03 December 2022

Happy in My Shorts


  

And why wouldn't I be?--I live in what some call the middle of the Deep South, and for about seven months of every year down here, long pants are just too hot. But I'm also happy writing shorts instead of longs, which has a little more connection to this column.

Interesting note: several of my published nonfiction-writing friends complain that they sometimes aren't recognized as "real" writers. Why? Because they haven't written and published fiction. Seriously, they say nonfiction doesn't get as much respect. (According to them, nonfiction doesn't even have its own name; instead, it's nonfiction.) I disagree with this opinion--the nonfiction authors I'm referring to are more talented writers than I am. But this perceived disrespect does seem to be something that bothers them. 

That same (mis?)perception also applies to short-fiction writers vs. novelists. Those who specialize in writing short stories don't get the same respect and recognition as those who write long. Some of that, I think, is justified: writing a good novel is much harder than writing a good short story--though there are some who disagree with that as well. As for me, I love writing the short stuff and I plan to continue doing it until the little workers in my brain get tired of it. Does that mean I'm not a real fiction writer? Maybe it does. But to that I reply, "Who cares? I'm having fun."

I'm reminded of something a writer friend named Neil Schofield once mentioned in a comment responding to one of my weekly Criminal Brief columns. He said, "The short story is not a rehearsal for The Novel . . . it's an end and an art in itself, and a damn exciting and rewarding one."

Another insightful comment on this subject came from fellow SleuthSayer Leigh Lundin:

"I'd add that word limits foster discipline. they help foster better writing habits such as cutting out the fat."

and yet another from Dave Duggins:

"While you're writing and marketing novels, keep writing short fiction . . . they keep your name in front of a reading public while you toil away in relative anonymity creating projects that will take a year or more to write and another year to hit bookstores. Short fiction is a good business decision."

Let me add to this praise of short stories by pointing out some definite advantages to writing shorts instead of novels. I saw these listed someplace long ago, and I think they still apply:


1. Short stories can be resold. And resold many times, to different places. There aren't a ton of markets out there that will consider publishing reprints, but there are some, including anthologies. I have one story that's been reprinted ten times.

2. Short stories give you a sense of completion. You can write THE END, submit your story to a market, and then turn around and write another story the next day that's completely different. That kind of satisfaction and freedom is a big thing, to me.

3. They don't take a long time to write. A novel can take a writer months or even years to complete, while the shorts I write take a matter of days--a week or two at the most. Slam, bam, and then write another one. And if one doesn't sell--well, I know this is negative thinking, but if it doesn't sell you've invested a lot less time.

4. They can help build a resume. Publishing a number of short stories in respected markets can help your career as a writer in several ways. It can make you better known to readers, can attract the attention of other editors, and can--if it's important to you--increase your visibility to agents and publishers of longer works.

5. They're good practice. Crafting marketable short stories gives you valuable experience, especially in how to write tight and compact. That's something that can help when it comes to writing anything, from flash stories to novels to nonfiction to screenplays. Fictionwise, shorts can also teach you a lot about story structure--plot points, character arcs, etc.

6. You don't need an agent. Many writers are advised to try to find an agent before they try to publish a novel--and that's not a bad idea. As a writer of shorts, I do have an agent, and he's been a great help to me on things like foreign sales, movie deals, and such--but the fact is, most short story writers don't have an agent and don't need one. Certainly not at first.

NOTE: I've been careful not to list the DISadvantages of writing short vs. long, the biggest of which are money and fame. But who wants to be rich, right? Besides, most novel writers aren't rich either. Or famous.


In addition to all the above . . . writing short stories is fun. I write a lot of them, and when I'm not actually writing I'm putting them together in my head. As I've often said, none of my time is wasted anymore. If I happen to find myself waiting around for some something or someone--my wife, a friend, our kids/grandkids--I use that time to dream up plots and characters. (Talk about living in a fantasy world . . .)

A final point. If you're not a writer but you read a lot, consider trying to write a short story. Since they are short, it shouldn't be as daunting a task as a novel. And if you're already a novelist or a nonfiction writer, you might want to try your hand at writing shorts as well. Think of it as a break from your normal routine. At the very least, it might recharge your batteries.



So. What do y'all think? If you write, what kind of writing do you do? Ever tried to experiment a bit? Have you tried writing short stories and found you enjoy it? Did you find it relaxing? Challenging? Do you write both short and long? Fiction and non-? Have you experienced any of those six advantages I listed above? Are you sick and tired of these questions?


In closing, here's something else I heard long ago: Writing a good novel requires a better storyteller; writing a good short story requires a better craftsman. I suspect that's true. 

Not that it matters. In the publishing world, there's room for both.



35 comments:

  1. Still struggling to add comments to SleuthSayers. Looks like I might make it this time via my URL. John, you should be happy with your shorts because you wear them well. Writing short stories and writing novels is hard work. Both are complex ventures. Both require discipline, storytelling and craftsmanship. Both should be respected. A fresco may take more time to paint than a 2'X'3' painting but it's all art.

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    1. Thanks, O'Neil. I'm glad the Blogger guards let you through, to leave a comment. They can be difficult, as both of us know.

      I love your last sentence--well said. As for your own writing, you're one of the few who have had great success with novels *and* shorts. The best of both worlds!

      Thank you as always!

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    2. Writing short stories (especially flash fiction) is not hard work, it's fun. But writing novels can be excruciating.

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  2. I write short stories because I love them, and because I'm old enough so that I remember the family gatherings where the old folks would sit and tell stories - which seemed long at the time... But that was where I learned about characters and plot and the strange things people do to each other. Great training.

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    1. I agree, Eve--that IS great training. I too grew up listening to stories, told mostly by older relatives but also by neighbors and others in the small rural town where I lived. My granddad ran a gas station downtown, and in the fifties and sixties I often sat on the bench out front and marveled at the tall stories travelers would pass along (before they themselves passed along) to us kids. Short tales, but fascinating and memorable.

      Keep writing those great stories!

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  3. Occasionally I hear a novelist say he/she has never been able to write a short story. That's surprising but a telling admission that short fiction is different and hard. I don't think of "writing short" as secondary to writing novels. Think of Alice Munro, one of my favorite writers, who never wrote a novel. Great list of reasons to take writing short stories seriously. --Susan Oleksiw

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    1. I think John's comment above about short stories requiring more craft than story telling ability is on target. Mark Twain put it this way: "I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead."

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    2. Susan, that's a good point.

      I too love Alice Munro's short stories--I have a collection of hers here on my shelf. I also love Jack Ritchie's shorts. Ritchie too wrote mostly short fiction--only one novel that I know about--but his stories were wonderful.

      Maybe one of these days we'll be more appreciated.

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    3. Hey Mike! I'm glad you mentioned the Twain quote--it's one of my favorites.

      It sometimes does take more effort (and yes, craftsmanship) to write short instead of long. More evidence of this: my second drafts are always shorter than my first, my third drafts shorter than my second, etc.

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  4. Excellent article, John, and I like the reasons you mention. However, I tend to be very visual in my reading, and unfortunately the picture evoked by your title may be hard to dismiss.
    ;-)

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    1. Ha! Don't worry, I won't be wearing them again until April or so.

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  5. Susan, absolutely agree. And there are so many great short-story writers: Somerset Maugham (I LOVE "The Round Dozen" and will fight anyone who doesn't), Ray Bradbury, James Thurber, Cordwainer Smith, Isak Dinesen, etc......

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    1. Absolutely love Bradbury's short stories. And Fredric Brown, and lots of their fellow mainly-science-fiction writers.

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  6. I forgot to sign in for the above anonymous comment.

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  7. John, I think you covered SHORTS quite well. Thank you.

    As for me, I consider myself as telling short stories to friends over drinks. it's just that I sometimes get paid for these stories when I put them on paper. Mostly, the character's names and settings do get changed before the words get typed. And yes, it is a fun fantasy world to live in.

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    1. The folks at the bar don't pay you for them?

      R.T., considering your law-enforcement past, I bet the characters in your stories DO get a name-change before they appear in print. But what a great background you have for generating stories! As for our fantasy world . . . it is fun, isn't it?

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  8. I enjoy the challenge of revealing character in a few brief strokes in a short story, of bringing an idea home in a few pages, to an ending that is both surprising and inevitable. Novels and short stories serve two different needs. Do you prefer to spend an evening reminiscing about your youth with a childhood friend, or to hear someone you love say, "I missed you" when you come home after a long trip? You enjoy both. If your childhood friend only said, "I missed you" all evening, or your sweetheart recounted every detail of everything he did while you were gone, it might not be so pleasant. Ideas for stories are the same—is this an idea that sustains a novel? Or better kept short and sweet? Finn Teller has developed into who she is over five novels (and two stories) now—I know her voice, her world. On the other hand, I'm free to write about the NYSE in the 90s, or from the point of view of an antique bureau (yes, talking furniture) in a short story. I can try to stretch as a writer in either form.

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    1. Oops--forgot to add my last name: Phelan

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    2. Well said!! And how true. I've never thought about it exactly that way--but I'll certainly remember it. I agree completely, and yes, that freedom to write about wildly different things and times and places and people makes all this a lot more fun.

      You are of course another writer who's had great success with both shorts and longs. No small feat.

      Thanks so much for the thoughts!

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  9. Right on point, John!

    I write shorts mainly due to time constraints, but also because I really enjoy the form and its flexibility.

    And since we're not going to be rich or famous either way, we should write what we enjoy and entertain ourselves, and hope the rest of the world is finally smart enough to see how wonderful we are. lol

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    1. Hey, Chuck, *I* know how wonderful you are. And who knows, maybe one day we will all be rich and/or famous.

      The time-constraint point is a good one. When I think of how many short stories I can write in the length of time it would take me to craft a satisfying (to me) novel, it does make me believe that I'm doing the right thing by concentrating on shorts. And yes, it IS entertaining to me the writer--I truly do enjoy it. And why *shouldn't* we have fun with all this? My friend Josh Pachter often reminds me that writing IS work, and he's right--but it's work that has to be, or at least should be, fun as well.

      Thanks as always, Chuck.

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  10. One of the things I loved the most about writing shorter fiction was how I got to "try out" various publishers and editors via anthology calls. When I did decide to write a novel, I already had a list of people I (a) knew I'd enjoy working with, (b) trusted to be professional, and (c) knew me already. While I see less and less open calls for anthologies these days, it's a great way to dip your toes and learn how publishing works.

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    1. Good point, Nathan. Anthology submission calls are indeed a great way to test the waters and to make valuable editor/publisher contacts. They're also a good way to connect with other writers, especially when you're starting out. One of the first anthologies a story of mine appeared in (Seven by Seven, Wolfmont Press), was an antho about the Seven Deadly Sins with seven stories each by seven authors in seven different states, and over the years a few of those other six writers--Frank Scalise, Deborah Elliott-Upton, BJ Bourg, etc., became some of my closest e-friends. Even now, I try to stay updated on what anthologies are coming out and when, and I submit to them whenever possible.

      Thanks so much for chiming in, here!

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  11. I have the utmost respect for short story writers. I've written a few and I find it to be far more difficult than writing a novel. There's no dipsy doodling allowed! In fact, at this point in my published life, I believe I have as many novels as short stories published. It is a real skill and I am far from skilled. But I love reading short fiction, crime fiction in particular.

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    1. Judy, I might say the same thing you did in your first two sentences, just exchanging your words a bit: "I have the utmost respect for novel writers. I've written a few and I find it to be more difficult than writing a short story." I do applaud you for your success with novels, and also for your editing skills in those anthologies you've done. Your talents are many!

      Thanks as always for the thoughts--have a great Christmas.

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  12. One other huge advantage to writing short stories: As an author, you don't have to spend a penny to promote them. I've published 22 novels over the last 23 years, and haven't made a penny in profit from any of them, because novel publishers expect authors to bear the lion's share of the promotions and publicity on their own nickel. Just attending Thrillerfest and Bouchercon in a single year can eat up an entire book advance--IF you were lucky enough to get one. With short stories, you write them, fire and forget, pocket the check, do a little social networking (FREE!) to publicize the story, and it's off to the next project. Writing short stories can provide a tidy side gig income. For most novelists, writing is an expensive hobby.

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    1. Hey Rick--many thanks for stopping in, here.

      As I said to O'Neil, you also are one of those writer friends I think of first when someone talks about success with BOTH stories and novels. Your track record with both--and with awards for both--is outstanding. And because I'm not a novelist (I have two out with an agent, but they are so far unsold), I wasn't fully aware of the amount of promotion demanded by publishing a novel. But what you say makes sense. And I suspect most of that demand on the author's time and money is more now than ever before.

      Thanks for the insider view--and best to you and family!

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  13. Melodie here. Yes, there is room for both, John, and in fact, I had sold 24 short stories before I even started to write novels! To this day, after 17 novels, I consider short stories my guilty little pleasure. Into my 70s with short stories now (the number of stories, not my age!!) and I enjoy writing them SO much more than novels! I know. Don't tell my publisher - grin.

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    1. Melodie, they are truly a pleasure--guilty or not. Like you, I just love writing short stories, to the point that I feel lost if I'm not working on one, either in my head or on the keyboard.

      I think the reason shorts are so much fun really does lie in the fact that you can try things that are SO different, so often. You can write an SF story one week, a mystery the next, a Western the next, etc., and the freedom to do that is what keeps it from getting old. I certainly admire your success with novels as well, but it's just hard for me to hang with one project as long as it takes to finish a satisfactory novel.

      Keep doing what you're doing--it's obviously working! And thank you for the comment!

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  14. Yup! I write mainly short stories and it can be fun and therapeutic when things aren't going well. Just sit down and lose yourself in another world. And, John, your article reminded me of lines from the old Spider-Man cartoon theme: "Wealth and fame/he's ignored/Action is/his reward." Keep up the good work, John!

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    1. Hey Jeff. Yep, wealth and fame are usually not the short-story writer's (or any writer's) reward.

      I agree with you about writing as therapy. I wrote and sold more stories during my recovery period from surgery in 2018 and during the pandemic in 2020 than in any other time in my life. It really does help.

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  15. Great post, John. So many of my writer friends tell me they can't write short. I always assure them they can if they try. I started on shorts and continue to write them. As you said, they are just fun to write.

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    1. Thanks, Shirley. How true. I can't help thinking of the times that I've read a novel that SHOULD've been a short story. And yes, I think anyone can write short--a good story doesn't have to be a long story.

      Thanks so much for stopping in at SleuthSayers!

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