I’ve been reading a lot of short story collections lately. A number of these have been reviewed on my Speculative Fiction Examiner column, and I’ve got a couple more in the to-read/to-review stack. Zipping through all these mini-escapades and adventures got me thinking about a number of shorts I have filed away on my computer…where they’ve been for a couple years now. Stories that have potential. Ones that I had a lot of fun starting, and are based on ideas I still consider nifty.
But ones that I am having the most damnable time figuring out how to finish without turning them into the first chapter of a novel. Therein lies the reason they’ve been stuck in the dusty netherworld of my hard drive.It’s frustrating, actually. When I first set out with the goal of becoming a published author, one of the first things I did was research the various ways I could achieve this. Among these was the Traditional Route.
The Traditional Route points to short stories as the way to gradually become a successful novelist. You must first break into the short fiction market, spend a number of years building up name recognition by being published in various mags (or ezines), and then use those credentials and notoriety to improve your chances of being noticed by an editor or agent who would then invest in your potential as a novelist.
That’s the way many authors have built and continue to develop their careers. One short story at a time.
I haven’t done that though. Now, admittedly, I’ve had a few short stories published before my first novel will get to the shelves (checks email quickly to see if any publishers have responded to agent’s submission yet…no?…okay…back to the topic at hand), but short stories are not my focus. It’s actually been a good while since I sat down and worked on anything other than a novel-length manuscript.
Don’t get me wrong. I love short stories. Reading them, mostly. It’s great to see strong characters and story encapsulated in just a few pages. To get that sense of adventure and completion in a chapter’s worth of words. There’s something neat and tidy about it.
But writing short stories? I find that even more challenging than writing a novel. With a novel, you have S P A C E. You have time to flesh out the characters, to twine the plot throughout subplots, to worldbuild and play with various ideas as they come and go. To me, short stories invoke a sense of…well… claustrophobia might be the best word for it. I feel rushed. Cramped. My mind keeps trying to veer off into the various plots and characters and magical elements that I otherwise have to gloss over or ignore for the sake of word count.
When I do try to rein in my novel-writing impulses, my imagination mutters and snarls at me, much like I was trying to walk a wild badger on a leash.
That, and I have the worst time figuring out how to end a short story. I’m not sure why that’s the case. Short stories always start easily for me, but then grind to a halt about halfway through; and even if I do muddle through to an ending, it often feels tacked on, or inconsistent with the rest of the story’s tone.
So part of this post is my venting at my inconsistent ability at brevity. I’d love to write more short stories, but they often feel like more of a distraction from my novels. And part of this post is to once more point out that not everything works for every writer. For some, the Traditional Route has worked well, and short stories pave their path to writing success. Others choose different routes and find it easier going.
Thoughts? Are short stories your friend or foe? Are they part of your long-term career plan, or the occasional note in the margin?
Hey, Josh,
I share you disgust of the short story. I suffer with character development, plotting and endings. Other than that, I'm fine. I am trying to raise these skills from nothingness, but so far, I've sold a couple of stories, but none of the ones I love.
You're absolutely correct that the “traditional route” does not work for every writer. Short stories and novels are different forms of the writing craft. All artists don't work in both watercolor and oils, or they don't feel equally comfortable working in impressionism as they do realism. And not all writers enjoy or are comfortable with short stories *and* novels. And it shouldn't be expected. We can't be all things to all readers. There is not one right way to be or become a fiction author, and anyone who tells us that aren't as creative as they might like to think they are. That's not to say we shouldn't try different things (might be pleasantly surprised at times), but if it truly doesn't seem to be a fit, move on. A good publisher or editor won't discount a fantastic novel because the writer doesn't have a couple short story credits under his or her belt.
Good luck!
Elizabeth
http://www.elizabethmassie.com
Yeah, this sounds familiar! 😀 I've never had much success with short stories either.
You, however, write great short stories, if your success in the Clarity of Night contests is anything to go by.
I started having more ease finishing short stories after I got my head around the idea that a short story is basically one turning point–the protagonist must make some kind of irrevocable change, but s/he won't have time (in a short story) to make more than one.
In fact, I mentally use your Clarity of Night story about the young shaman as a template for how to write a short story.
You set up the protagonist's world, and how he feels about it, and then you end the story at the turning point–his decision to drop the stinking furs and swim for the mainland. That's his moment of irrevocable change, and that's all the story needs to feel complete.
I feel like I ought to thank you for it, Josh. That story is so perfectly-formed and satisfying that, as an example of what one should aim for, it has really helped me in my own work. 🙂
WL: I know how you feel. I've got a couple shorts that I'd love to sell, but they remain flawed in ways I haven't been able to fix yet. Persevere. That's always been the key.
EM: Thanks for dropping by! I love your comparison of writers to artists who work in watercolors, oils, pen, sculpture, etc. Very fitting.
JJ: Oddly, I've never had issues with flash fiction (or short-short stories). Something about 250 words or less just feels…right. Participating in the Clarity contests has been great because it's a challenge to condense action, characters, and plot into such a teensy package. At the same time, that structure feels natural for me. So I can write small, and I can write big…but it's that in-between word counts that trip me up for whatever reason.
Ah well. I'll take what I can get.
And thanks for such kind words!
I would love to be able to maintain broad expanses of ideas, but always I pair my work down to the briefest inference, the most sparing words, working to nudge the readers mind open and let them fill the world (hopefully). A reader once said, my short stories read like novels in poetry form. I think that's good, right? But I yearn to write of wider 'scapes and scopes. Maybe there's group therapy for my affliction.
I think being able to condense your ideas is a great skill, Pam. I wouldn't view it as an affliction. 🙂
I tend to think of novels as a string of short stories brought together, with the various scenes and chapters comprising the larger story. Perhaps that could be your approach sometime.
It occurred to me as I just re-read my post with the line: “let (the reader) fill in the world” that, cripes, maybe I'm just too lazy to write all the words. 🙂
Thanks for the tip!
*sigh*. It's 'rein in'. Like a horse. Not 'reign' like a king. One of my pet peeves, Vogt…;)
Can't win 'em all, especially on a blog.