These short stories are about writers or authors, usually of novels, stories or poetry. Some will show the writer’s process or struggles as they try to produce. Other stories could deal with the contrast between writing for money and for artistic expression. Any story where writing is an important part of the plot or theme will be placed here. For stories that comment on storytelling or writing, see Postmodern. See also:
Short Stories About Writing
“The Great Automatic Grammatizator” | Roald Dahl
Adolph Knipe has just finished building an automatic computing machine, the most advanced type ever made. His boss, Mr. Bohlen, is pleased with their success, but Adolph isn’t excited. Mr. Bohlen insists that Adolph take a vacation and relax. He comes up with an even bigger idea—maybe the same principles in his new invention could be applied to stories. (Summary)
A lot of this story can be read in the preview of The Umbrella Man and Other Stories.
“Mortals” by Tobias Wolff
The narrator gets called in to the metro editor’s office at the newsroom. Also present are Mr. and Mrs. Givens. The editor reads an obituary the narrator had written about Mr. Givens. He wants to know how this happened. (Summary)
Some of this story can be read in the preview of The Night In Question: Stories. (50% in)
The Crop | Flannery O’Connor
While doing her daily chore of wiping the crumbs off the dining table, Miss Willerton thinks about ideas for a story. She settles on writing about a sharecropper because it’s an arty subject with social implications.
This is the fourth story in the preview of The Complete Stories.
“The Writer’s Secret” by Dino Buzzati
An old writer with a ruined reputation explains the circumstances around his downfall. In his forties, he was highly regarded and admired, but the quality of his subsequent works kept deteriorating until his luster was gone. (Summary)
“The Kilimanjaro Device (Machine)” by Ray Bradbury
A man arrives at the mountains and hills near Ketchum and Sun Valley. There’s one hill with a grave that he doesn’t want to look at. He’s looking for the place that an old man used to walk. He talks to a hunter who remembers seeing the old man. They talk about the old man’s writing.
This story can be read in the preview of I Sing the Body Electric and Other Stories.
“Theft” by Katherine Anne Porter
A woman realizes her purse is missing but she had it when she came in. She thinks back on the events of the evening to figure out what happened to it. She had several brief interactions; she sifts through the details. (Summary)
Read “Theft”
“O City of Broken Dreams” by John Cheever
The Malloy family is on a train to New York, having left their home in Indiana the day before, and they’re excited about their new life. Evarts, the husband and father, used to be in the army, then he worked as a bus driver. In his spare time, he wrote a play. One day, a producer from New York came to give a lecture about the theatre. Evarts wife, Alice, managed to get him to read the first act of her husband’s play, which is all he had written so far. He liked it and invited the family to come to New York.
This is the fourth story in the above preview of The Stories of John Cheever. (62% in)
“The Scriveners” by Dino Buzzati
The King has thousand of scriveners in a huge room who type all manner of fiction and non-fiction for his enjoyment. On rare occasions, one of the typists is singled out and required to continue working at an exhausting pace. Opinion is divided on the significance of being chosen in this way. (Summary)
“Cal” by Isaac Asimov
Cal is a robot and his human master is a writer of crime fiction. Cal was designed to perform mundane tasks, and that’s all his master requires of him. Cal wants to write, like his master. They talk about the possibility, but Cal’s understanding is limited. The Three Laws of Robotics also prevent him from creating many situations that would arise in crime fiction. His master comes up with something.
Some of this story can be read in the preview of Gold, Asimov’s last collection. (20% into preview)
“Chunnel Vision” by Jeffrey Archer
The narrator visits his friend Duncan when he’s in New York. The narrator has a successful new novel while Duncan is excited about an idea he has for one. They go out to dinner to talk about Duncan’s idea. They’re joined by a woman Duncan is breaking up with. (Summary)
The Plutonian Fire | O. Henry
A short story writer who had some fiction published in the South struggles to get an editor’s approval in New York.
This is the first story in the preview of The Selected Stories of O. Henry.
“Arts and Trades” by Rubem Fonseca
The narrator is one of the new rich. He made his money buying and selling. He’s improved his appearance, lives in a mansion, married a woman from a good family and has a mistress. One thing money hasn’t been able to fix is his lack of education. He knows that people think he’s a dummy. He reads an ad in the paper from a ghostwriter offering to write whatever the client wants. This could solve his problem.
This story can be read in the preview of Winning the Game and Other Stories. (12% into preview)
Main Currents of American Thought | Irwin Shaw
Andrew finishes up his radio script of Dusty Blades, one of his recurring characters. He thinks of money in terms of how many words he has to write. He has lots of bills.
Read “Main Currents of American Thought” (third story in preview)
“The Book Signing” by Pete Hamill
Carmody emerges from the subway, back in his old Brooklyn neighborhood after decades away. He sees his face on a flyer advertising the reading and book signing that starts in about half an hour. He writes commercial novels with the recurring theme that nothing lasts. He walks around first. The buildings are the same, but all the shops are different. He’s never set any of his seventeen books in Brooklyn.
This story can be read in the preview of Brooklyn Noir. (19% in)
“The Literary Life of Laban Goldman”
Laban Goldman takes night school classes. He’s proud that another one of his letters has been printed in the paper, and can’t wait to read it to the class. His wife wants to go out some evenings, but Laban won’t miss his classes.
This story can be read in the preview of The Complete Stories. (72% in)
“Portraits of His Children” by George R. R. Martin
A package is delivered to Richard Cantling’s door. It’s a painting, obviously from his daughter, Michelle. They’ve had a falling out, and this is a nice gesture. She had destroyed a self-portrait before storming out. No doubt this is a replacement. Cantling is angered to find the painting isn’t of Michelle. It’s of someone else he knows very well, although he’s never seen the person before.
Some of this story can be read in the preview of Future on Ice. (62% into preview)
“The World of Apples” | John Cheever
Asa Bascomb, eighty-two years old, wonders why he hasn’t been given the Nobel Prize. He’s been awarded just about every other honor a poet can receive. His reputation rests largely on just one of his many volumes—The World of Apples. Admirers visit his home in Italy almost daily. One day, he has an experience that makes his thoughts run along more carnal lines.
“The World of Apples” is in The Stories of John Cheever, as well as many other excellent selections.
“The Girl of My Dreams” by Bernard Malamud
Mitka burns the manuscript of his novel, along with letters to agents and rejection forms. He had sent it out for a year and a half without success. His writing style isn’t accessible enough. He’s vowed not to write again. His landlord, Mrs. Lutz, is also a writer and tries to associate with him. He reads a short story that gets his attention.
“Seventeen Syllables” by Hisaye Yamamoto
Rosie’s mother, Tome Hayashi, has been writing haikus and submitting them to a daily newspaper that publishes some once a week. Until the dinner dishes were done, Tome did the housework and helped with the tomato harvest, along with the hired Mexican family, the Carrascos. Afterward, she would write at the table, sometimes until midnight. When there’s company, Tome talks poetry with the interested party and her husband talks to the other. Rosie has become friends with the Carrasco boy, Jesus, who goes to the same school as her. Both mother and daughter have significant experiences.
The Secret Miracle | Jorge Luis Borges
Jaromir Hladik, an author, is in his apartment when he is arrested by the Nazis. He is sentenced to die by firing squad; he is terrified, but his biggest concern is that he won’t be able to finish his latest drama.
Guy de Maupassant | Isaac Babel
A destitute writer is hired by a wealthy married woman to help her translate Guy de Maupassant’s works.
Love Poems | Lon Otto
A man writes a love poem, which he is very proud of. He plans on sending it to a woman, timing it to arrive on Valentine’s Day.
Absence | Carol Shields
A woman sits down to write a story but finds her keyboard has a broken letter. She decides to carry on and make do.
“The Twenty-seventh Man” by Nathan Englander
Stalin issues orders for the gathering and execution of twenty-seven Jewish writers. They’re to be apprehended discreetly and simultaneously and brought to a prison. The writers all have something in common except for one, Pinchas Pelovits.
Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote | Jorge Luis Borges
The narrator, a French academic, outlines the works of Pierre Menard, an author. According to the narrator, these are merely Menard’s visible works. He is going to focus on what he believes to be the authors’ unparalleled achievement—some chapters of the novel Don Quixote.
Read “Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote”
The Man Who Did Not Smile | Yasunari Kawabata
The author of a screenplay has been watching the filming of his movie for a week. He is inspired to rewrite the last scene, having smiling masks appear all over the screen. The movie is set in a mental hospital, so he thinks he must add a happy ending.
The Birth of a Poem | Amrita Pritam
A poem is forming in Ravi’s mind. He writes some of it. He broods over what goes into his poetry and his motivation for writing.
Portrait of an Immortal Soul | H. L. Mencken
Mencken receives a request to critique a manuscript. The novel is far from a masterpiece but it does contain an excellent story. He returns the manuscript with his suggestions for a rewrite. Mencken is surprised by the quality of the rewritten story.
Read “Portrait of an Immortal Soul”
Winter, 1965 | Frederic Tuten
A writer has a story accepted by the Partisan Review. His acquaintances acknowledge his success in the months leading up to the publication date. When the big day finally arrives, he rushes to the newspaper shop, grabs a copy of the periodical, and scans the table of contents.
Moving Pictures | Charles Johnson
A man is in a movie theater waiting for the show to start. He thinks about the power of movies, and the status of filmmakers compared to novelists. We learn of the man’s background, including a failed marriage and financial issues.
The Middle Years | Henry James
Dencombe, a writer, is in failing health. He sits at a resort reading a copy of his latest novel, The Middle Years. He observes three people walking at a distance, and speculates about their relationship. One of the group, a young doctor, sits by Dencombe. They discover they’re both reading the same book.
The Human Chair | Edogawa Rampo
Oshiko is a popular writer. Every day she receives letters from admirers and amateur writers looking for feedback. She takes the time to read them all. She starts reading a manuscript, but it begins with “Dear Madam”—perhaps it’s a letter instead. A man, a chair-maker, says he has to confess a terrible crime. He’s been in hiding for months, but a change in his thinking impels him to reveal his secret.
“Of This Time, Of That Place” | Lionel Trilling
Joseph Howe is an English instructor at Dwight College. One of his students, Ferdinand Tertan, is intelligent but mentally erratic. Howe, who is also a poet, is attacked in a literary journal as an irresponsible writer.
I’ll keep adding short stories about writing as I find more.