Perfect Your Writing

Twenty classic crime and detective short stories, from Poe and Sherlock Holmes to Father Brown, each with a free full-text link to read now. Read more →

Eighteen classic adventure short stories, from Jack London's frozen Yukon to Conrad's open sea, each with a free full-text link to read now. Read more →

Twelve literary short stories for adult readers, from Gogol and Chekhov to Maupassant and Conrad, each with a free full-text link to read now. Read more →

A complete guide to short stories: what they are, how long they run, the major genres and authors, and how to write one that lands. Read more →

Standard manuscript format for short stories: font, spacing, margins, headers, and title page, with setup steps for Google Docs and Word. Read more →

Nine coming-of-age short stories for young adult readers, from Joyce and Willa Cather to Chekhov, each with a free full-text link. Read more →

More than forty flash fiction examples from O. Henry, Chekhov, Saki, and Kate Chopin, each with a free full-text link to study the form. Read more →

Learn what flash fiction is, how long it runs, and a step-by-step process for writing a complete story in under 1,000 words. Read more →

Twenty-six of the best mystery short stories, from Poe and Sherlock Holmes to twist-ending classics, each with a free full-text link. Read more →

Thirteen timeless short stories for kids, from Beatrix Potter to Kipling's Just So Stories, each with a free full-text link to read aloud tonight. Read more →

Ten classic holiday short stories to read by the fire, from Dickens and O. Henry to Chekhov and Andersen, each with a free full-text link. Read more →

Twelve moving public-domain short stories, from Chekhov and Chopin to O. Henry, each with a free full-text link to read right now. Read more →