In my opinion, which some may disagree, a short story is not easy to write.  It has to have the essential elements of all fiction: characters, setting, plot, conflict, and resolution.  In a short story all of these have to be developed within a short (pardon the pun) amount of words, leaving little, if no room for excess verbage.  That may sound obvious, but if you read very many short stories you will know that is not always the case.

For me a short story has to grab me quickly, keep me interested, hopefully surprise me, and end in a way that doesn’t make me say, “What?”.

My plan is to review newer works by contemporary authors, rating each story from one to five golf pencils: one being double bogey, two bogey, three par, four birdie, five being eagle.  If you are a none golfer, Google those terms.

Mr. Fix It (A Short Story) by Noel Thomas Fiems (December 1, 2014)

Mama Cried (Short Story) by Talia Haven (January 9, 2015)

1979: Short Story Collection by Steve Anderson (May 4, 2015)

Suppose: Drabbles, Flash Fiction, and Short Stories by Kathy Steinemann (June 15, 2015)

It Ain’t Easy by Kesia Alexandra (June 21, 2015)

The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King (November 3, 2015)

Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang (June 14, 2016)