International Short Story Day

Did you know it's International Short Story Day today? It's a day for authors worldwide to extoll the virtues of short story telling and share their short stories, and I'm so grateful to Irish author, Carol Oates for bringing it to my attention. 

I'm quite fond of short stories. For one, they're short.  And in these busy, busy times it's nice to get the satisfaction of bringing a story full circle in a matter of days/weeks rather than months/years. But more than that, I enjoy the challenge of scraping away an excess of words to tell a complete story and convey rich, interesting characters.  Short stories are crisp and clean and leave more room for the reader's imagination. I've also noticed that my short story characters tend to be much quirkier than those in my novels...I'm not sure exactly why that is; care to put forth a theory?

In honor of International Short Story day, I share with you links to two of my favorite shorts. If you like, you can bookmark for later when you get time to read---but just a bit of time, cuz they're short!

This is the one that gave me the confidence to share my writing with friends and family who had no idea I was even writing: 
(online at Goodreads. 2000 words.)

This is my latest: 
Sway 
(free download in pdf, ePub & MOBI or 99 cents on Kindle. 6500 words.)
 You can read an excerpt in my Author Spotlight at Book Club Sisters:

If you have a short story you'd like to share on International Short Story Day, feel free to add your link to the list below, and be sure to check out Omnific Publishing's collection of short stories available for FREE. 

Comments

I went to my local butchers today to buy a pork pie but it was three in the afternoon and he had sold out. I was upset.
Is this short enough?
DL Hammons said…
All of my shorts are out on submissions to various publishers, so I don't have anything to contribute. But I will be checking yours out! :)
Susan Oloier said…
I find it so hard to write a short story, so I truly appreciate the art and craft of those who write them and write them well. I'll have to check yours out, Nicki.
CarolOates said…
I've already said this, Sway is one of my favorite shorts of recent times. Even when I read the title I hear music floating across an evening breeze.

Can't help you with the quirky characters I'm afraid. :)
Totally missed this day. Of course, I'm busy with my next book so doubt I could've come up with a short story.
Lynn Proctor said…
love a good short story!
Suze said…
'I'm quite fond of short stories. For one, they're short.'

You are too cute.
I completely missed this Day. And I'm a short story writer! Fail :-)
My favorite short story is "For a breath, I tarry" by Roger Zelazny.
Heather Murphy said…
Fun party! I had no idea
And "Yay for Sway" :)
Jennifer Lane said…
Sway was indeed quirky and delicious! I'm guessing your "short" characters (pun intended) are quirkier because you want to pack a punch with them since there's less time for characterization?
Patricia said…
I think I agree with the shorter the story, the quirkier the character. I'm totally bookmarking your stories so I can read them, I love quirk :)
Andrew Leon said…
Thanks for stopping by and supporting me in the Star Wars thing a second time!

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