Order My Memoir: THE ONLY WAY THROUGH IS OUT

Readers Corner: Tiny Love Stories

readers corner Sep 06, 2021

Tiny Love Stories: True Tales of Love in 100 Words or Less, edited by Daniel Jones and Miya Lee of Modern Love in The New York Times

We pick up books for many reasons: to be entertained, to forget our sorrows, to laugh, to learn something. Before you even read the first story in tiny love stories, you know what to expect. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll be swept away—in less time than it takes to read this paragraph. This book of bite-sized morsels of goodness may be exactly what you need after (during?) pandemic life.

This tiny love story, “My Main Men as Meals,” made me LOL. It made me wonder how I’d describe my past lovers. And “my now and hopefully forever” person. All that in under 100 words. What does this story evoke for you?

This tiny love story, “He Tried So Hard to Remember Me,” gutted me, in a good way :)  It brought back memories of my own dad who couldn’t remember what he had just finished eating and of my mother-in-law who spent her last years reliving the 1940s. It made me think about how someone calling me by name makes me warm inside. All that in under 100 words. What did this story make you feel?

This tiny love story, “Letting Go of Signs,” made me smile and cry. I smiled because I know the author and it was fun to learn more of her story. I cried because my first marriage lasted thirty years and then it was over. And I can’t help putting on my book coach hat here: notice writers the perfect narrative arc Linda crafts from first sentence to last. Yes, it’s possible to have an arc in under 100 words! What parts of this story did you connect with?

Could you write a love story in just 100 words?

Give it a try. And here’s another challenge: Submit your story to nytimes.com/tinylovestories. Who knows what that act of bravery could lead to?

Close

Just fill out the details below and you'll be good to go. Please note, your information is safe with me, and welcome!