Raymond Carver Essay on Short Stories: Where Do Stories Come From?

I recently came across an essay by Raymond Carver that originally appeared in the New York Times Book Review in 1981. Among other things, Carver discusses writing habits and his decision to focus his work on the short story.

Original Flash Fiction: DeSoto of the Night

Our dad was a plant doctor, a botanist, and he’d take us on nature hikes through the woods behind our house on Hyde Park Drive. We’d run ahead of him, through the fields of knee-high monkey grass, and hide in waiting behind one of the live oaks dripping in Spanish moss that bordered the forest.

Original Flash Fiction: Morning Drive

Frank Baker sat in the wingback chair his wife, Carla, had left him in her will. He thumbed a stray thread on the armrest and thought about how much he didn’t care for the chair. It didn’t recline, and the faded floral cushions were stiff and uncomfortable, like sitting in the backseat of a pickup truck.

Tobias Wolff Interview: Story Structure and Possibility

I recently found an old Tobias Wolff interview that originally appeared in the Paris Review in 2003, just after the publication of his novel Old School. In the interview, Wolff, most noted for his short stories, discusses his novel as well as his thoughts on short story writing, the teaching of writing, and his personal writing habits.