Short stories are all around us. But writing short fiction is not always super easy for writers, natch.

In fact, the shorter your story becomes, the harder it is to distil what really matters onto the page. I would have written a shorter letter, so the famous quote goes, but I didn’t have the time. 

Short stories have been here since the dawn of time. Based in the oral tradition (stop sniggering at the back), they’re the apocryphal family legends our grandmas/weird uncles used to tell us over Christmas dinner; they’re the school-yard urban myths; the sleepover ghost stories; the soliloquies in our diaries; the wine-soaked rants to that random person you cornered in the kitchen at that party after so-and-so dumped you. 

So how do you write truly great short fiction? The kind of short fiction that leaves you dribbling, slack-jawed, and slap-faced when you finish it. Those short stories you remember forever, like some weird dream-memory. Well. 

We can’t write it for you, but we can give you a nudge, a shove, and a poke with a sharp stick (whatever floats your boat) to help you on your way. 

With the help of writing prompts, advice from award-winning short fiction writers, inspiring exercises, and our awesome online community, you’ll come out the other side of Writing Short Fiction with at least one fully formed short story to call your very own – and maybe even send out into the world of literary magazines and competitions…