The Short Story

What I've been reading and writing

I have always loved a good short story. The brevity, the quick strike of meaning and impact. A great short story can be as compelling as any great novel.

One of my all-time favorites is Hemingway’s “Cat in the Rain.” It is a masterclass in the iceberg method, where so much of the story is hidden yet the reader knows it’s there, waiting to be discovered. Of course, “Hills Like White Elephants” is one that is still taught in high school classes today for the same reason.

There are many living, contemporary masters, as well. Too many to name. But here are a few I would suggest over and over. Any short story by any of these writers is worth the time:

Claire Keegan, George Saunders, Paul Yoon, and Haruki Murakami.

In recent months, I’ve been writing and submitting short stories. Also shopping a collection. It is never easy to find homes for these stories. That crazy journey is for another post. But for this one, I offer a story in The Write Launch, an online journal that is doing wonderful work publishing short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.

Love for you to read it.

In the end, whatever your passion, keep at it. Be it sport, art, music, cooking. It doesn’t matter. The doing is the thing. Sharing is wonderful, but the creation is everything.

SNOWFLAKES SHALL BE YOUR BUTTERFLIES

by David W. Berner

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David W. Berner is the author of several books of award-winning fiction and memoir. His latest poetry collection, Garden Tools is available from Finishing Line Press. He is the Poet Laureate of the Village of Clarendon Hills, Illinois and his novella, American Moon will be published by Regal House Publishing on September 15, 2026.