Why I Write Short Stories

When's the last time you BOUGHT a short story? Do short stories - or collections of them - even sell these days?

Who do you even think about when the concept of a short story comes to mind?

Edgar Allen Poe?

Stephen King?

Perhaps Ellery Queen?

I love short stories. I always have.

But why?

Because they're a challenge - because they're captivating - and because the emotional ups and downs that have to happen so rapidly in short fiction is exhilerating!

I wrote my first short story in first grade. Published it in the school newspaper. Which I happened to co-found and write.

I have zero recollection of its plot (but I'm sure my mom has a dusty old paper somewhere in her crowded attic!) but I was hooked. Throughout elementary school, I went to young authors workshops and gleefully wrote every creative writing assignment.

In middle school, the school newspaper again published my short fiction. (Ok, I also co-founded and wrote that paper. Are we seeing a pattern here?)

In high school...I stopped writing short stories, other than class assignments. Decided to try my hand at a novel. What do high schoolers think about? Sex, drama and hot guys. Wasn't exactly the next breakthrough YA. But if I could only find that notebook (God willing my MOM didn't find it!), it might make a fairly good example of how NOT to write teenage erotica-angst-drama.

And then in college, I really stopped. I was doing so much non-fiction writing within my degree programs that writing short fiction would have broken my brain.

But as an adult, when I came back to fiction, short stories reeled me in. See, I had a brainstorm for a few full-length stories. And, as a freelance writer with well over a decade of experience, I was confident that I could once again apply my mastery of the English language to fiction.

But I wasn't sure of myself. It had been a long time. And what adults jot down as stories is quite a bit different than children, no matter how precocious I - uh - they - the children! - might have been.

So I joined a few writing websites and entered every short story contest I could find. I spent at least 2 lunch hours a week writing flash fiction - 1000 words at a time. And to my delight, I began to win!

Today, I get to share a collection with you of three short stories focused on contemporary, dystopian and fantasy women (one of each!) and it excites me that each won or placed in the contests where they were originally entered. They've changed since their original forms; all began under 1000 words, and they now range from 2k to 4k. Some details were added, some were changed. But I love each and every one of these stories, because I love short stories.

I hope you do, too!

Today on Kindle, All About Women Short Story Collection, Volume 1 is free. Give it a whirl. I hope you'll enjoy, and I hope you'll post your feedback on your blog, my blog, GoodReads, Amazon or wherever else you frequent! I love knowing the reactions my readers have to my stories and can't wait to hear yours!

Anne