In Praise of the Modern Short Story

Why the often misjudged genre might be the perfect literary form

Photo by Karolina Kaboompics

The short story has been around for centuries. And at times, it has been a popular genre. From 1850–1900, the short story was everywhere. This was during the growth of print magazines and journals, and publishers needed material. Since then, the short story has gone up and down with popularity, mainly due to the ups and downs of where they could be published. Still, despite the ebbs and flows, the short story could be considered as the perfect literary form to stretch and learn, but also because writing them can force the writer to focus on craft, theme, and narrative flow.

Today, we are in a rather hit and miss period when it comes to the short story. Finding a print home for your work is not always easy, and just try shopping a collection of stories to a publisher. Those opportunities narrow even more. Part of this is that some publishers don’t see the short story collection as a “seller” in today’s world. Unless you are a superstar writer with a collection, publishing you can be a risk for a publisher. This is one of the many reasons the short story is often praised as a literary form but often forgotten by the reader.

So then, as a writer, why write them?

Too often short stories are dismissed as less important than novels. One New York Times opinion piece suggested that they are sometimes seen as “frivolous or not worthy of our attention.” And depending on who you are talking to, calling an American writer the “master of the short story” can be either praise or an insult, as the short story is sometimes seen as only a kind of “exercise” for the MFA student.

Of course, there are master of the form. The New York Times reminded me of Raymond Carver who never wrote a story longer than 10–12 pages, and was considered and is still considered one of America’s greatest writers. We could name others who have made their mark with the short story. There are plenty. Some modern-day masters, too. But what about the rest of us? What good is the short story and its writer in 2024?

In my classes where I teach fiction writing, these are the four points I make about writing modern day short stories.

1. The short form gives the writer the opportunity to experiment, to try new approaches, new styles, new themes without committing to a 70K word novel.
2. Reading short stories can get the writing juices flowing. They can spark ideas and themes one may not have thought of before.
3. They can lead to bigger works. Not to dismiss the short story, certainly, but isn’t a novel just a series of linked short stories? Some might see the merit in this thinking.
4. With the proliferation of online literary journals, there’s more of a “market” for short stories today in many respects. Online publishers are looking for brevity. Most of the time these journals do not pay, but they do give a writer a chance to get their work into the world.

I believe the modern short story is about to experience a boom, as readers, we are more amenable to shorter works. Even modern-day novels have fewer words than just 10 years ago. The 30-thousand word “novella” of yesterday is now not an unusual length for a full “novel.” The trend is moving in that direction.

It was once believed the novel was at death’s door. That has yet to be decided. But the short story? It might be ailing, but the prognosis is hopeful. It may not be as healthy as it was in the genre’s heyday, but the great American short story remains a beautiful thing to read and American writers need to keep creating them.

David W. Berner is the author of several award-winning books of memoir and fiction. He is currently shopping a collection of short stories to publishers.