I love reading short stories.  Well-written short stories pack a punch and make the reader think.  I still remember reading stories like The Lottery and Flowers for Algernon in school.  I won't say how long ago that was...   I also love writing short stories.  For me, they're an experiment.  Sometimes it's a thought experiment - I wonder what would happen if.... Sometimes it's a form experiment.  Writing in third person vs first person or writing a story without dialogue. @Libby Drew wrote a wonderful guest article a few years ago on writing short stories, so I thought it would be a good time to re-feature it.  Give a read, and let us know in the comments your thoughts on reading/writing short stories.