Greetings, Valerie. Here is something you might try:
In the right column on your homepage is a list of all the tags you have chosen to follow. They are in little boxes. Click on the little box with the fiction tag in it.
This brings you to a page showing posts that attached the tag, ‘fiction.’ You will notice that there are 3 feed links near the top of the page: Top Stories, Latest Stories and Top Writers.
By default you are landed on Top Stories. This feed includes stuff from one or two or three years ago along with some more current stuff. It is the stuff that got the most green hearts. You’ll notice that less than half of the posts are actually fiction. Close to half of them are formulaic how-to articles about writing fiction. Forget this feed.
Click instead on Latest Stories. This feed shows new posts labeled Fiction as they are being posted. In this feed you will find a higher percentage of posts that are actually fiction and by all fiction writers, not just the top 1% of green heart champions. Sadly, you will still see plenty of formulaic self-help articles about how to write fiction or how to become a billionaire by writing fiction as well as some posts that have nothing whatsoever to do with fiction. By skipping over that stuff, this feed provides access to the largest amount of fiction than any other feed on Medium.
I would also suggest choosing the tag, Short Story and going through the same process with that. There are some fiction writers who tag their stories with Short Story but not Fiction and some who tag their stories with Fiction but not Short Story. Following both tags increases slightly your exposure to the fiction that is hidden away here on Medium. Although the term Short Story has traditionally been used to describe a work of short fiction, many writers here on Medium don’t know that and use that tag for their post about the fight they had with their boyfriend over lunch. They figure that since it’s kind of a story and since it’s short they affix the Short Story tag even though no fiction is involved.
Finding true short fiction on Medium can be a tedious endeavor. And when you do manage to find the hidden fiction the quality is not always pleasing.
But don’t give up! Keep digging. There really are some truly wonderful gems to be found that will reward your efforts.
