The Art of the Short Story

May 2025 Newsletter

Short stories are a uniquely potent form of fiction. They offer readers a concentrated experience, one that can evoke, unsettle, inspire, or haunt, often within a few thousand words. In a world overflowing with distractions, the short story demands focus, both from the writer and the reader.

Unlike novels, which have the luxury of building over hundreds of pages, short stories must distill character, setting, conflict, and theme into a tightly compressed space. Every sentence must serve a purpose. Every word must earn its place. And within this constraint lies incredible creative freedom. Either in a single emotional moment, a twist at the end, or a character arc change, short fiction delivers impact with efficiency.

And now it’s time for us to learn how to wield that power with precision. This month, we’ll look at not only the craft—structure, voice, character, dialogue—but also implication, subtlety, and resonance. We’ll discuss how to begin in motion, how to suggest an entire world with a single image, and how to craft endings that echo long after the last word.

Let’s begin.