Short Free Stories Directory

Here on Lore this page acts as a directory of all our short free stories. For us this means stories that fall into the 1000 – 3000 word category. Take a look at our full directory below and start by choosing a genre you want to read, then by selecting a story you find intriguing. We hope you enjoy the content and we want to make sure you can get access to every free short story we publish, so be sure to follow us on our social media.

Be sure to check out the authors and show them some love. The short stories that you read was penned by a wonderful writer looking to get their story heard so be sure to let them know how much you like it. It would mean the world to them!

Why Offer Literary Stories Online?

When it comes to providing the literary stories that we do for free, a common question people ask us is why? Sure, we could monetize the stories or the website, but at his core, Lore’s founder wants Lore Publication to be a place for readers and writers to connect.

Not everyone that has access to the internet can afford to buy new books or anthologies every week or month – Lore aims to help bridge that gap and provide everyone with free reading content for the love of storytelling!

Our platform also allows new writers to get their foot in the door with their work, and seasoned writers to get more visibility for their work. We champion global talent from all over the world and accept unsolicited submissions. All we care about is good stories told the way that their writers envisioned them.

To this end, we’ve decided to focus on:

• Horror Literary Stories
• Sci Fi Literary Stories
• Fantasy Literary Stories
• Mystery Literary Stories

We hope, as a reader, you enjoy the stories we already have available and the stories we will have available. If you’re a writer, why not consider:

Submitting Literary Stories

We are always keen to read new stories from writers, as long as they are in English and fit with the genre, themes, and house style Lore has forged for itself as a brand. If you want your story to be featured here on Lore as a short free story, we have submissions guidelines that should be followed. Read more:

Does Lore Offer Any Short Free Story Collections?

Currently, no. While the prospect of creating a Lore Publication short story anthology is an exciting idea, we want to remain fair to all the writers that have submitted their work and have been published by us. If we do want to arrange a commercial release of a short story anthology, we’d want exclusive publishing rights to all the works contained therein (this also means the stories can’t have been previously published, even on our website).

As it stands, every writer that contributes to Lore has the right to do with their story whatever they please (including taking their story down from our site upon request). All writers also retain publishing rights and the intellectual property of their creations – we simply provide a space for writers to try out their ideas in front of real readers! Releasing a paid anthology of these works would be a gross betrayal of the trust established between our contributors and of the integrity of what Lore Publication stands for.

Another key component that allows Lore to function is being fair to our contributors. We’d need to consider how best to approach fair compensation for any writers included in short story collections we release.

Examples of Short Stories

When it comes to what an example of a ‘good’ short story is, there’s no right or wrong answer. Of course, there are objective facts about writing that need to be true in order for it to be a good story, such as spelling accuracy, grammar accuracy, adherence to house formatting rules, and so on. But when it comes to good examples, writers and readers alike usually refer to the story itself.

Again, while this is subjective, at Lore we look for stories that teach something, make you think, or present a unique or under-represented perspective of the world. We want the stories we feature here on Lore to make us think long after the last word.

There are a few examples right here on the site of what we’d define as ‘good’ short stories, such as:

• In The Dark by Sean Hill. A fantasy themed literary story about a battle between a slave of darkness and a magic user.
• Child’s Play by Stewart Storrar. A Sci Fi themed literary short story that delves into the futuristic world of VR and its consequences.

Short Story Guidelines

• Keep the plot of the story simple. This guideline remains true for all types of short literary stories, be it flash fiction or short stories. You don’t want to confuse your reader or inflate your story with a complicated plot.
• Let your reader use their imagination. While you have more words to use in a short story compared to other short fictional formats, giving too much detail and description about an environment or character can inflate the word count and impact the brief nature people love about short fiction.
• If telling a story in a pre-existing fictional world you’ve built, don’t go overboard with explanations of technology, terminology, or concepts you’ve created. These can bloat the story without progressing the narrative.
• Don’t explain absolutely everything. This links in a bit to the other points we’ve just mentioned. Not everything needs an explanation. For instance, if you are writing about a delivery driver that’s late, don’t explain it. Show it.
• As with all fiction, show. Don’t tell!
• Have a goal before writing. What do you want to say? What questions do you want to pose to your reader? What do you want your reader to feel or think about? There’s no point writing a story with no moral to it.

Learn with Lore

Like all good literary publications, we dedicate ourselves to producing high-quality, informative articles that’ll help you with your craft if you are a writer. Our blog is full of such articles, so why not take a look?