We've heard them each Halloween, but we haven't talked much about short stories as a genre on The Writing Show yet. This week, we remedy the omission.

Nancy O. Greene started writing at the age of nine. She attended the University of Southern California, where she earned a B.A. in Cinema with a minor in English.

Her short story collection, Portraits in the Dark, received the Editor's Choice award and Publisher's Choice award from iUniverse. She has written articles for numerous Web sites, and two of the short stories featured in Portraits in the Dark received quarterfinalist and semifinalist awards from the 10th Annual Writers Network Fiction and Screenplay Competition.

Join Nancy and host Paula B. for a fascinating talk about short stories, including:

* What the characteristics of short stories are

* How creating character in short stories differs from working in the novel

* Whether it's easier or more difficult to write a short story than a novel

* Why some famous authors take so long to write short stories

* Whether the short story is in decline

* How to put together a compelling short story collection

* Why Nancy writes short stories

* What some of her favorite short stories are.