I've recently found some excellent short stories on the web. The list was somehow lost in draft status but it's all fixed now. I've also added approximate wordcounts for each piece – none are long, and all are worth reading:
- When the Toasts Stopped Being Funny by Steve Almond (125 words) – haunting and wistful.
- Plaits by Tania Hershman (240 words) – I'm amazed that such a short story is so detailed and well-structured.
- Nightfall by James Cooper (340 words) – another piece that produces strong emotions in few words.
- The Pomegranate by Katy Darby (1800 words) – I love contemporary stories based around mythology.
- Ten English Trees by Danny Birchall (2100 words) – this story braids together facts, myths and narrative. The structure works really well.
James, thank you so much for mentioning Plaits in your list of stories, I was delighted to find this blog post! How did you come upon my story? And thank you for pointing me towards more stories, I am off to read them now.
Tania –
Plaits was used as an example in a recent workshop by Vanessa Gebbie on flash fiction:
http://vanessagebbiesnews.blogspot.com/2008/10/flash-workshop-south.html
I loved it and am looking forward to reading your White Road collection. Hope you enjoy the other stories!
James
Thanks very much for the mention. ‘Ten English Trees’ was given an excellent reading by Liars’ League regular Clareine Cronin (so much more relaxing than doing the reading yourself) , but a device malfunctioned, and the recording was lost to posterity…
Hello James, glad you liked The Pomegranate. Self-Googling can be rewarding as well as frightening, I now realise …