January Statistics
The Rivals
By Mark Van Doren
On a night of whirling snow
When every twig and star is dead
There is a house where I can go
And knock and enter and be fed
With fire and wine; and as we grumble
Winter ceases on the panes.
The outer heights of darkness tumble
Down and in upon our brains,
And sitting there so bitter-bright
We build a season of our own—
Of cynic ice and sudden white
Blasts of understanding blown.
Free Subscribers: 13,024
Total Cash Payout: $657.50
Total Stories Submitted: 155
Appendix
Short Story Substack Winners (Paid Subscription Unlocks All 51 Stories)
The Timepiece Killer - Morality and justice.
The Unreliable Man - When a character gets away from the writer.
The Giant’s Cave - Coming of age by the sea.
The Silence That Answers - A little mystery and journey.
Charlotte of Caen - On political violence.
A Fait Accompli - Family can be complicated.
Rest Stop - When the call comes, how will you answer?
Death and Mercy - Duty and honor in war.
Intimacy Issues - Taking a chance and acting on advice.
The View From Down Here - A story on finding the right words.
The Note in the Wood - On observation.
In Cherry Time - Moral questions and choices.
I Know - Psychological thriller.
Rosemary and Reuben - Life as a perfect dish.
The Museum of Subjective History - Political spiral.
An Echtra - Of magic, mystery, and love.
Fields Where Lilacs Fade - A lot can be said with just a little.
Anomaly - Healing the world.
Seasons Change - Reverse chronology on the choices of life.
Less - Only keep things that spark joy.
A Gentleman of Sterling Character - Character can’t be bought.
Exit Duty - Old teaches young and young teaches old.
Becoming Cheyenne - Identity, friendship, and human nature.
The Imposter Carla Cluckins - Not all stakes must be huge.
Epilogue - It is only through evil that good can be known.
The Magnifying Tongue - Cult and subtext.
SIDESHOW - How many choices do we really have?
It’s Just a Rattlesnake - Magical realism in the desert.
Smiley’s Tavern - On listening and understanding what we hear.
Sweeter Than Honey - Love and magic and art.
One Brief Shining Moment - Conspiracy theory or conspiracy fact?
Ten Seconds - The Devil only wants ten seconds of your life. Do you take the deal?
Bear - Simple and beautiful love between a father, his daughter, and a stuffed bear.
Mr. Harold’s Gift - Not all gifts that are given are well received.
The Mummer’s Parade - Love that is real and true is often messy.
The Garden Club - The power of rumor to destroy. A story that is both fictional and educational.
Depression Séance - Magic is real in the eyes of a child.
Abrama’s Endgame - Sci-Fi look at artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, and the struggle to survive.
Do-Over - What happens when you get to re-do your life? What does that answer say about the life that was lived?
Goodbye, Debbie Sue - Freedom on your own terms.
The Pawnshop of Intangible Things - The most valuable things aren’t physical.
Make It a Double - Comparison is the thief of joy.
Worms - Creeping horror.
Do Not Resuscitate - Life’s complex choices in end-of-life care.
I Hate Killing People in Kansas City - An action-packed story better than most movies in the past 20 years.
Sometimes, People Just Have Things They Have To Do - Getting the band back together.
There’s Not Much I Don’t Know - Fatherhood and the instinct to protect.
No Greater Love - Sacrifice in the face of slavery.
Oil On Canvas - The future, and regret, always come.
Blues For Rashid - Music turned into story.
Tools
Webster’s 1913 Dictionary - Inspirational dictionary that appreciates the art and beauty of words.
Hemingway App - Online tool that will tighten your writing.
One Look Thesaurus - Wide-ranging thesaurus that goes beyond simple synonyms.
Free Online Short Stories
How To Tell A True War Story - Tale of violence and what it means to know the truth.
Good Old Neon - A look at life and death from a different perspective.
Hills Like White Elephants - One of the best uses of subtext ever.
The Egg - Mind-bending sci-fi look at the reason for humanity.
I Have No Mouth But I Must Scream - Sci-Fi horror about a malevolent AI.
Flowers For Algernon - Looking at the limits of intelligence and love.
To Build A Fire - Tale of survival in the bitter cold.
The Cask of Amontillado - Revenge.
The Garden Of Forking Paths - Spy thriller set in WW2.
Rikki Tikki Tavi - On courage in the face of danger.
Great poem -- the title, with a tale of what friendship is all about, the willing to hear and be heard, agreement be damned, tells us what we need to know.
Even in the topics, real life can be a blizzard from which we need the refuge of a welcoming hearth.
This is a poem worth memorizing and sharing. It has a future akin to Frost's Stopping by woods on a snowing evening.
Nice poem. I like its easygoing and warm tone and traditional rhyme scheme. It’s comforting.