Writing Short Story Tactics: How to Keep Them Fresh

I notice I have a hard copy to the short story (draft #41) lying on my work desk. I've been working on a cycle of short stories since the start of '013. Noir Nation accepted one of my stories earlier this spring, my first one in several years. I had to put my short story writing on hold for a period of time before I could return to it and make it feel fresh to me. Now I write my short stories much slower.

So, let me ask you: are you a short story reader? Do you prefer reading the short stories in author collections, themed anothologies, or the new issues of ezines? Some authors offer single long short stories for 99-cents on Amazon Kindle. Have you ever bought a short story sold that way? Or do you feel as if you can read all the short stories you'd ever want to read posted for free online?

My latest short story collection Smoking on Mount Rushmore: 16 Selected & New Short Stories gathers together my best short fiction efforts.