Fantasy Short stories

rmkrisby

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Hello.

I would think this was an appropriate place for this, but if not, let me know if I would find better answers elsewhere.

So, I am trying to write short fiction. Preferably, I would like to do this in my favorite genre (fantasy). I have only written short stories a couple of times in the past, and none of them were fiction. I love short stories, my favorite being those of Hemingway and Fitzgerald. Sadly, I don't have a lot of experience in reading them. In fact, I have almost none in reading fantasy short stories, specifically.

That's why I'm here: I don't know where to start.

I want to read some speculative short stories, and would like to know which are your favorite (title and author)? Why? And where could I find this story/these stories (which anthology, or even better, if it's available online)?

Being a community of not only fantasy writers, but readers, I believe I can trust your opinions. I am willing to take SF recommendations too, if it leans on the lighter side, but am really looking for fantasy (of all types).

Finally, does anyone else find trouble working with shorter genres? Be it novellas or full-length novels, I am far more comfortable with a longer window to work in. I like restrictions of all kinds though, and find them fun to write with. However, short stories (specifically fantasy ones too), I have a hard grasp on trying to cram my imagination into a snapshot without trying to start a photo album. And I know short stories can give life to longer projects, but that's beside the point. I think reading some would help me feel more comfortable with the endeavor.

Thanks guys!

Cheers,

rm
 

noranne

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I have been in the same place recently—wanting to work on my short fiction skills, but lacking experience in them.

I picked up Patricia McKillip's beautiful faery anthology, Wonders of the Invisible World, at the library. Fell in love with the stories even though faery is not usually my favorite.

I also subscribed to Daily Science Fiction, which delivers a SFF story (they do have some fantasy despite the name) to my inbox every night.

I am trying to decide which of the bigger magazines to pay for a subscription to. For SF there are Asimov's and Analog. Clarkesworld and Fantasy & Science Fiction have both SF and F. Not sure that I know any strict fantasy only ones off the top of my head—Fantasy Magazine merged with Lightspeed a couple years ago.

Go to any bookstore and check out their anthologies. Check out your library. Even just try googling, there are plenty of free shorts out there.

Short fiction is totally different than novels. I'm not sure I'll ever be any good at it, personally (not that I'm probably any good at novels either!), but it has been fun getting more familiar with it and seeing it in its own right instead of just as a stepping stone. In fact, short stories can be harder to publish these days than novels because there are many fewer magazines and you're competing against famous authors for the slots that there are (for the pro market).

Good luck!
 

Brightdreamer

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Must be something in the air; I'm letting my longer works settle for a while and trying to work on short stories, myself. (Even if it doesn't ultimately go anywhere, I think it'll be good experience for me, setting shorter goals.)

As for favorites... actually, the best anthologies I've read were themed YA ones edited by Bruce Coville; he gathered a wide variety, including some older classics, several of which stick with you after you read them. They're a bit older, though, so they may not reflect what's selling/"in" now, but hit your library and take a look.

There was also a much older collection by Zenna Henderson, The Anything Box, with some strange ones. Come Along Wagon, the story of an older, skeptical relative who witnesses a child's peculiar powers, really stuck with me for some reason.

As for more modern and/or grown-up anthologies/collections, frankly the most consistently decent short story author I've read is William Meikle, whose Flower of Scotland collections are usually free or cheap on Amazon. Many of the Big Name collections by the big publishers leave me cold, with stories that ramble and wander; writing a novel and writing a short story are two different skill sets, apparently... JMHO, of course, but I've learned to be leery of them.
 

Weirdmage

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Perhaps the easiest way to find anthologies is to go with Robinson's Mammoth book of... for themed anthologies (goes for any SFFH subgenre by the way and they also do quite a few Romance/Erotica too) and the various "Year's Best" (Robinson has some of them as Mammoth books). Solaris books has some good anthologies edited by Jonathan Strahan and also a few by Jonathan Oliver.
Noranne lists some good magazines to check out above, but there's several others online. For example, Lightspeed, Subterranean, tor.com, Black Gate, and I know I am forgetting several others at the moment because it's late.
 

Polenth

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A place with a database of short fiction markets is the Grinder. You can search by genre and payscale. Note being on the list doesn't mean it's a good place to submit, but it gives you a starting point in your research.

In addition to some of the markets already mentioned, some other online pro markets are Strange Horizons and Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
 

Shadow_Ferret

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I have only written short stories a couple of times in the past, and none of them were fiction.
This confuses me. Aren't short stories by definition fiction?

And there are a whole bunch of fantasy anthologies out there. Tons. Aside from things like "Years Best..." there are all sorts put out by some really nice editors. Robert Silverberg edits a "Legends" series. P.N. Elrod has edited a few. John Joseph Adams, too, puts out some great anthologies, too and is the editor of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

But as far as struggling to write shorter fiction, that's where I started. Short fiction was much more natural than the longer stuff. It was almost 25 after I started.writing before I finished my first novel.
 

JustSarah

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How are you with novella's? I've always done borderline fantasy for a long time in short fiction, yet something about novella's is hard.

Long, yet not to long.

In submitting, still working on that. Lol.
 

rmkrisby

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This confuses me. Aren't short stories by definition fiction?

And there are a whole bunch of fantasy anthologies out there. Tons. Aside from things like "Years Best..." there are all sorts put out by some really nice editors. Robert Silverberg edits a "Legends" series. P.N. Elrod has edited a few. John Joseph Adams, too, puts out some great anthologies, too and is the editor of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

But as far as struggling to write shorter fiction, that's where I started. Short fiction was much more natural than the longer stuff. It was almost 25 after I started.writing before I finished my first novel.

That's a typo! I meant to say fantasy.

Anyways, thank you everyone for the recommendations. I will have to check them out.

I wish that I started with short stories rather than novels (or attempts at novels). I feel like they provide so much to your craft and can also act as a learning tool. Spending time revising and editing a shorter piece is also a lot more manageable than an 80k+ word story.

How are you with novella's? I've always done borderline fantasy for a long time in short fiction, yet something about novella's is hard.

Long, yet not to long.

In submitting, still working on that. Lol.

I enjoy novellas. They're so unique and I think provide a sweet spot for some stories. You know? However, I have never finished one. But have most of a couple and have outlined plenty. I even struggle with outlining short stories at this point.
 
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CrastersBabies

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My advice for writing SFF short stories is to get that hook in w/in the first page. Preferably within the first few paragraphs. You can't build up to an epic battle at the foot of Mount Doom here.

And these are usually smaller, more human stories (in my experience).

Good luck!
 

rmkrisby

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And these are usually smaller, more human stories (in my experience).

Good luck!

I assumed as much.

Just thinking about the practicality of it, that is. It's one of the reason's I am so much more excited to read (and write) them. You get the all of the magic and pizzaz of fantasy, but maybe even some of the nuances of literary fiction.

What do the rest of you think about this?

ALSO: I really wanted to quote and reply to you because I absolutely love your username. It's fantastic. And I found myself laughing at it for some odd reason.
 

JRTroughton

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I don't think short stories are any different to novels in terms of their potential to be "literary." Both can be such.

Fantasy short stories are great. I think the lack of time for worldbuilding means the author can only give you chosen snippets of info on the world, and as the reader you fill in the blanks yourself. Leaving this 'white space' for the reader is a must in fantasy shorts, I feel, unless they're set in already well known worlds.
 

WriterTrek

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A few of my favorite short stories available to read free online include:

The Lottery
A Sound of Thunder
Most Dangerous Game
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

You can also get a used copy of 100 Great Fantasy Short, Short Stories for quite cheap. I personally feel that most of the stories are dated now, but there's still a hundred of them and many of them written by well known authors.

If you register at Tor I think their collection of short stories is still a free download (and it's fantastic): http://www.tor.com/five-years-of-tordotcom-stories

Then if you have a favorite author you can always see if they've put out a collection of short stories. Neil Gaiman has a few, for example, as do many others.
 
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JRTroughton

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Ooh, I'd recommend Different Skies by China Mieville to anyone. That's a great short story.

Gaiman's Smoke and Mirrors collection is largely excellent, too.
 

JustSarah

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Also if it's first person fantasy, as with science fiction, often I prefer to read world building that still has that mystery to it where you only know enough to keep you going, and not the whole history of the temple goblins. Believe me, I used to have the problem of writing more short stories about the history, rather than a short story about the primary plot.

Finding that right balance, now that's hard.
 

Komic Brew

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I'm also trying to write short stories, over these last 6 years. My problem is that I usually end up with a film or comic book script. Still a bit shy concerning literary writing. Especially in English.
I'd recommend George R.R. Martins two book "best of" stories, there are really some jewels in there. And Stephen King of course, but that goes to horror section :)
 

Tepelus

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Psst. I wrote a few short short fantasy stories for my blog. I was going to do one a month for the year, but then, uh, well. Yeah. But I wrote three so far and a fourth one still sits in my computer waiting to be finished. I really should get around to finishing it.
 

Jacob_Wallace

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I like to write short stories. Been a long time since I attempted something as big as a novel, I have a few ideas for them. Short stories are a lot easier, though some of them beg to be at least novellas, but I have to trim them so they'll sell. Finally got one approved by a published, and it'll see the light of day in a couple months, so yay.
 

Mark W.

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There are countless places on the web with free or low cost fantasy short stories with varying quality.

Just remember, short story does not mean less description, less development, or less plot. It simply a story with a narrow focus and a narrow POV.
 

Rechan

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I have the opposite problem - I write short stories, and want to write novels, but anything of length is incredibly difficult for me. My sweet spot is about 2,000 words.

My advice for writing SFF short stories is to get that hook in w/in the first page. Preferably within the first few paragraphs.
IMO this is true of ANY short story, not just SF/F (And IMO the best advice for anything, novel or short story). That's one of the biggest things for getting a short story sold, as an editor will likely stop reading if they haven't been hooked by the first page.

As far as recommendations. I've not read a lot of strictly fantasy short stories (outside of the Forgotten Realms anthologies "Realms of [insert]") but I do read quite a bit of horror (and erotica, but that's because I edit anthologies of niche erotica). There are many anthologies on my shelf, but I haven't read those yet and I don't want to recommend what I haven't read.

Several of these are also collections (a book of short stories belonging to one author):

Engraved on the Eye is a FREE collection by Saladin Ahmad. There's a mix of F, SF, and Superhero stories in this collection. Saladin wrote the Arabian Fantasy novel "Throne of the Crescent Moon" (nominated for a Hugo) and two of the stories in Engraved are set in the Crescent Moon world.

Most of my reading is in horror, so I'll suggest two anthologies that I've liked there. Dead Bait is an anthology of horror related to water/creatures from the water. Here's my review. Then Help! Wanted, full of job-related horror stories. I reviewed it here. Also any collection by Stephen King. I think short stories are King's best work. Just After Sunset is a good place to start; Full Dark, No Stars is really bleak and rough, and most of Night Shift has been turned into film. My favorite from Just After Sunset is "N".

Side Jobs by Jim Butcher. Butcher is one of my favorite authors. These stories have been published in a lot of Urban Fantasy anthologies but are collected here. All are stories set in the Dresden Files, and most are narrated by the series' main character.

The Viscount and the Witch is a Free short story by Michael Sullivan. Not a lot happens - it's just characters talking - but the situation and the dialogue is so funny. It's also a prequel of how the main characters in his primary six novels met a secondary character.

I will make one recommendation even though I haven't read the book. Unfettered is charity anthology where big name fantasy authors donated a short story set in the world of their big series. Terry Brooks, Robert Jordan, Brian Sanderson, Peter V. Brett, etc. So if you have read any of these authors' series, it's likely a story in this book is related to their work.
 
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ckmartin

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I read one of the collections edited by George R.R. Martina couple of months ago just to get back into the fantasy genre after a few months away. It had some pretty good stories and was a nice way of just dipping my toes back in. I think it was Songs of Love and Death. Definitely worth picking up if you get the chance.
 

maceleon

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What is kind of the sweet spot as far as length for fantasy short stories? As in what length are most of the stories that make it into anthologies.

I'm working on a short story right now and I'm a little apprehensive about bringing it all in under 5000 or 7500 words. It's partially character development for other work but I think I bit off a little too much of plot to chew on.