Fiction by Genre
General & Contemporary
8 stories | Updated July 9, 2023
Looking for stories about life, or tales that don’t fit neatly into a box?
These virtual shelves are home to stories in the General and Contemporary genres on Medium, built on story listings submitted by fiction authors.
Have fun browsing!
Want to submit a story to this section of the library? Click here to find out how.
Looking for a particular story tag, subgenre, or type? Search this list for keywords by using the Control + F key command on desktop, or Find Selection on mobile.
First Arrival
• Read time: 10 min
• Genre(s): History, Literary
• Type: Short Story
• Status: Complete
• Rating: 13+
• Tags: Survival, History, Nature, Humanity, Isolation, Cold, Connection, Uncertainty, Communication, Exploration
In a desolate, frozen new land where humanity struggles to survive, a lone wanderer crosses paths with a mysterious creature, bred from the harshness of the cold north. Bound by their shared desire for warmth, they overcame barriers of communication and forged an unlikely bond.Humanity’s arrival in the north. What was it like? A story of Humanity’s first encounter with the cold north and the being that inhabit it.
Accidental Notes
By Rochelle Deans | Building a Novel
• Read time: 5 hours, 5 minutes (chapters between 5 and 12 minutes each)
• Genre(s): Contemporary, YA, mystery, romance
• Type: Novel
• Status: Complete
• Rating: 13+
• Tags: YA fiction, family, mystery, music, Christmas, rivals to lovers, secrets
Life doesn’t care about Adaya’s plans. Her father is distant. She runs into an ex-friend she never wanted to see again. Worse than all that, Adaya’s attempts at solacing herself by learning about her late grandmother lead to her learning a family secret.Music can be there for her when people aren’t. Soon Adaya learns music isn’t everything, and neither is the reconciliation she hoped for. But maybe changing the key of her life is for the best, if she can let go of her plans long enough to improvise.
CWs: mentions of off-page suicide, gaslighting
Flash Fiction: Ghosting
By Tannille
• Read time: 2 mins
• Genre(s): General & Contemporary
• Type: Flash Fiction
• Status: Complete
• Rating: E
• Tags: Ghosting, Psychological, Moving on, FriendshipsCan you face your shadow?
Seldene Shorts
By E.A. Colquitt | Thought Thinkers
Read time: 16 minutes, minimum
Genre(s): Humor, folklore and mythology, mystery, magic realism
Type: Novel(la/lette)-in-flash
Status: Ongoing
Rating: E
Tags: Slice of life, wholesome, naturecore, academia, animal tales, islands and waterscapesVisit Seldene, a quiet village by the sea. Meet its inhabitants, explore the area, and even glimpse the nearby historic city of Solway.
Perfect for fans of the TV series ‘Detectorists’ and the game ‘Animal Crossing’.
Arise Mika!
By Susi Moore | The Scriber’s Nook
• Read time: 6 minutes
• Genre(s): Contemporary
• Type: Short Story
• Status: Complete
• Rating: 8+
• Tags: Short Fiction, Knights of the Round Table, Legends, Horses, Childhood Dreams, South Africa, Father and SonMika is a seven-year-old South African boy, who, to the frustration of his father, is obsessed with the lore around the Knights of the Round Table and their fantastical horses. How do father and son reconcile over such flights of fancy?
The Taxidermist’s Daughter
• Read time: 11 minutes
• Genre(s): Contemporary
• Type: short story
• Status: Complete
• Rating: 13+
• Tags: short story, small town, taxidermyTaxidermist’s daughter in a small town contemplates life, death and love through her encounters at her father’s business.
His Name Was Marco Sebastian
By Peter Sassi | The Lark
Read time: 10 minutes
Genre(s): Literary, Critique
Type: Short Story
Status: Complete
Rating: 13+
Tags: Movies, Criticism, DespairMarco Sebastian was a movie critic operating in relative and happy obscurity until he was invited to a college symposium as part of the film industry. He face some criticism of his own.
In Arigni Omnibus
By Michael Thorn | The Adventures of Claud (without an e)
• Read time: 23 min read
• Genre(s): Fiction, Serial Fiction
• Type: Novel (in progress)
• Status: Ongoing
• Rating: 13+
• Tags: Adventure, Island, AntiheroIn this opening to The Adventures of Claud (without an e), Claud becomes separated from two black holdalls as he disembarks from the ferry that has brought him to the island of Arigni. What is in the bags? When will he be reunited with them?
About Fiction Friends
Fiction Friends is a virtual library and coffee shop for fiction writers and readers on Medium. It’s a space to share stories, learn about publishing online, and discover great fiction. Our mission is to help build a better, stronger fiction community on Medium — one cup of coffee at a time.
