Sylvia Price’s bestseller, The Christmas Arrival, as well as a new cast of characters, Amish Love Through the Seasons centers around a group of teenagers as they find friendship, love, and hope in the midst of trials. Tragedy strikes a small Amish community outside of Erie, Pennsylvania when Isaiah Fisher, a widower and father of three, is involved in a serious accident. When his family is left scrambling to pick up the pieces, the community unites to help the single father, but the hospital bills keep piling up. How will the family manage?...

Doing Time: For the prison writers whose work is included in this anthology, it means more than "serving a sentence"; it means staying alive and sane, preserving dignity, reinventing oneself, and somehow retaining one's humanity. For the last quarter century the prestigious writers' organization PEN has sponsored a contest for writers behind bars to help prisoners face these challenges. The contest honors the best short stories, plays, essays, and poems among hundreds submitted annually by men and women nationwide.

Do you enter Flash Fiction competitions? Would you like a peak at your competition? Then this collection of winning and longlisted flash fiction from the Farnham Flash Fiction competition is for you. Read and benchmark your work against your peers. Understand what makes a competition winning story. Be inspired and take your writing to the next level.This is a collection of short fiction from the Farnham Flash Fiction competition 2021. The Farnham Flash Festival was held from January 2021 to June 2021, and these 25 flash fiction stories were the very best of the 152 entries. With entries ...

Scary stories, funny stories, philosophical stories, strange-but-true stories, and more. 17 personal stories altogether to share with your friends to keep the conversation going when words expire.

101 Short Romance Outlines: Plots for Contemporary Romance in Duet Format with Alternating Viewpoints of Heroine/Hero Elevate your writing journey with an engaging plot outline for your next short romance, whether you are an aspiring author or a seasoned writer tackling a new genre! Discover Your Next Romance Plot: Make your writing dreams a reality with these carefully crafted outlines designed to inspire and energize your storytelling process. Romances are about feelings and the writer must show these feelings through the characters and their actions/reactions. Using an outline is the ...

Featuring many of the beloved characters from Sylvia Price’s bestseller, The Christmas Arrival, as well as a new cast of characters, Amish Love Through the Seasons centers around a group of teenagers as they find friendship, love, and hope in the midst of trials. Tragedy strikes a small Amish community outside of Erie, Pennsylvania when Isaiah Fisher, a widower and father of three, is involved in a serious accident. When his family is left scrambling to pick up the pieces, the community unites to help the single father, but the hospital bills keep piling up. How will the family manage?...