Fine Short Stories

This reader spends a lot of time digging through the short story forum. Literally going back years, there's a plethora of stories in there to occupy free time...

This question is open to everybody and responses are eagerly anticipated, but this reader is immensely interested to hear from those who've been around for awhile-

what are some of the finest short stories you've read in that forum? Can you link them here or give seachable titles, at least?

Can you give any specific examples of fine short stories posted on LitNet?










J

Hillwalker and Aunt Shecky have the best stories, in my opinion. I consider hillwalker’s The Brocken Spectre to be exceptional:

http://www.online-literature.com/for...ad.php?t=59153

Aunt Shecky has written several great ones, including a superior piece on a young boy who finds a shoebox with mysterious contents in a city dump. See Reply #15 below for a link to her story.

But in general, you're correct in saying you can spend a lot of time digging in that forum. Every great story is obscured by hundreds of, well, not-so-great ones.

Thanks, DickZ-

The Broken Spectre was not unnoticed by this reader when it was posted. Not sure about Aunty's, do want to find it... maybe a hunt is in order.

If you think of any other pieces that have been obscured over the years, please return to this thread. It would be great to track them down and read them.






J

Hill and Steven. Delta and Hawk.

Steve Hunley is one of my favourite short story writers. The flow of his writing is exceptional at times and I seldom feel bogged down in unnecessary detail. He trusts to the imagination of the reader to form their own impressions and this is a great skill. I have also enjoyed some of Hill's work and recently giggled over Hawk's The Gadget. I find Zoo's work to unique because of her ability to resonate eerie dark tales in tangles of miscontructed sentences. I admire her for that and quite often, she sends chills up my spine.

We must remember that short stories come in every genre so it really is a matter of taste.

Thanks for taking the time to respond, you two. Couldn't agree more.

This reader must apologize. When he posted the original thread, he was hoping to get specific examples of exceptional stories that you might've read at some point during your tenure on LitNet. The reason why is that this reader has a renewed interest in short story writing and is delving through the Short Story Forum archive for reading.

So the original post will be amended for clarity, sorry.






J

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jack of Hearts

Thanks for taking the time to respond, you two. Couldn't agree more.

This reader must apologize. When he posted the original thread, he was hoping to get specific examples of exceptional stories that you might've read at some point during your tenure on LitNet. The reason why is that this reader has a renewed interest in short story writing and is delving through the Short Story Forum archive for reading.

So the original post will be amended for clarity, sorry.






J

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Now you're asking alot! It's Saturday morning here and I'm still on my first coffee! lol. I'll have a look for some examples later and post them.

Thankyou Delta.
I do not time have proprty look but here some. I haven't got round Hawk yet.

Hillwalker
http://www.online-literature.com/for...ad.php?t=59266 Target Practice.
http://www.online-literature.com/for...ad.php?t=59153 Brocken Spectre.

Steven.
http://www.online-literature.com/for...ad.php?t=62936 The Bust.
http://www.online-literature.com/for...ad.php?t=60632 Twenty- First Century Christo.

Delta.
http://www.online-literature.com/for...ad.php?t=62183 Respite.
http://www.online-literature.com/for...ad.php?t=61426 The Tea Lady.

I used to read short stories and poems here more frequently a while back. I guess there was a month or two where I was doing it quite a bit more often, for whatever reason. I can't remember many, but it is certainly true, I think, that looking around LitNet is at least as good of an idea as picking up some published collection of short stories in a bookstore--especially considering the price.

I do remember the first short story at this website that taught me that the Short Story Sharing sub-forum was actually an interesting place to spend some reading time now and then, though. It had techniques that paid off just when they were about to seem a flaw, and an overarching constraint that created a genre perfect for internet reading, at least in my case, at least for a little while.

God's Child

Thanks zoo. A few of those this reader hasn't read yet.

Happy 1,500 billl, and thanks for hitting the mark with that response. That story is from 2009. Time and the ever growing pool of stories has obscured it from view- it may very well be a treasure (this reader will read it very soon) and that's the essence of this thread. Appreciating obscured treasures... and perhaps learning from them.







J

http://www.online-literature.com/for...ad.php?t=63549 Dude Learns A Trade.
by Steve Hunley

It isn't finished yet but the three instalments are gripping reading.

Just wanted to say that I am also an admirer of Steve Hunley's short stories. I might get time later to post one particular story of his that I really enjoyed. If I can find it.

Steven Hunley is very good.

That work God's Child was a concise and effective piece of writing. So much good was done in that one. Thanks for sharing it.

Incidentally, while not a short story, prendrelemick's blog is something special. This reader spent part of this morning reading the inventory of various sheep pens and loved it, every inch. No idea why.






J

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DickZ

Hillwalker and Aunt Shecky have the best stories, in my opinion. I consider hillwalker’s The Brocken Spectre to be exceptional:

http://www.online-literature.com/for...ad.php?t=59153

Aunt Shecky has written several great ones, including a superior piece on a young boy who finds a shoebox with mysterious contents in a city dump.

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Here is the link to Aunt Shecky's masterpiece:

http://www.online-literature.com/for...9&postcount=18