30-Day Blogging Challenge

short stories

Don't you hate it when you don't save your work and you lose it?

Suddenly it's the best writing you have ever done, and it is gone forever. 

Well, it was great! Insightful! Inspirational!
You believe me, right?

I like writing short stories, and I think I love brevity too much.  I heard it on a sitcom once, the secret to effective communication is brevity. Well, brevity only goes so far... haha.

but I do love the short story structure, the need to convey mood, setting, character development, plot, intrigue and circular thought all in one small story.  I love it.  Writers I love most, Eudora Welty, Flannery O'Connor, O'Henry, Edgar Alan Poe, all masters of understatement and thrilling tight stories.

My very favorite short story writers are Lorrie Moore and David Sedaris.

David Sedaris is well known, of course, and amazing...  If you haven't read his work, you should  - you really should.  His stories are the stuff I'd like to be able to write, so very funny, so self knowing and honest.  I would love to develop the confidence to write about my life with such detachment and simultaneous absolute relishment of the experiences.

I found an amazing web site where you can read 6 of his stories:

http://byliner.com/spotlights/the-6-essential-david-sedaris-stories

after you read his stories, and I highly recommend "In the Waiting Room,"  do whatever you can to hear him read his work...  he is amazing!

Lorrie Moore, well she is funny, elegant, poignant, and can immerse you in her story like no one else.

This story (essay?) is about becoming a writer, and how much fun that can be.

http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/09/20/specials/moore-writer.html

She uses second person in an astounding and absorbing, overwhelming way, making everything very personal to the reader.  Get your hands on "Ahmal and the Night Visitors" if you can.  My favorite short story of all time. 


http://byliner.com/spotlights/the-6-essential-david-sedaris-stories