Mystery in the Midlands: Writing Short Mystery Fiction 2025

by Paula Gail Benson

For the second year in a row, author and editor Michael Bracken joined with the Palmetto Chapter of Sisters in Crime and the Southeastern Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America to present a virtual program on writing short mystery fiction. We were delighted to have 189 registrants. Between 65 and 75 attended the sessions live on Saturday and dozens have asked for access to the recording.

The lineup of speakers and panelists was phenomenal. After resolving a few technical difficulties, we began with John M. Floyd, author of more than 500 stories that have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Strand Magazine, Best American Mystery Stories, Best Mystery Stories of the Year, and many other publications. He gave us a primer on plotting, saying that he began with a plot first, then populated it with interesting characters.

John recommended Ronald B. Tobias’ Twenty Master Plots and How to Build Them, which defined a story as a series of related events. For example, the king died, then the queen died was a story. However, the king died, then the queen spit on his grave became a plot, or a series of related events that introduced suspense and made the story readable and interesting.

He emphasized the importance of remaining observant because ideas might come from everywhere. When he was working for IBM, he traveled a great deal. He mentioned two instances when he encountered information he stored away for possible plots: (1) not being able to scuba dive within 24 hours before flying, and (2) losing or gaining a day when crossing the International Date Line.

Following John Floyd, Michael Bracken moderated a panel of New Voices in Short Mystery Fiction, consisting of N.M. Cedeño, whose short stories have appeared in science fiction and mystery publications; LaToya Jovena who writes about the D.C. suburbs and whose work has appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and The Best American Mystery and Suspense; and Tom Milani, who since 2022 has published ten short stories, a novella, and a novel and whose work has been short-listed for a Derringer Award. N.M. spoke about being runner up for several of AHMM’s Mysterious Photo contests. She then wrote a full story which EQMM rejected but was accepted by Analog when her brother-in-law suggested she submit it there. Latoya emphasized perseverance—never giving up in spite of the obstacles. Tom mentioned how helpful his writing critique group had been, particularly for hearing when something did not seem to work for many readers.

In the last segment, I moderated a discussion with three wonderful editors: Barb Goffman, who has won the Agatha, Anthony, Derringer, Macavity, Ellery Queen Readers Award, and the Short Mystery Fiction Society’s lifetime achievement award as well as edited or co-edited 15 anthologies; Sandra Murphy, whose stores have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, and other publications and who has edited 4 anthologies; and Josh Pachter, author, editor, and translator, who joined us from Morocco. They all emphasized the importance of following instructions but also being creative in developing a story to meet the theme. In addition, they gave viewers a lot of good information about currently pending anthologies and how to find submission calls.

If you would like to view the recording, connect to the link below by pressing CTRL (control) and clicking on the link:

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Do you write short stories? Why do you enjoy that format? 

When Thoughts Turn to Short Stories

by Paula Gail Benson

With so many activities as summer approaches, sometimes it’s easier to commit to reading or writing short stories rather than longer works. July offers the opportunity for a Camp NaNo experience and wouldn’t it be fun to try something new and different, experiment with a genre you haven’t written before?

I’ve been thinking a lot about short stories lately. At the end of May, we received word that short story writer and longtime supporter of the short mystery fiction community, Sandra Seamans, had passed away. I wrote a tribute to her yesterday on The Stiletto Gang. Many of us credit Sandra’s blog “My Little Corner,” which listed story calls, as giving us the information we needed to make our first submissions.

Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting, a founding member and author for the blog “The Write Practice,” has published some excellent books on writing short stories. These are all available on Amazon:

Let's Write a Short Story: How to Write and Submit a Short Story (2013).

15 Days to Write and Submit a Short Story: Workbook (Let's Write a Short Story 2) (2014).

How to Win a Writing Contest (Let's Write a Short Story Book 3) (2016).

Tara Laskowski

Art Taylor

I found two of Joe’s online articles in “The Write Practice” to be particularly helpful. “Five Steps to Write a Short Story” has the following process: (1) be a reader of short stories, (2) start out by summarizing the story you want to write, (3) then, write the story, (4) revise and edit the story you’ve written, and (5) submit it for publication. In “How to Write a Short Story from Start to Finish,” Joe outlines seven steps: (1) write the story in one sitting as if you were telling it to someone, (2) determine who the protagonist is, (3) list out all the scenes in the story, (4) conduct any research you need, (5) write the story, then rewrite and edit it, and (7) get the story published.

Barb Goffman

Some of the best advice I’ve heard about writing short stories has been at the Malice panels featuring the Agatha nominees for best short story. From this year’s authors, Leslie Budewitz, Susanna Calkins, Barb Goffman, Tara Laskowski, and Art Taylor, I learned a great deal, both from hearing their perspectives and reading their stories. One thing in particular resonated with me: Barb Goffman suggested a year of reading a short story a day. What a great idea for becoming familiar with style, craft, and the types of stories being accepted for publication.

Susanna Calkins

Where do you find 365 stories? One good place to start is with the magazines and anthologies where the Agatha nominees were published. Leslie and Tara’s stories (that tied for the Agatha) appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, while Barb and Art’s were in issues of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. Susanna’s was in last year’s Bouchercon Anthology, Florida Happens. (Also, if you haven’t read them yet, there are still active links on the Malice Domestic’s Agatha page.)

Leslie Budewitz

On Malice Domestic’s anthology page, not only is there a story call for it’s upcoming anthology, Mystery Most Theatrical, but also a list of the Malice Anthology Collection. By Googling “Bouchercon anthologies,” you can retrieve a sizeable list, including the Anthony award winning Murder Under the Oaks, edited by Art Taylor. Speaking of this year’s Agatha short story nominees, how about checking out Leslie Budewitz’ and Susanna Calkins’ websites, which list out their short stories; Barb Goffman’s collection Don’t Get Mad, Get Even that won the Silver Falchion Award; Tara Laskowski’s Bystanders, winner of the Balcones Fiction Prize; and  Art Taylor’s Agatha award winning novel in short stories, On the Road with Del and Louise?

Sisters in Crime’s online Guppy Chapter has a series of anthologies, many of which gave members a first publication. (BSP: my “The Train is on the Tracks” is in Fish or Cut Bait.) Other chapters of Sisters in Crime also have short story anthologies.

Gigi Pandian

Gigi Pandian’s The Cambodian Curse and Other Stories features nine locked room mysteries (including the Agatha award winning “The Library Ghost of Tanglewood Inn”). The Mystery Tribune called Reed Farrel Coleman’s recent collection Short Stack “a master class in short stories.”

John Floyd

How can I not mention collections by B.K. Stevens (Her Infinite Variety), John M. Floyd (Dreamland) (in addition, John recently wrote a post for Sleuthsayers, “Anthology Psychology,” listing the themed anthologies where his stories appear), and Earl Staggs (Short Stories of Earl Staggs)? As a matter of fact, maybe that’s what I should continue to do this summer, fill my messages with lists of short story anthologies.

If nothing else, please consider reading my tribute to Sandra Seamans on The Stiletto Gang. Although her story collection is out of print, I was able to find links to a number of her short stories available online. Reading those, you can see the skill of a true craftsman who loved the short story form.

How about you? Have you read or written any good short stories lately?

WRITING THE MYSTERY SHORT STORY: JOHN M. FLOYD’S ANSWERS TO OUR SURVEY

    In preparing this series, I solicited answers to ten survey questions from members of the Writers Who Kill blog and authors who are well-known for their wonderful mystery short stories. These authors have been so generous, detailed, and insightful in sharing their views and providing excellent information that I wanted the WWK readers to have the full benefit of their replies.

Today, John M. Floyd offers his perspective.

John M. Floyd's work has appeared in more than 200 different publications, including The Strand Magazine, Woman's World, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, and The Saturday Evening Post. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. A former Air Force captain and IBM systems engineer, he won a 2007 Derringer Award and has been nominated three times for the Pushcart Prize. John is also the author of four books: Rainbow’s End (2006), Midnight (2008), Clockwork (2010), and Deception (2013).

 

Not only is John prolific in his fiction writing, but also he has produced a large number of incredibly beneficial articles on the subject of writing short mystery fiction, including the following:

What is a Mystery Short Story? And How Do You Write One?

http://www.writing-world.com/mystery/floyd.shtml?vm=r

Researching Mystery Short Stories

http://www.writing-world.com/mystery/research.shtml

Cover Me - I'm Going In! (about writing cover letters for your short fiction)

http://www.writing-world.com/queries/floyd.shtml

Marketing 101 (about marketing short stories)

http://www.sleuthsayers.org/2013/08/marketing-101.html

A Woman's World Survival Guide (about writing 700 word mysteries for Woman’s World weekly magazine)

http://www.sleuthsayers.org/2012/08/a-womans-world-survival-guide.html

He blogs regularly at: http://www.sleuthsayers.org/

John, thank you for being with us and taking the time to answer the survey questions.

How has being part of a short story writing community influenced your writing?

I think, and I hope, it's made my writing better. Reading stories written by friends and e-friends is not only fun but educational, and I've enjoyed talking with them about the "business" of writing and publishing short stories. 

What is your thought process when you submit or select stories for a themed anthology?

My thought is that I hope I'm doing it right. My thought PROCESS involves selecting stories that complement each other. Even though the theme might be the same, I think it's usually best to include a good mix of short stories vs. long, lighthearted stories vs. gritty, etc. And of course to pick the best ones you can find. If I'm submitting rather than selecting, I just try to send something appropriate and of the required length.

When do you know an idea is suited for a short story instead of a longer work?

I suppose I know it should be a short when the story "problem" can be fully resolved in a certain number of pages. I'm not trying to be glib, here--I'm just saying that when your storyline can play itself out and have a satisfactory ending, that's where you should probably stop. I think it was Hemingway who said he never SET OUT to write a novel. He always started out with a short story in mind, and sometimes it just got too long. It can also happen the other way around: you might start out to write a novel and find out it needs to be shorter. (I've read a lot of published novels that probably should've been shorts instead.)

Have you written “flash fiction”? What do you think of flash fiction as a literary form?

I've written and published some flash fiction, and I like the form. I think most successful flash fiction is a few paragraphs leading up to some kind of a surprise or "punch-line" ending. There's obviously not enough time to properly develop a complete story arc.

How many characters can be in a short story?

I doubt there's a limit on that. You can include a family reunion or a party with all the office staff or the bus containing the football team, if you like; the trick is, don't put in too many NAMED characters. I've heard that including more than four named characters in a typical short story can be confusing for the reader, but that's a rule of thumb and I usually ignore rules of thumb. Some of my stories have contained only a couple of named characters and some have featured many more. 

How long have you been writing short stories?

Probably 25 years or so. I've been submitting stories for publication for almost 20 years now. (It took my wife five years to talk me into sending something in to an editor.)

What is good/bad about the current short story market?

The only thing bad about it is that there aren't many big consumer magazines that still accept short stories. One good thing is that there are more online markets, and they are a bit more respected now than they used to be.

Should an unpublished author self-publish short stories?

Sure. I have so far chosen not to, because I've been fortunate enough to publish fairly regularly in some of the larger print markets and I'm not crazy about having to self-promote my work. But there are now a good many places that allow a writer to self-publish shorts. That wasn't the case only a few years ago.

The reason I write short stories is:

I think it's great fun. I like the "creating a puzzle" process: put someone in a bad situation, make it worse, and then get him out of it in a way that is (hopefully) satisfying to the reader. I also like the fact that I can write a story in a fairly short time, submit it, and then the next day write something completely different. And the real truth is, I probably like the power to make these characters do anything I want them to. It's the only thing in my life I have total control over.

The most important aspect of writing a mystery short story is:

Entertainment value. I think mystery shorts should, first and foremost, be enjoyable to read. If the reader happens to learn something in the process, maybe even discover the meaning of life, that's great; the very best fiction offers that kind of enlightenment and illumination. But that's icing on the cake. I think my main purpose as a writer of mystery short stories is to show the reader a good time and give him some thrills and plot twists and maybe even some humor. If that happens I think I've done my job.

Again, thanks for joining us and providing us with such terrific insight, John. Best wishes for your continuing success.