What Makes a Great Short Story?

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After four decades of writing non-fiction almost exclusively, I'm in a phase of professional reinvention, writing fiction as well as non-fiction and working with writers on their own projects. I've always read fiction voraciously for pleasure, both novels and short stories, and there’s nothing like losing yourself in a good story, of connecting to characters who come alive on the page, of savoring outstanding, memorable writing.

Fiction writing isn't entirely different than non-fiction writing in that you still need to hook the reader, keep a good narrative pace, and make the reader care. With my new goal in mind, I've read and reread dozens of short stories, specifically selecting a very diverse array of authors and subject matter: S.Y. Agnon, Anton Chekhov, Edith Wharton, Edith Pearlman (I love the Ediths), Joseph Epstein, O. Henry, Edna Ferber, and Steve Martin, among others. Although known primarily for his comedic genius, Steve Martin is also a brilliant writer, insightful and poignant.

I've been reading with a different lens, analyzing such things as pacing, characterization, drama and conflict, dialogue, ratio of “showing” versus “telling,” and first-person versus third-person narration. I ask myself how each of these choices affected the emotional resonance I felt in each novel or story?

No matter its length or style or voice, a great story brings you into another world for a short time, engaging your imagination.

I've also read several books on craft, and between these books and the stories I read purely for their excellence, I see that a great short story doesn't follow any particular set of rules. Some stories are as short as five pages where nothing much happens except learning the narrator’s personal reflections. Some are as long as thirty pages, with an obvious conflict set out at the beginning, a colorful cast of characters, and a conclusion you just didn’t see coming.

Great short stories can have a moral or not, offer social critiques or not. They can be satirical, sad, poignant, evoking a particular time and place. They usually will focus on some aspect of relationships and human foibles. They can have many of these things at once. The one constant of a great story is to bring you into another world for a short time and engage your imagination and often, your sympathy.

My First Short Story Idea

The first story idea I had was based on a betrayal by my best friend from high school. The true story was dramatic but I saw that it offered little of value for a reader, just an unresolved conflict between forgiveness and pain. After talking about the story idea with a writer friend, I decided to shelve the idea, and leave high school back in high school.

Happily, I'm working on another story--also based on true experience--that explores the question: what is the price we pay for religious commitment, and for extending ourselves for others? I'm really enjoying writing this story, and am confident that its universal questions, more fully developed characters, and humor will make it a far more promising read.

I don’t know how many dozens or hundreds of drafts I’ll need before I might have a book of short stories (perhaps a novella as well?), but after feeling that I’d been lost in the creative woods for too long, I’m excited to share this journey with you. Aren’t we all, in various ways, constantly in a state of reinvention?

In the comments below, please share your recommendations for great short stories and their authors!