Read More Short Stories #1

I got this idea from the Books on the Nightstand Podcast (credit where credit is due)

Short stories are a fantastic medium and I know I ought to read more of them. So for this swap, we are going to each read 5 short stories and write a paragraph about each of them which we will post to our partner.

The idea is to read 1 short story a day over a week, but in reality you will have 3 weeks to read the stories and write about them.

The rules are:

• Each story needs to be by a different author. They don't have to be in any specific genre and you can mix genres.

• Each story needs to be at least 500 words long, so no short Flash Fiction. They can be much longer of course - that's your choice.

• You can write more than a paragraph about each story, but a paragraph is minimum. Tell your partner what the story was about and what you thought of it. Did you like how it was written? What did it 'say' to you? Have you learnt anything from it? Would you read any more by that author?

• Make sure you tell your partner where they could find each story in case they want to read it, so include the name of the anthology/book, magazine (and issue number) or website.

Where do I find short stories?

• Anthologies or collections which you may have at home or from the library. Just make sure that you choose 5 stories with different authors.

• Literary magazines like The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Granta etc.

• Other magazines, such a women's magazines or general interest magazines often have short stories.

• Online - there are a wealth of sites where you can find free short stories. Try ShortStories.co.uk, American Classic Short Stories, Classic Short Stories, Mystery Short Stories, Free Short Stories. If none of these take your fancy, just type 'Short Stories' into Google and see what else you can find.

Once you have read your stories, please post your letter to your partner.

If this swap goes well, I'll try to do them regularly to get us all reading more short stories. Themed and Genre swaps are also an idea. No unexplained 1s or 3s, and a minimum rating of 4.95. I will angel but I hope I won't have to. I will allow newbies, but you must have well filled out profile.