# data[].attributes.headline
40 Excellent Short Stories for Middle School to Inspire your Writing

# data[].attributes.subject
40 Excellent Short Stories for Middle School to Inspire your Writing

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
40 Excellent Short Stories For Middle School

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Middle school is a funny place. Students can be mature and insightful one minute, obtuse and petulant the next. Yet even the most resistant scholar will enjoy a good story. The 40 stories below are sometimes surprising, other times hair-raising. They are all guaranteed to raise questions and instigate discussions in your classroom that can [...]

# data[].attributes.headline
An interview with Writer Gwendolyn Brooks

# data[].attributes.subject
An interview with Writer Gwendolyn Brooks

# data[].attributes.headline
Listen to Dr. Maya Angelou's take on the creative process behind writing

# data[].attributes.subject
Listen to Dr. Maya Angelou's take on the creative process behind writing

# data[].attributes.body
Listen to Dr. Maya Angelou's take on the creative process behind writing

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Listen to Dr. Maya Angelou's take on the creative process behind writing

# data[].attributes.headline
Author Jason Reynolds on sharing personal stories

# data[].attributes.subject
Author Jason Reynolds on sharing personal stories

# data[].attributes.body
Author Jason Reynolds on sharing personal stories

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Author Jason Reynolds on sharing personal stories

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why diverse stories matter | Nikesh Shukla | TEDxLondon

# data[].attributes.body
GUIDING QUESTION: Can I see a rubric for how the short story competition entries will be assessed?

This rubric will help you ensure your story has all the required elements to create a strong story and also score highly with the panel of judges in the short story competition.

# data[].attributes.body
GUIDING QUESTION: Can I read the short story competition rules?

Irving Short Story Competition Rules

This document lays out the rules that must be followed if you wish to enter your short story to the school competition.

# data[].attributes.body
GUIDING QUESTION: Can I see the short story requirements for the competition?

Irving Short Story Competition Requirements

This documents explains the requirements for your short story to be submitted to the school competition.

# data[].attributes.body
GUIDING QUESTION: Can I look through some writing prompts to inspire my writing?

This is a blog that includes plenty of writing prompts that can help you to get started with a short story. Every week, new prompts are added and it is possible to search by genre.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Want a story idea right away? No problem! Here are our top ten favorite story ideas for you to use:

A group of villains go on a team-building retreat.

You are granted one wish. But you have to use the wish for someone else.

Instead of trying to get a man on the moon, every nation raced to be the first at the very bottom of the ocean.

Money really does grow on trees and is heavily regulated by governments.

A plane takes off with 81 passengers. It lands with 82.

You are home alone watching TV. A character dials a number on their phone. Your phone rings.

You open a fortune cookie at a Chinese restaurant. Inside is a handwritten note.

A magician, a troll, and a college student walk into a bar.

It is the year 3000. The sun starts to flicker.

An optimist becomes a pessimist. Why?

Top 10 short story ideas... also for you!

Everyone who writes short stories out there knows that short stories are different - and not just because they're, well, shorter. So if you're seeking a short story idea, we've got you. Here are our favorite bite-sized short story ideas:

Turn one of your grandparent's old stories into fiction.

A romance told through a series of texts.

Two people are playing chess. One person can read minds, the other person can see the future.

Write a story that draws from a moment in your life where you wish you'd made a different choice. Have your protagonist make that choice, and then see what happens.

Amazon has invented time travel and introduced pre-emptive shipping. Today, you receive something completely unexpected from your future self.

Write about the way the sunset looks from the perspective of two characters. One is sad, the other is happy.

A wand-maker goes to the forest ready to work, only to find a group of environmentalists camped out in front of their favorite hemlock tree.

Pick a genre and then write about a long walk home after school.

The last person on earth celebrates their own birthday.

A team of scientists have successfully teleported an apple. It reappears with a bite taken out of it.

How to come up with short story ideas yourself

We get it: writing prompts are an excellent resource, but you want to know how to come up with your own story ideas, maybe even ideas for a book-length project. Here are four of our go-to tricks when thinking of interesting things to write about.

1) People-watch: Hands down, this our favourite way to come up with story ideas. All stories, even ones about robots or plants, have some element of humanity at its core. There are therefore a countless number of stories to be found by observing human nature. 90% of the prompts included in our writing prompts newsletter are inspired by simply staring out a window and watching people go by.

2) Forget what you already know: Have you ever become trapped in a "but why?" loop with a child? It's enough to make your head spin or an existential crisis occur. But if you can return to this sense of curiosity and wondering you had as a child, you can find a treasure trove of short story ideas to be found. Take in your surroundings and ask yourself why things are the way they are. What if they were different? What would that look like and how would it work?

3) Use your day job: If you feel like you have the most interesting job on the planet, well, perfect! It shouldn't be hard to use it as plot-fodder for a great short story. On the other hand, if you find yourself yawning a lot at work, ask yourself: What could happen to make this work day interesting? Let's say you work as a receptionist but your real passion lies with art. Write a story about a receptionist who sees a colleague hang a new piece of art in their cubicle - one the receptionist recognizes as being famous for going missing a century ago.

4) Read: Imagine walking up to a piano and trying to make beautiful music without ever having heard it played before. You need to consume great short stories in order to know what you enjoy about them. Figure out what you like, and you'll be on the path to great writing topics.

Ready to start submitting your short story to writing contests? Find the right one for you in our list of writing contests.

Looking for writing tips? Sign up for our free course: How to Craft a Killer Short Story.

Learn How to Craft a Killer Short Story

A free 10-day publishing course.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
200+ Short Story Ideas... And How to Brainstorm Your Own!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Prepare to kick your writing into gear by browsing through our list of 200+ short story ideas. New prompts are added each week, and you can search by genre.

# data[].attributes.body
GUIDING QUESTION: Can I learn some techniques to generate short story ideas?

YouTuber Reedsey shares ideas and techniques for generating a short story such as starting with a character type that can be turned into an idea by combining it with something unexpected, or starting with a setting into which you drop a specific character to see what the setting brings out of the character. Another technique covered is a story that explores a relationship or from starting from form such as using an unusual point of view such as from the point of view of an object.

# data[].attributes.headline
A List of Guiding Questions To Accompany this Padlet

# data[].attributes.subject
A List of Guiding Questions To Accompany this Padlet

# data[].attributes.body
This is a plethora of resources to inspire you as you work to create your short story for the narrative unit/short story competition. Guiding Questions include:

What components should a short story have?

How do I start to write a short story?

What kind of environment would be good for me to write in?

What different methods are there for writing a short story?

How long is a short story?

What do the terms setting, characterization, rising action, climax, resolution, conflict, denouement mean? Can I listen to some examples of short stories?

How do I write a great short story?

# data[].attributes.body
GUIDING QUESTION: Can I look at some images to help me come up with story ideas?

This weekly picture from The New York Times could be a good starter for students to get ideas for a short story. There is a 'back catalog' of previous images used which are easy to access also, and it is possible to search for certain images on the open website.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Intriguing Times images stripped of their captions — and an invitation to students to discuss them live.

# data[].attributes.body
GUIDING QUESTION: Can I listen to some examples of short stories?

This podcast features new short stories from living writers written exclusively for Radio 4, a UK public radio station, and leading commissioner of new short stories.

It is produced by the team who created the BBC National Short Story Award and other in-house reading teams at Radio 4.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Your weekly fix of brand new stories written specially by today's best writers. Brought to you by BBC Radio 4, home of the Modern Short Story.

Brand new stories, from today's best writers written exclusively for Radio 4 - the home of the Short Story

Radio 4 is the world's leading commissioner of new short stories. Expect excellent writing from the hottest names offering compelling snapshots of the way we live now, produced by the experts behind the BBC National Short Story Award and other in-house readings teams.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Your weekly fix of brand new stories written specially by today's best writers. Brought to you by BBC Radio 4, home of the Modern Short Story. Brand new stories, from today's best writers written exclusively for Radio 4 - the home of the Short Story Radio 4 is the world's leading commissioner of new short stories.

# data[].attributes.body
GUIDING QUESTION: How do I come up with an idea or a theme for a short story?

YouTuber Reedsy, shares advice and tips on how to conceptualize a short story including the length of a short story (1500- 8500words ), what you want to accomplish in a story, what theme you wish to explore, the purpose of your story, choosing a key event, building characters, and brainstorming first lines to open a story.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Conceptualizing a Short Story | Short Fiction Deep Dive #1

# data[].attributes.body
GUIDING QUESTION: How do I start to draft a short story?

What different methods are there for writing a short story?

YouTuber, Reedsy, shares their advice and tips on how to draft out your short story covering five writing methods including The Flashlight Method, Writing Line by Line, Free Writing, It also covers how to cut redundant scenes, avoid making unintentional symbols, developing characters and their motivations and goals and bridging your start and end in your story.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Drafting a Short Story | Short Fiction Deep Dive #2

# data[].attributes.body
GUIDING QUESTION What components are typiclaly in a shor story? Can I see a story map?

This resource can help you to understand the key components of the form of the short story, so you can plan out your own stories to include each element. It is freely available on Teachers Pay Teachers.

# data[].attributes.body
GUIDING QUESTION: Can I listen to some examples of short stories?

This open website provides many stories with audio versions of a read aloud for you to listen to or to choose to read aloud yourself. "Read Me a Story, Ink is offered for the use of teachers, educators, parents or anyone who enjoys reading to children. At readmeastoryink.com you will find both printable and audio stories by award winning authors, numerous recommended reading lists for various ages, links to other wonderful and diverse children’s sites, and an index of 1,761 short stories perfect for reading aloud."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Whether you're an educator, parent, or an avid fan of read-aloud stories, you'll find stories to listen to, stories to read, and book recommendations.

# data[].attributes.body
GUIDING QUESTION: Can I read some well written, successful short stories in different genres?

Find stories to inspire your students from this collection of stories curated by the open website 'We Are Teachers'. There are also links to the stories that are included in teh collection shared.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Short stories are a perfect teaching tool for middle schoolers. Because they require less time to read, they're an easy way to expose your students to new authors and genres. Also, between stylistic intricacies and plot twists, short stories hook readers and hold middle schoolers' attention like nothing else.

We've compiled this list of short stories that are great for teaching middle schoolers. Links to each story are included below (they are sometimes scanned reproductions). Always remember to check in advance for typos, and be sure to respect copyright protections. Finally, before you bring these short stories for middle schoolers to your classroom, make sure the material (and whatever twist ending is in store) is previewed and appropriate.

Best Short Stories for Middle Schoolers

1. "Recitatif" by Toni Morrison

"The minute I walked in and the Big Bozo introduced us, I got sick to my stomach. It was one thing to be taken out of your own bed early in the morning-it was something else to be stuck in a strange place with a girl from a whole other race."

Why I love this: Morrison's stated goal in this short story, which begins in an orphanage, was to remove "all racial codes from a narrative about two characters of different races for whom racial identity is crucial." Also, it's perfect for studying style and spurring conversation.

"'Does this safari guarantee I come back alive?'"

"'We guarantee nothing,'" said the official, 'except the dinosaurs.'"

Why I love this: It's rich with descriptive language and fast-paced, dialogue-heavy action. This story unfolds its terrible tension to reveal a perfect ending.

"Maple Street. 6:44 p.m., on a late September evening. Maple Street in the last calm and reflective moments ... before the monsters came!"

Why I love this: Reading a play can be a wonderful classroom management trick. For example, let the talkative kids ham it up, let the quiet kids just follow along, and let the sound-effects kids do their thing.

"Among the newcomers were two young men, one of handsome presence with a bold, frank countenance and manner; the other a ruffled, glum-faced person, heavily built and roughly dressed. The two were handcuffed together."

Why I love this: Even though O. Henry's language can be tough for kids today, "Hearts and Hands" is quick and clear and hits exactly as you want his stories to hit.

5. "The Fir Tree" by Hans Christian Andersen

"And the Wind kissed the Tree, and the Dew wept tears over him; but the Fir understood it not."

Why I love this: It's a poetic fairy tale, and it's great for teaching theme. Expect that short stories like this one will make middle schoolers get mad at you, though.

6. "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant

"The sight of the little Breton girl who came to do the work in her little house aroused heart-broken regrets and hopeless dreams in her mind."

Why I love this: It's great for honors students and for teaching how to write compelling characterization.

"Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death."

Why I love this: It's a perfect anchor text for a discussion assignment.

9. "The Circuit" by Francisco Jiménez

"It was that time of year again. Ito, the strawberry sharecropper, did not smile. It was natural. The peak of the strawberry season was over and the last few days the workers, most of them braceros, were not picking as many boxes as they had during the months of June and July."

Why I love this: We enjoy doing this as a read-aloud, to lead into reflective writing or discussion.

10. "Flipped" by Wendelin Van Draanen

"All I've ever wanted is for Juli Baker to leave me alone. For her to back off-you know, just give me some space."

"The first day I met Bryce Loski, I flipped. Honestly, one look at him and I became a lunatic. It's his eyes. Something in his eyes. They're blue, and framed in the blackness of his lashes, they're dazzling. Absolutely breathtaking."

Why I love this: We can explore how different points of view affect our understanding, and it's a very accessible text for middle school students.

"Framton shivered slightly and turned towards the niece with a look intended to convey sympathetic comprehension. The child was staring out through the open window with dazed horror in her eyes."

Why I love this: It's flexible enough for everything from a Halloween read-aloud or a close reading for setting, theme, and characterization.

"Before the clock was quiet again, many in the crowd saw that in the first room, the blue room, there was a masquerader who had not been seen before."

Why I love this: Because Poe should be included in every list of short stories for middle schoolers. Also, Death is a character, and it's a wonderful example of descriptive writing.

"We chose for our victim the only child of an influential citizen named Ebenezer Dorset. He was a boy of ten, with red hair. Bill and I thought that Ebenezer would pay a ransom of two thousand dollars to get his boy back. But wait till I tell you."

Why I love this: It's hilarious, because it's basically Home Alone set in the Old West.

"These are desperate times, and I'm not as desperate as a lot of people, but I'm desperate enough to need this job."

Why I love this: Filled with Alexie's trademark style, it's a quick look at the generation gap and perfect for a read-aloud or studying characterization. Like his other story on this list, the text we chose is edited to be more school-appropriate.

"He was a good husband, a good father. I don't understand it. I don't believe in it. I don't believe that it happened. I saw it happen but it isn't true. It can't be."

Why I love this: We savor the slow realization that the people in the story might not be exactly what they seem, and kids love [ spoiler alert].

"He lay on the sidewalk, bleeding, and he thought only: That was a fierce rumble. They got me good that time, but he did not know he was dying."

Why I love this: We learn how it ends right in the beginning. This piques students' curiosity so they continue to read with attention and curiosity.

17. "The Bet" by Anton Chekhov

"Execution kills instantly, life-imprisonment kills by degrees. Who is the more humane executioner, one who kills you in a few seconds or one who draws the life out of you incessantly, for years?"

Why I love this: It has all the ethical questions of the best Russian novels.

"It's like that in America. It's a place where things can change for people, and many people always seem to have hope. At least that's how it seems to me. Maybe I was beginning to think this way, too, although my hope was very small."

Why I love this: It's long enough for a mini-unit, and it's great for teaching the basics of storytelling and style.

"Greg thought he heard the noise again. His stomach tightened as he held himself still and listened intently. There weren't any more scraping noises, but he was sure he had heard something in the darkness-something breathing!"

Why I love this: WDM's universe is immediately accessible for many middle school kids, and this story gives us a chance to expand the unit into a study of the blues and all the musical genres it inspired, unleashing all kinds of creative project possibilities.

"On the way to his homeroom, Victor tried a scowl. He felt foolish, until out of the corner of his eye he saw a girl looking at him. Umm, he thought, maybe it does work. He scowled with greater conviction."

Why I love this: This story captures the middle school experience so well, and Soto always does such a great job integrating diverse voices into his work.

"Then I said if I had my glases I coud see better I usally only ware my glases in the movies or TV but I said they are in the closit in the hall. I got them. Then I said let me see that card agen I bet Ill find it now."

Why I love this: The story of an intellectually disabled man who is temporarily able to blend into "normal" society brings out great questions, even for today's students.

"In real life I am a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands. In the winter I wear flannel nightgowns to bed and overalls during the day. I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man."

Why I love this: If you're looking for short stories for middle schoolers to teach descriptive characterizations, Walker's text serves as a wonderful model.

"The room was warm, the curtains were closed, the two table lamps were lit. On the cupboard behind her there were two glasses and some drinks. Mary Maloney was waiting for her husband to come home from work."

Why I love this: It shakes up kids' perceptions of Dahl, whom they know from "James and the Giant Peach" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

"Casually, one day, Miss Dietrich asked Nancy Lee what color frame she thought would be best on her picture. That had been the first inkling."

Why I love this: It's a compelling and troubling story that ends with a note of inspiration, which is what all our students need right now.

"The light was so weak at noon that when Pelayo was coming back to the house after throwing away the crabs, it was hard for him to see what it was that was moving and groaning in the rear of the courtyard. He had to go very close to see that it was an old man, a very old man, lying face down in the mud, who, in spite of his tremendous efforts, couldn't get up, impeded by his enormous wings."

Why I love this: Exploring Márquez's magical realism is an exciting, eye-opening experience for students.

26. "Charles" by Shirley Jackson

"'Why did Charles hit the teacher?' I asked quickly.

'Because she tried to make him color with red crayons,' Laurie said. 'Charles wanted to color with green crayons so he hit the teacher and she spanked him and said nobody play with Charles but everybody did.'"

Why I love this: It validates the experience of students who don't play by the rules, and it's still got the perfect twist ending.

"We walked along the upper corridor in the shadows, walking from patch of moonlight to patch of moonlight. It really was a big house. I wished I had a flashlight."

Why I love this: Students simply love it. Period. Gaiman knows how to write for today's kids, and this story never fails to hold their attention from the drop.

"At the hotel my mother was Missus Alburest, and I was little girl, as in, 'Hey, little girl, stop riding the elevator up and down. It's not a toy.'"

Why I love this: It's less a short story than an anecdotal essay about the words we use to identify one another, especially our loved ones. It's one of those short stories for middle schoolers that's perfect for starting the school year.

"That was because the sun was absent from the sky. This fact did not worry the man. He was not alarmed by the lack of sun. It had been days since he had seen the sun."

Why I love this: It remains engaging, the pace is perfect for studying plot, and the style is a fun model for narratives.

30. "The Fly" by Katherine Mansfield

"The door shut, the firm heavy steps recrossed the bright carpet, the fat body plumped down in the spring chair, and leaning forward, the boss covered his face with his hands. He wanted, he intended, he had arranged to weep."

Why I love this: It's a skillfully written riddle of a short story.

"I was six when my mother taught me the art of invisible strength. It was a strategy for winning arguments, respect from others, and eventually, though neither of us knew it at the time, chess games."

Why I love this: We use it early in the school year as a subliminal recruitment tool for our chess team.

"Will Harris sat on the bench in the waiting room for another hour. His pride was not the only thing that hurt. He wanted them to call him in and get him registered so he could get out of there."

Why I love this: It's a small story about a very big issue, and it's driven by compelling dialogue.

33. "The Sniper" by Liam O'Flaherty

"On a rooftop near O'Connell Bridge, a Republican sniper lay watching. Beside him lay his rifle and over his shoulders was slung a pair of field glasses. His face was the face of a student, thin and ascetic, but his eyes had the cold gleam of the fanatic."

Why I love this: The video game generation connects quickly to the setting, and the moral questions are worth talking about.

34. "Civil Peace" by Chinua Achebe

"He had come out of the war with five inestimable blessings-his head, his wife Maria's head, and the heads of three out of their four children. As a bonus he also had his old bicycle-a miracle too but naturally not to be compared to the safety of five human heads."

Why I love this: There are opportunities to discuss point of view and theme and to explore countless research topics.

"Tradition. In Miss Ralston's class the boys have always carried the water bucket. Until one day, the girls decide it's time to challenge the rule."

Why I love this: What better way to empower young world-changers than a short story for middle schoolers about gender roles?

"The next day when the principal called me into his office I knew what it would be about. He looked uncomfortable and unhappy. I decided I wasn't going to make it any easier for him, so I looked him straight in the eyes. He looked away and fidgeted with the papers on his desk."

Why I love this: The limited first-person perspective of the young narrator provides an interesting window on racial and social politics.

"Antonio was fair, lean, and lanky, while Felix was dark, short, and husky. Antonio's hair was always falling over his eyes, while Felix wore his black hair in a natural Afro style."

Why I love this: It works as a great extension text if you're examining sports fiction, buddy stories, ethical questions, or characterization.

"In that vast cemetery where the odor of death was already attracting vultures from far away, and where the weeping of orphans and wails of the injured filled the air, the little girl obstinately clinging to life became the symbol of the tragedy."

Why I love this: Allende does historical fiction like no other.

"It was very hot and the express from Barcelona would come in forty minutes. It stopped at this junction for two minutes and went on to Madrid."

Why I love this: Students can analyze craft, bias, and character development.

40. "The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury

"They walked down the hall of their HappyLife Home, which had cost them thirty thousand dollars with everything included. This house which clothed and fed and rocked them to sleep and played and sang and was good to them."

Why I love this: Every student enjoys reading a story about getting revenge on their parents.

"'Gee,' said Tommy, 'what a waste. When you're through with the book, you just throw it away, I guess. Our television screen must have had a million books on it and it's good for plenty more. I wouldn't throw it away.'"

Why I love it: This science-fiction story works wonderfully as a compare-and-contrast text or as a model for students' own speculative narratives.

"George and Hazel were watching television. There were tears on Hazel's cheeks, but she'd forgotten for the moment what they were about. On the television screen were ballerinas."

Why I love this: The subversive genius of Kurt Vonnegut always provides essential lessons in style and critical thinking.

"'In my time,' said the grandmother, folding her thin veined fingers, 'children were more respectful of their native states and their parents and everything else. People did right then.'"

Why I love this: It really freaks out the kids when the grandmother meets her match in a twist that we see coming just in time to really feel the horror. If you're looking for short stories that are engaging and rich for character study, this is the one for middle schoolers.

44. "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros

"You open your eyes and everything's just like yesterday, only it's today. And you don't feel eleven at all. You feel like you're still ten. And you are-underneath the year that makes you eleven."

Why I love this: It's an elegant work of fiction with poetic devices. And it's adorable.

"It was about eleven o'clock at night, and she was walking alone, when a boy ran up behind her and tried to snatch her purse. The strap broke with the single tug the boy gave it from behind."

Why I love this: It's an example of an important lesson taught with firm grace and compassion. The beautiful characterization makes it a great text to study for technique.

"'Or what if there was a wish machine on your wall?' Ray said, snatching the bag of generic-bag chips off Benny's mattress and pushing a grubby hand inside."

Why I love this: It gets kids thinking about the future in unique ways.

47. "Valediction" by Sherman Alexie

"The next morning, we met up before school, and vowed to never do it again. One time was kind of innocent, but more than that would be criminal. But after practice that night, we did it again. Then again the day after that. We shoplifted for a week."

Why I love this: Few writers do coming-of-age stories these days better than Alexie, and this has a solid lesson.

48. "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid

"Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap; wash the color clothes on Tuesday and put them on the clothesline to dry; don't walk bare-head in the hot sun; cook pumpkin fritters in very hot sweet oil ..."

Why I love this: It's unconventional and accessible at the same time. I love exposing students to different types of narratives, because it really helps them extend their creative ideas.

"I remember never believing that whites were really real."

Why I love this: The narrative takes the ordinary American perspective and turns it on its head like only Ms. Angelou can do.

"It had been raining for seven years; thousands upon thousands of days compounded and filled from one end to the other with rain, with the drum and gush of water, with the sweet crystal fall of showers and the concussion of storms so heavy they were tidal waves come over the islands."

Why I love this: You can align it to events in American history when it was written. In addition, you can use it to help students imagine their own versions of the future.

51. "The Medicine Bag" by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve

"I watched the group as it slowly came closer and saw that in the center of the strange procession was a man wearing a tall black hat. He'd pause now and then to peer at something in his hand and then at the houses on either side of the street. I felt cold and hot at the same time as I recognized the man. 'Oh, no!' I whispered. 'It's Grandpa!'"

Why I love this: Short stories for middle schoolers that highlight the wisdom and experience of elders are always welcome in my classroom.

"We'd arrived at St. Lucy's this morning, part of a pack fifteen-strong. We were accompanied by a mousy, nervous-smelling social worker, the baby-faced deacon, Bartholomew the blue wolfhound, and four burly woodsmen."

Why I love this: Great literature about werewolves is a joy to teach.

"Yollie's mother, Mrs. Moreno, was a large woman who wore a muu-muu and butterfly-shaped glasses. She liked to water her lawn in the evening and wave at low-riders, who would stare at her behind their smoky sunglasses and laugh."

Why I love this: It causes students to examine their relationships with family.

"If still you think me mad, you will think so no longer when I describe the wise precautions I took for the concealment of the body. The night waned, and I worked hastily, but in silence. First of all I dismembered the corpse. I cut off the head and the arms and the legs."

Why I love this: It has a ghost story with an unreliable narrator, terrifying action, and no ghost.

Why I love this: It's fun to perform in class. Also, you can pair this with the Twilight Zone version to analyze craft and perspective.

"He walked briskly down the street. He was trying to do everything briskly these days. Briskness, he had decided, was the one common characteristic of all successful businessmen."

Why I love this: I get the chills just thinking about this story. Students love that too.

"Dragonriders, even if they were still only hopeful candidates for the glowing eggs which were hardening on the hot sands of the Hatching Ground cavern, were expected to be punctual and prepared."

Why I love this: It's simply a beautiful story, and kids love the fantasy/sci-fi motifs.

"It was I who renamed him. When he crawled, he crawled backwards, as if he were in reverse and couldn't change gears. If you called him, he'd turn around as if he were going in the other direction, then he'd back right up to you to be picked up. Crawling backward made him look like a doodlebug, so I began to call him Doodle."

Why I love this: It's one of those short stories for middle schoolers that's straight-up heartbreaking, so be prepared for that, but it's also rich with symbolism and character development.

"I never had summer-I had summer school. First grade, summer school. Second grade, summer school. Thirdgradesummerschoolfourthgradesummerschool. In fifth grade, I vowed I would get interested in fractions, the presidents of the United States, Mesopotamia; I would learn my English."

Why I love this: It's Julia Alvarez, which means the kids don't even realize they're reading. In fact, they're just experiencing her point of view, which is always engaging.

60. "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson

"The lottery was conducted-as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program-by Mr. Summers, who had time and energy to devote to civic activities. He was a round-faced, jovial man and he ran the coal business, and people were sorry for him because he had no children and his wife was a scold."

Why I love this: It connects to familiar dystopian stories, and it sharpens reading skills.

"One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one's cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas."

Why I love this: It's a classic story students can rewrite their own updates for.

"When I found out that my parents had invited the minister's family over for Christmas Eve dinner, I cried. What would Robert think of our shabby Chinese Christmas? What would he think of our noisy Chinese relatives who lacked proper American manners?"

Why I love this: Point of view matters in short stories for middle schoolers.

"An abrupt sound startled him. Off to the right he heard it, and his ears, expert in such matters, could not be mistaken. Again he heard the sound, and again. Somewhere, off in the blackness, someone had fired a gun three times."

Why I love this: You know the story. Aside from its twisted morals, it offers an example in building plot tension.

"Papi and I have a long-term business plan. I'm going to take over his company one day and turn it into an empire. Home Depot will eat my dust. I've already designed my business cards. They've got a sun rising and fancy gold letters: MERCI SUAREZ, CEO, SOL PAINTING, INC."

Why I love this: It appeals to many students for whom so much of our content lacks relevance. In addition, the narrator's voice is so compelling.

65. "Main Street" by Jacqueline Woodson

"As I watched (the plow), pressing against the window, I said to my father, 'I want to move through the world that quietly, that powerfully.'"

Why I love this: It works as a close-read text. In addition, it's a profoundly well-developed story.

66. "Raymond's Run" by Toni Cade Bambara

"I don't have much work to do around the house like some girls. My mother does that. And I don't have to earn my pocket money by hustling; George runs errands for the big boys and sells Christmas cards. And anything else that's got to get done, my father does. All I have to do in life is mind my brother Raymond, which is enough."

Why I love this: Middle school students know what it means to stand by your family, and this story leads to great conversations about theme.

"Do you believe? Do you accept the festival, the city, the joy? No? Then let me describe one more thing."

Why I love this: It's more of a proposition than a story. As a result, students can explore meaning and consider the ethical questions Le Guin raises.

"If thirteen is supposed to be an unlucky number, what does it mean that we are forced to go through an entire year with that as our age? I mean, you would think a civilized society could just come up with a way for us to skip it."

Why I love this: What's not to love about awkward teenage experiences?

"He took something out of his pocket and held it out for them. Mrs. White drew back with a look of disgust, but her son, taking it, examined it curiously."

Why I love this: It's an important lesson, and the dialogue-driven text is engaging for students.

70. "The Boo Hag" by Veronica Byrd

"But Emmet had his eyes set on a beautifully mysterious young woman who lived alone in a small cabin deep in the marsh. She was incredibly beautiful, with long dark hair, smooth skin and piercing green eyes. But word around town was that she was a little strange, and it was best to stay away from her."

Why I love this: It connects short stories with the tradition of oral storytelling.

Searching for more short stories for middle schoolers?

Check out these recommendations for short stories middle schoolers will love compiled by the Seattle Public Library, the Short Story Guide, and Barnes & Noble.

Plus, we love these anthologies that include short stories for middle schoolers: A Thousand Beginnings and Endings compiled by We Need Diverse Books' Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman, and Meet Cute: Some People Are Destined to Meet by Sona Charaipotra, Dhonielle Clayton, Nicola Yoon, Ibi Zoboi, et al.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
70 Great Short Stories To Teach in Middle School

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The best short stories for middle schoolers to hold their attention and encourage them to read more. Recommended by teachers!

# data[].attributes.body
This award winning podcast for kids and families produces content that is inspired by kids and will inspire kids. Listen to professional actors such as Kristen Bell, John Oliver, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sara Bareilles, Seth Myers and many more perform stories that are derived from the ideas that kids offer up and are then turned into skits and songs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Story Pirates podcasts turns kids’ stories into comedy and songs! See the original stories, lyrics, and behind the scenes photos and videos!

# data[].attributes.headline
Timeless Advice on Writing: The Collected Wisdom of Great Writers by Maria Popova

# data[].attributes.subject
Timeless Advice on Writing: The Collected Wisdom of Great Writers by Maria Popova

# data[].attributes.body
GUIDING QUESTION: Can I read some advice from some famous writers?

Maria Popova's article links to several different articles which include some sound and varied advice from an assortment of known writers from the past and those writing today.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Hemingway, Didion, Baldwin, Fitzgerald, Sontag, Vonnegut, Bradbury, Morrison, Orwell, Le Guin, Woolf, and other titans of literature.

By popular demand, I've put together a periodically updated reading list of all the famous advice on writing presented here over the years, featuring words of wisdom from such masters of the craft as Kurt Vonnegut, Susan Sontag, Henry Miller, Stephen King, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Susan Orlean, Ernest Hemingway, Zadie Smith, and more.

Please enjoy.

1. Anton Chekhov's 6 Rules for a Great Story

Mastering the essential complementarity of compassion and total objectivity.

2. Zadie Smith on What Writers Can Learn from Some of History's Greatest Dancers

"Between propriety and joy choose joy."

3. The Continuous Thread of Revelation: Eudora Welty on Writing, Time, and Embracing the Nonlinearity of How We Become Who We Are

"Greater than scene... is situation. Greater than situation is implication. Greater than all of these is a single, entire human being, who will never be confined in any frame."

Each month, I spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars keeping The Marginalian ( formerly Brain Pickings) going. For fifteen years, it has remained free and ad-free and alive thanks to patronage from readers. I have no staff, no interns, not even an assistant - a thoroughly one-woman labor of love that is also my life and my livelihood. If this labor has made your own life more livable in the past year (or the past decade), please consider aiding its sustenance with a one-time or loyal donation. Your support makes all the difference.

The Marginalian has a free Sunday digest of the week's most mind-broadening and heart-lifting reflections spanning art, science, poetry, philosophy, and other tendrils of our search for truth, beauty, meaning, and creative vitality. Here's an example. Like? Claim yours:

Also: Because The Marginalian is well into its second decade and because I write primarily about ideas of timeless nourishment, each Wednesday I dive into the archive and resurface from among the thousands of essays one worth resavoring. Subscribe to this free midweek pick-me-up for heart, mind, and spirit below - it is separate from the standard Sunday digest of new pieces:

One-time donation

You can also become a spontaneous supporter with a one-time donation in any amount:

BITCOIN DONATION

Partial to Bitcoin? You can beam some bit-love my way: 197usDS6AsL9wDKxtGM6xaWjmR5ejgqem7

CANCEL MONTHLY SUPPORT

Need to cancel an existing donation? (It's okay - life changes course. I treasure your kindness and appreciate your support for as long as it lasted.) You can do so on this page.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Timeless Advice on Writing: The Collected Wisdom of Great Writers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
By popular demand, I've put together a periodically updated reading list of all the famous advice on writing presented here over the years, featuring words of wisdom from such masters of the craft as Kurt Vonnegut, Susan Sontag, Henry Miller, Stephen King, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Susan Orlean, Ernest Hemingway, Zadie Smith, and more.

# data[].attributes.headline
Article in "The Guardian" How to Write a Great Short Story

# data[].attributes.subject
Article in "The Guardian" How to Write a Great Short Story

# data[].attributes.body
GUIDING QUESTION:What components should a short story have?

Donal Ryan shares some encouraging ideas on how to write a great short story with the sound advice of just getting your story out, being truthful, not worrying and taking risks.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
he first story I wrote outside of school was about Irish boxer Barry McGuigan. I was 10 and I loved Barry. He'd just lost his world featherweight title to the American Steve Cruz under the hellish Nevada sun and the only thing that could mend my broken heart was a restoration of my hero's belt. Months passed and there was no talk of a rematch, so I wrote a story about it.

My imagined fight was in Ireland, and I was ringside. In my story I'd arranged the whole thing. I'd even given Barry some tips on countering Steve's vicious hook. It went the distance but Barry won easily on points. He hugged Steve. His dad sang "Danny Boy". I felt as I finished my story an intense relief. The world in that moment was restful and calm. I'd created a new reality for myself, and I was able to occupy it for a while, to feel a joy I'd created by moving a biro across paper. I think of that story now every single time I sit down to write. I strive for the feeling of rightness it gave me, that feeling of peace.

It took me a while to regain that feeling. When I left school, where I was lucky enough to be roundly encouraged and told with conviction that I was a writer, I inexplicably embarked on a career of self-sabotage, only allowing my literary ambitions to surface very sporadically, and then burning the results in fits of disgust. Nothing I wrote rang true; nothing felt worthy of being read.

Shortly after I got married my mother-in-law happened upon a file on the hard drive of a PC I'd loaned her (there's a great and terrifying writing prompt!). It contained a ridiculous story about a young solicitor being corrupted by a gangster client. I'd forgotten about the story, and about one of its peripheral characters, a simple and pure-hearted man named Johnsey Cunliffe. My wife suggested giving Johnsey new life, and I started a rewrite with him as the hero; the story kept growing until I found myself with a draft of my first finished novel, The Thing About December. I didn't feel embarrassed, nor did I feel an urge to burn it. I felt peace. I knew it wouldn't last, and so I quickly wrote a handful of new stories, and the peace didn't dissipate. Not for a while, anyway.

So a forgotten short story, written somewhere in the fog of my early 20s, turned out to be the making of my writing career. Maybe it would have happened anyway, or maybe not, but I think the impulse would always have been present, the urge to put a grammar on the ideas in my head. Mary Costello, author of The China Factory, one of the finest short story collections I've ever read, says: "Write only what's essential, what must be written ... an image or a story that keeps gnawing, that won't leave you alone. And the only way to get peace is to write it."

I know that in this straitened, rule-bound, virus-ridden present, many people find themselves with that gnawing feeling, that urge to fashion from language a new reality, or to get the idea that's been clamouring inside them out of their imagination and into the world. So I've put together some ideas with the help of some of my favourite writers on how best to go about finding that peace.

Don't worry

In a short story, the sentences have to do so much! Some of Chekhov's stories are less than three printed pages; a few comprise a single brief paragraph. In his most famous story, "The Lady with the Dog", we are given a detailed account of the nature, history and motivations of Gurov within the first page, but there is no feeling of stress or overload. Stephen King's 2010 collection Full Dark, No Stars is a masterclass in compression and suspense.My colleague in creative writing at the University of Limerick, Sarah Moore Fitzgerald, is, like me, a novelist who turns occasionally to the short form. Sarah considers short stories to be "storytelling's finest gifts. In the best ones, nothing is superfluous, their focus is sharp and vivid but they can be gloriously elliptical too, full of echoes." The novel form, as I've heard Mike McCormack say, offers "a wonderful accommodation to the writer", but the short story is a barren territory. There's nowhere to hide, no space for excess or digression.

My wife asked me once why this worried me so much. I'd just published my first two novels and had embarked on a whole collection of short stories, A Slanting of the Sun. She'd come home from work to find me curled up in a ball of despair. "Every sentence worries me," I whined. "None of them is doing enough." "Don't worry about how much they're doing until all the work is done," she said. "Get the story written, and then you can go back and fix all those worrisome sentences. And the chances are, once the story exists, you won't be as worried about those sentences at all. They'll just be. "

Ah. I can still feel the beautiful relief I felt at her wise words. Life is filled with things to worry about. The quality of our sentences should be a challenge and a constant fruitful quest, a gradual aggregation of attainment. But creativity should always bring us at least some whisper of joy. It should be a way out of worry.

Get it out

One of the concepts my colleague Sarah illuminates is that of a "draft zero" - a draft that comes before a first draft, where your story is splashed on to your screen or page, containing all or most of its desired elements. Draft zero offers complete freedom from any consideration of craft or finesse.

Kit de Waal, who recently published a wonderful collection, Supporting Cast, featuring characters from her novels, offers this wisdom on getting your story from your head on to your page or screen: "Don't overthink but do overwrite. Sometimes you see a pair of gloves or a flower on the street or lipstick on a coffee cup and it moves you in a particular way. That's your prompt right there. Write that feeling or set something around that idea, you don't know what at this stage, you're going off sheer muse, writerly energy, so just follow it. And follow it right to the end - it might be a day, a week, a year. Overwrite the thing and then sit back and ask yourself, 'Where is the magic? What am I saying? Who is speaking?' When you've worked that out, you have your story and you can start crafting and editing."

Your draft zero is Michelangelo's lump of rough-hacked marble, but with David's basic shape. It is the reassuring existence of something tangible in the world outside of your mind, something raw and real, containing within its messy self the potential for greatness. And the best way to make it great is to make it truthful.

Be truthful

I don't mean by this that you need to speak your own truth at all times or to draw only on your own lived experience, but it's important to be true to our own impulses and ambitions as writers; to write the story we want to write, not the story we think we should write. That's like saying things that you think people want to hear: you'll end up tangling yourself in a knot of half-truths and constructed, co-opted beliefs. You'll be more politician than writer, and, as good and decent as some of them are, the world definitely has enough politicians.

Your own experiences, of course, your own truth, can be parlayed into wonderful fictions, and can by virtue of their foundation in reality contain an almost automatic immediacy and intensity. Melatu Uche Okorie's debut collection, This Hostel Life, is drawn from her experiences in the Irish direct provision system as an asylum seeker. The title story in particular has about it a feeling of absolute truthfulness, written in the demotic of the author's Nigerian countrywomen; while another story, "Under the Awning", feels as though it might be an oblique description of events witnessed or experienced first-hand by the author.

Take risks

You might as well do exactly what you want to do, even (or especially) if it's never been done before. You have nothing to lose by taking risks, with form, content, style, structure or any other element of your piece of fiction. Rob Doyle, a consummate literary risk-taker, exhorts writers to "try writing a story that doesn't look how short stories are meant to look - try one in the form of an encyclopaedia entry, or a list, or an essay, or a review of an imaginary restaurant, sex toy, amusement park or film. Have people wondering if it's even fiction. Mix it all up. Short stories can explore ideas as well as emotions - huge ideas can fit into short stories. For proof, read the work of Jorge Luis Borges. In fact, I second Roberto Bolaño's advice to anyone writing short stories: read Borges."

'His "Guests of the Nation" is one of the greatest anti-war stories ever written.' Frank O'Connor in 1958. Photograph: CBS Photo Archive/CBS via Getty Images

Bend the iron bar

"When the curtain falls," said Frank O'Connor of the short story, "everything must be changed. An iron bar must have been bent and been seen to be bent." One of the first short stories to break my heart was O'Connor's " Guests of the Nation ". It has been described as one of the greatest anti-war stories ever written, and one of the finest stories from a master of the form. Its devastating denouement closes with this plaintive statement from the shattered narrator: "And anything that happened to me afterwards, I never felt the same about again." This line contains within it an entreaty to short story writers to reach for that profound moment, that event or epiphany or reversal or triumph; to arrive within the confines of their story at a moment that will have a resonance far beyond its narrow scope.

Another great literary O'Connor, this time the novelist Joseph, who teaches creative writing at the University of Limerick, says that "to me every excellent short story centres around an instant where intense change becomes possible or, at least, imaginable for the character. Cut into the story late, leave it early, and find a moment." Joseph quotes the closing words of one of his favourite short stories, Raymond Carver's "Fat": "It is August. My life is going to change. I feel it."

Listen to what's not being said in the dialogue. Often the story is to be found just underneath the surface of the talk

Kevin Barry

The moment of course needn't be in the ending, and the end of a story doesn't necessarily have to be incendiary or revelatory, or to contain an unexpected twist. Mary Gaitskill 's story "Heaven" describes a family going through change and trauma and loss, and iron bars are bent in almost every paragraph, but its ending is memorable for the moment of relief it offers, in a gently muted description of the perfect grace of a summer evening and a family gathered for a meal. "They all sat in lawn chairs and ate from the warm plates in their laps. The steak was good and rare; its juices ran into the salad and pasta when Virginia moved her knees. A light wind blew loose hairs around their faces and tickled them. The trees rustled dimly. There were nice insect noises. Jarold paused, a forkful of steak rising across his chest. 'Like heaven,' he said. 'It's like heaven.' They were quiet for several minutes."

Listen to your story

"Beer Trip to Llandudno", Kevin Barry's masterpiece of the short form, from his 2012 collection Dark Lies the Island, is another story that has remained pristine in my consciousness since I first read it. Part of the magic of that story, and of all Barry's work, is its dialogue: the earthy, pithy, perfectly authentic exchanges between his characters. When I asked Kevin about this, he said: "If you feel like you're coming towards the final draft of a story, print it out and read it aloud, slowly, with red pen in hand. Your ear will catch all the evasions and the false notes in the story much quicker than your eye will catch them on the screen or page. Listen to what's not being said in the dialogue. Very often the story, and the drama, is to be found just underneath the surface of the talk."

Such scrupulous attention to the burden carried by each unit of language and to the work done by the notes played and unplayed can make a story truly shine. Alice Kinsella is an accomplished poet who recently turned her hand to the short form in great style with her sublime account of early motherhood, "Window". "Poetry or prose," Alice says, "the aim is the same, to make every word earn its place on the page."

Ignore everything

And as self-defeating as this sounds, here's a final piece of advice: once you sit down to write your story, forget about this article. Forget all the advice you've ever been given. Free your hand, free your mind, cut yourself loose into the infinity of possibility, and create from those 26 little symbols what you will. We came from the hearts of stars. We are the universe, telling itself its own story.

Books for budding short story writers
By Chris Power

If short story collections occupy a minority position on publishers' lists, books about the short story are an even scarcer commodity. In the 1970s the academic Charles E May published Short Story Theories, which he followed up in 1994 with The New Short Story Theories. These volumes, out of print but easy enough to find second-hand, collect some of the key texts about short fiction, from Edgar Allan Poe's 1842 review of Nathaniel Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales, to Elizabeth Bowen's tracing of Guy de Maupassant and Anton Chekhov's influence, and Julio Cortázar's brilliant lecture Some Aspects of the Short Story ("the novel always wins on points, while the story must win by a knockout").

Frank O'Connor's The Lonely Voice (1963) studies 11 great story writers, from Ivan Turgenev to Katherine Mansfield, and argues that the quintessential short story subjects are outsiders: "There is in the short story at its most characteristic something we do not often find in the novel - an intense awareness of human loneliness." O'Connor's assertiveness makes disagreeing with him part of the fun. As his countryman Sean O'Faolain wrote: "He was like a man who takes a machine gun to a shooting gallery. Everybody falls flat on his face, the proprietor at once takes to the hills, and when it is all over, and you cautiously peep up, you find that he has wrecked the place but got three perfect bull's-eyes."

I have a similar relationship with George Saunders's remarkable study of seven classic Russian short stories, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, published earlier this year. I don't buy the overarching argument about fiction generating empathy, but this is a book stuffed with arresting observations and practical tips from a master craftsman. His 50-page close reading of Chekhov's 12-page "In the Cart" is jaw-droppingly good.

Steering the Craft by Ursula K Le Guin isn't specifically about short stories, but she could certainly write them, and her clear, practical advice is invaluable to anyone wanting to learn about two of the form's prerequisites: rhythm and concision.

My last recommendation isn't a book at all, but the New Yorker: Fiction podcast. Appearing monthly since 2007, each episode features a writer reading a story from the magazine's archives and discussing it with fiction editor Deborah Treisman. These conversations are a wonderful education in how stories work. I strongly recommend Ben Marcus on Kazuo Ishiguro (September 2011), Tessa Hadley on Nadine Gordimer (September 2012), and ZZ Packer on Lesley Nneka Arimah (October 2020), a discussion which moves between craft, fairytale and motherhood.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Take risks and tell the truth: how to write a great short story

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
he first story I wrote outside of school was about Irish boxer Barry McGuigan. I was 10 and I loved Barry. He'd just lost his world featherweight title to the American Steve Cruz under the hellish Nevada sun and the only thing that could mend my broken heart was a restoration of my hero's belt.