The short story is a literary genre of fictional, prose narrative that tends to be more concise and to the point than longer works of fiction such as novellas (in the modern sense of the term) and novels.

Short stories have their origins in oral story-telling traditions and the prose anecdote, a swiftly sketched situation that comes rapidly to its point. With the rise of the comparatively realistic novel, the short story evolved as a miniature version, with some of its first perfectly independent examples in the tales of E.T.A. Hoffmann and Anton Chekhov. Guy de Maupassant (author of "The Necklace" and many others) is one of the most widely read writers of short stories.

Short stories were a staple of early 19th-century magazines and often led to fame and novel-length projects for their authors. More recently, short stories have been reprinted in anthologies, categorized by topic or critical importance. Many authors today release collections of their short stories.

Some authors are known almost entirely for their short stories, either by choice (they wrote nothing else) or by critical regard (short-story writing is regarded as a challenging art). An example is Jorge Luis Borges, who won American fame with "The Garden of Forking Paths," published in the August 1948 Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. Another example is O. Henry (author of "Gift of the Magi"), for whom the O. Henry Award is named.

Authors such as Kurt Vonnegut, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Boles?aw Prus, F. Scott Fitzgerald, P.G. Wodehouse and Ernest Hemingway were highly accomplished writers of both short stories and novels. Short stories were often adapted for half-hour and hour radio dramas, notably on NBC Presents: Short Story (1951-52).

Elements and characteristics

Short stories tend to be less complex than novels. Usually a short story focuses on only one incident, has a single plot, a single setting, a limited number of characters, and covers a short period of time.

In longer forms of fiction, stories tend to contain certain core elements of dramatic structure: exposition (the introduction of setting, situation and main characters); complication (the event that introduces the conflict); rising action, crisis (the decisive moment for the protagonist and his commitment to a course of action); climax (the point of highest interest in terms of the conflict and the point with the most action); resolution (the point when the conflict is resolved); and moral.

Because of their length, short stories may or may not follow this pattern. Some do not follow patterns at all. For example, modern short stories only occasionally have an exposition. More typical, though, is an abrupt beginning, with the story starting in the middle of the action (in medias res). As with longer stories, plots of short stories also have a climax, crisis, or turning point. However, the endings of many short stories are abrupt and open and may or may not have a moral or practical lesson. As with any art form, the exact characteristics of a short story will vary by author.

Length

Determining what exactly separates a short story from longer fictional formats is problematic. A classic definition of a short story is that one should be able to be read it in one sitting, a point most notably made in Edgar Allan Poe's essay "The Philosophy of Composition" (1846). Other definitions place the maximum word length at 7,500 words. In contemporary usage, the term short story most often refers to a work of fiction no longer than 20,000 words and no shorter than 1,000. Stories less than 1,000 words are usually referred to either as "short short fiction" or "short shorts."
Anyway here are few short stories (Listed below) :-

Children short stories

• The Dragon Rock - By Ellena Ashley
• Mr Sticky - By Mo McAuley 
• The Twelve Dancing Princesses - By Brothers Grimm 
• King Grisly-Beard - By Brothers Grimm 
• High and Lifted Up - By  Mike Krath
• Hobnail - By Crystal Arbogast 
• Thumbelina - by Hans Christian Andersen 
• The Star-Child - by Oscar Wilde

Crime short stories

• Fall North - by Tim McLean 
• Death By Scrabble - by Charlie Fish 
• Letter from the Understudy - by Kathryn Simmonds

BDSM stories

• Do You Understand?  - by Denali Rayne
  
• The Armoire Ch. 02 - The Hurdles by Sam Darquesied
  
• Jessica - by Sweet Silent Writer
  
• Slave Max - by Hungry Guy
• My BDSM fantasy - by Sarah~Katie

Love Stories

Ture Love Stories

Only love - Do you like the song Only Love? This story is closely related to this song and is a true online story (supposedly) found to tell us to treasure everyone around us and face life bravely.

Thinking of you - Death is only a phase everyone goes through but the love remain strong in the hearts of those who remain. See how even death cannot tear a husband love apart from his wife.

Life together - Growing old together is always more difficult than one can imagine. There can be many slight differences that erupted into huge disparity over the years. However, as seen from this story, it also shows true love...

Lost love - Everyone has lost his/her loved ones at some point of his/her life. Read about this real life ghostly love story on how death tears a couple apart only for the spirit to return for a last meeting.

A couple's heartbreak - See how the pain experienced by a couple from their lost of their child can be soften through love.

Miracle by chance - A real account of how two stangers manage to end up together through a series of coincidences arranged by fate. This story gives hope to anyone who is still searching for your one true love.

Tragic Love Stories

Let me love you - Can love wait? Sometimes, material comforts is not what love really needs. Love needs time and effort and that is exactly what the guy in the story lacks...

The ring - Would you give up your wedding ring for anything in this world? See how the token of love from your beloved can lead to tragedy..

The missing rib - God saw that Adam was lonely, during his sleep, God took one of Adam's rib and created Eve. Every man has been searching for his missing rib, only when you find the woman of your life, you'll no longer feel the lingering ache in your heart. So see how a man find his rib only to find out it was a case of too little too late..

Touching Love Stories

Speeding - Guys like to speed especially on a fast car and bike. However, it is not always because of the thrill of it. Read on to find out how can speeding be associated with a touching love story.

The wedding vows - Not everybody can keep to their wedding vows.. However, ever heard of the most touching wedding vows. This is it.

A boy's love - Heart touching story on the greatness of a innocent's boy lost for his family. A guaranteed tear jerker for even the most hard hearted.

Sweet Love Stories

A silent love - Can love be the language for a person who cannot speak? A sweet story about how love overcomes everything ultimately.

Father's eyes - We gain our strength from those close to us. This story reveals how determination and hard work together with support from our family is the most important after all.

Keep on singing - Ever feel the voices of those cloest to you are like those of an angel? Dont doubt it. Read on to find out more.

Short Love Stories

The hardest thing - Whats the hardest thing you ever have to do? This story tells us to let free of our feelings before its too late...

Text pal - Is SMSing text messages part of your everyday life? See how a simple SMS evolve into love and ultimately into a touching love story.

Story of regret - Do what we can before we regret it for the rest of our lives. See how a love transcends through half the world only to end up in tears.

Tree, leaf and wind - Short and simple story but nevertheless heart touching to tell you how a tree, leaf and the wind are closely related in love.

The blind girl - Is being blind a huge obstacle to love? See how some people are just simply a case of being blind in their hearts and not in the eyes..

Myanmar love story - A story of how a person suffers from love through the years simply becase he dare not tell her he loves her.

I love you not - I love her... I love her not.. Love messages can be sweet and also a killer if not interpreted properly. Read about how a love message gone wrong results in tragedy.

Sad Love Stories

Love is - What is love? Learn how people normally only learn what is love when they are going to lose it.

Chris diary - Popular online love story about self sacrificing love that leaves many readers heartbroken.

Letting her go - Is loving someone also about learning to let him/her go when he/she wants it? Read about why we should not let our loved ones go just because he/she wants it.

The love letter - The saddest love letter you can ever read is found here.

A racer's anniversary - Love anniversaries are important to all lovers... Unless you're a racer... Or is it the case? Read on to find out more..

I love you - A sad korean love story teaching us to always say words that are left unspoken or it might be too late.

Romantic Love Stories

The salty coffee - Ever drank a cup of salty coffee? Pherhaps ater reading this story, you'll find it sweet after all...

The hate letter - Send a hate letter to your beloved and let it ultimately be sweet and romantic...

Three words - What are the three most romantic words in this world? Find out now...

The divorce - Can a divorce be romantic? Check it out here...