Short Stories: Short Stories

Short Stories: September 02, 2026 Issue [#13924]

Short Stories

Editor: W.D.Wilcox

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

Edgar Allan Poe: "A short story must have a single mood and every sentence must build towards it."

Neil Gaiman: "Short stories are tiny windows into other worlds and other minds and other dreams."

Elizabeth Bowen: "Every short story is an experiment - what one must ask is not only, did it come off, but was it, as an experiment, worth making?"

Mavis Gallant: "A short story is what you see when you look out of the window."

F. Scott Fitzgerald: "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function."

I love me some short stories. I can invest very little time in reading them, and I can write one quickly. You just need one good idea.

1. Start it with a strong opening, and then you're off to the races.
2. Everybody knows about writing a great opening sentence, but they falter when writing the very last one.
3. You have to have a strong ending so that your reader feels satisfied that his time was well spent.
4. You're basically dressing your story from that first sentence, then leading your reader to that surprise ending.
5. Endings are hard. They can take a little more time to imagine.
6. The best ending has a surprise. It completes the story yet offers a tiny bit more.
7. Writing openings can be difficult, but writing that perfect ending shows craftsmanship. Difficult, yes, but so satisfying.

Short Stories

The Last Laugh (13+)

Revenge is best served cold.

#1086090 by Susie, the LV Transplant

WRITING

Jo-Jo the Clown (18+)

Nowadays, kids just don't like clowns...

#1162589 by W.D.Wilcox

The Empty Cottage (E)

Does the cottage have a ghost? Read and find out for yourself.

#1107558 by J. A. Buxton

The End Of Brucie (13+)

comic confession

#1121918 by E E Coder

Sugar Doughnuts on a Sleepy Sunday (ASR)

Title is prompt: Writer's Cramp winner. Very short piece about a daughter's guilt.

#1168619 by phyduex

August 26, 1883 (13+)

Bethany's birthday memory

#1314352 by J. A. Buxton

The Courage of a Child (E)

A short story on the escape plans of a child laborer

#1174459 by Happy 26th WDC lol♥

Are We There Yet? (13+)

First place winner in story spinner contest. Based on a true story.

#1581268 by Just call me Omni

WRITING

My Favorite Summer (E)

Short short story. Summer love for kids staying with relatives while school's out.

#1598579 by Pumpkin

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