Finding time for reading can often be a difficult task for many people with hectic and busy schedules. Committing oneself to a novel often involves a major investment of time and daily distractions, and tasks interfere with the ability to complete a novel in a timely fashion. Short stories are designed to be read in one sitting. As such, short stories can be easily read on the morning commute, on a lunch break or in the evening. Reading short stories helps to establish a reading schedule or routine. Short stories provide ample opportunities to increase your knowledge about different cultures and different lifestyles. They add to a person's general knowledge and understanding of the world.
The short story format offers a number of benefits for children. Reading a short story is a much less daunting task for a child than reading a longer book or novel. Children are easily engaged by the short story format, because they are able to focus on the central theme or topic. Traditionally, short stories have been used to inculcate moral values and ethical teachings. In addition to the benefits of reading short stories, encouraging children to write their own short stories has a number of benefits as well. It provides a forum that engenders creativity, develops writing skills and increases the child's vocabulary.
The short story offers a large number of benefits and advantages to the writer who is interested in pursuing a writing career. Finding a publisher is the primary obstacle that all writers face. Publishing a novel typically requires a book agent and a publishing house. A number of publishing opportunities exist, on the other hand, for short stories, such as magazines, journals, and anthologies. Short stories also require much less time to write than novels and longer works. The form itself allows the writer to focus her attention and efforts on a particular theme or topic. Writing and publishing short stories helps a writer to hone and refine her craft, get a few publications and establish her credentials as a writer.
The short story is a valuable tool in teaching the students about the importance of literature. Literature is forced to compete in the contemporary technological context with various forms of media such as television, movies,video games and the Internet. The short story itself was a similar form of entertainment in an earlier age when the forms of entertainment were far more limited. Poe's stories and other short story genres--such as the detective stories--all appealed to the reader's desire to be entertained. Nevertheless, a well crafted short story introduces the student to the world of literature. Encouraging students to read short stories helps to ween them from an over-dependence on electronic media; it teaches them that reading and literature are pleasurable activities as well.
Short stories are a very useful tool for teaching and learning a second language. The short and controlled writing style makes the stores easy to digest for the non-native speaker. Short stories tend to focus on one primary theme or topic, and this makes them much easier to follow that a longer work that has numerous plots and multiple characters. Another advantage for the non-native speaker is that short stories tend to be written with a natural dialogue and conversational tone.