Anton Chekhov is widely regarded as the father of the psychological short story. His characters share in the common toils of everyday life, regardless of their financial or social status. Unlike the aspirational and unrealistic fiction being written by his contemporaries, Chekhov's short pieces focused on the character's acceptance, rather than their triumph over, life's adversities. Collections of Chekhov's short stories are widely available.
Raymond Carver's short stories are snapshots of working class American life. His style was more impressionist in tone than that of Anton Chekhov. His characters were hard working, often divorced and struggling to eke out an existence in the face of overwhelming hardships. Often nothing more than conversations, his short stories leave many things unsaid and describe great truths in simple, spare language. A good collection to start with is "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love."
The use of the Everyman character in science fiction short stories highlights one of our deepest fears: to be caught up in events beyond our control. In stark contrast to realist fiction, the adversity faced by the character is on a cosmic level. Whether facing sinister conspiracies, as in the works of Philip K Dick, or the global catastrophes of J.G. Ballard, the Everyman character represents human life in all its frailty.
Thanks to the increasing popularity of reality television and talk shows, as well as real-life features in many women's magazines, the human interest story is one of the biggest selling genres in nonfiction. Many people are drawing on their own lives and experiences to educate and inspire readers. Authors such as Dave Pelzer have pioneered a new style of real-life memoir. These memoirs focus on the overcoming of traumatic life experiences and the strength of the human spirit.