Poor person's copyright

or

how to cover your butt so your works don't get stolen without a means to prove it.

1) make a copy of the story ( as in cd or printout )
2) send to yourself in a c/o addressing via post office to someone who will hold it for you ( yourself if needed. )
3) just need to produce the sealed envelope in a court of law to prove copyright.

the date stamp on the envelope postage shows what date the post office processed that mail item, proving it's contents existed on that date.

the absolute best person to send such a letter to is a solicitor ( lawyer ) but a friend or family member will work.
the least acceptable option is yourself since the person holding the mail item is a witness.

4) to gain even more clout in case of legal battle, release your stories under the open documentation license.
FREELY made available, Freely Redistributable for FREE as long as ownership and copyright are maintained.

This would bring the entire legal support for open source software on side, as any open source license being voided in court is bad for all of them.