If you have writing talent and have a good command of English, you must have imagined yourself becoming a novelist—preferably not only a local but an international best-seller—someday. That’s a tall order indeed, and I must confess that I once entertained that notion myself; in time, though, I became convinced that writing novels or even short stories wasn’t exactly my piece of cake. I was sure that I had enough command of the language, but writing fiction just didn’t fit my character, temperament, and working habits.
But this didn’t mean that I could no longer enjoy or appreciate a good novel or short story; in fact, my giving up any ambition to be a fiction writer had heightened my sense and sensibility for good fiction writing. I became a fiction gourmand, so to speak, devouring so many novels and short stories particularly when I was much younger. These days, though, I have become much more selective in my readings and read fewer and fewer novels and short stories. It now takes a supreme act of will for me to browse for a good read in the many fiction books that swamp the bookstores month after month after month.
This is why I was so delighted a few days ago when I stumbled on a huge treasure trove of short stories on the web—not just any short-story collection, mind you, but hundreds of the very best short stories ever written from the time of Miguel Cervantes in the Middle Ages to John Updike in the present day. And at the end of the collection many of the featured short-story writers themselves discuss their craft—where they get the inspiration for their stories, how do they go about writing them, the whole creative process!
In the next many months, whenever I have free time, I’ll be reading the stories in this collection for the sheer pleasure of vicariously living the slices of life told by these masters of the short-story craft. As for you, whether you just love reading a good story yourself or aspire to be a master someday of the short-story craft and later of the novel, this free collection, “Story Classics: The Best from the Masters of the Genre,” would be a such a bountiful source of quiet entertainment and an inexhaustible creative resource.
Go to “Story Classics: The Best from the Masters of the Genre” now! THIS SITE IS NO LONGER AVAILABLEUPDATE (September 5, 2014):The website of “Short Story Classics: The Best from the Masters of the Genre” has been taken down so that superb collection of short stories is no longer accessible. In its place, however, I am heartily recommending a similarly rich and extensive collection, “Classic Reader - Short Stories,” that presents some of the best works of a very wide range of authors spanning several centuries. The selections are alphabetically indexed by author and title so you’ll find it quick and easy to browse and read particular authors and titles that strike your fancy.
Check out and read the “Classic Reader - Short Stories” now!
