Background of this Fiction Type
While some of the best short stories can be dated back to the times of Ancient Greece much like flash fiction can, they were historically not given much merit or even regarded as a literature type before the 19th century. Expanding from this it was around the mid 20th century that short stories were given critical attention and regarded as an established type of literature (Britannica, 2020). Distinctly, they range anywhere from 1,000 words up towards 7,000 words before they evolve into other literature types such as novellas and novelettes (SFWA Awards, 2020). What is unique about them is their focus on a particular theme with few characters that evolve to a natural conclusion, in essence, a small compact novel. In contrast, shorter fiction tends to focus on a snippet of a story or person's life to convey a theme through a microcosm.
The oldest records for written literature that follows similar patterns to that of the modern day short story trace back to the 2nd millennium BCE with cuniform inscribed clay from the Babylonians and Canaanites. These first stories were written in a verse method but follow a very similar structure to that of our modern stories today. Other old records of written literature come from Egypt with stories written on Papyrus at around the same time as the Babylonian and Canaanite stories, with stories from Ancient India and Ancient Greece emerging around 1,000 BCE to 100 BCE; stories like Panchatantra by the Indians and The Shipwrecked Sailor by the Egyptians.
This Directory
Be sure to check out the authors and show them some love. Every free short story that you read was penned by a wonderful writer looking to get their story heard so be sure to let them know how much you like it. It would mean the world to them!
Currently we are porting all our older stories from our old site!
SCIENCE FICTION
HORROR
FANTASY
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THRILLER / MYSTERY
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