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When I started writing in 1999 after a long hiatus, I didn’t plunge straight into a novel. That probably sounds logical, but some writers skip the short story and cut their teeth on books. John Grisham hasn’t written many short stories, for example. Some successful novelists claim they have trouble with the short form.
For me, it was a no-brainer. I had written short stories in college, and I felt the need to exercise my writing muscles. I took many twenty- and thirty-mile bike rides before I embarked on my first century (100-mile) challenge. That was the analogy I used for writing, and it seemed like a good idea at the time. I have no regrets.
I had another motivation, though. If a person writes a bunch of short stories, he stands a better chance at getting published a bunch of times, provided he is at least a proficient storyteller and can string together words into proper sentences. It’s the old “get your name out there” theory. Success breeds success. Earning a reputation with short stories would boost my chances at having an editor pay attention to my eventual novel submissions.
That notion isn’t entirely without merit. My short story in Borderlands 5 attracted the attention of the editor who handled the paperback edition. She called me out of the blue one Friday evening to tell me how much she liked the story and to ask the magic question: Do you have a novel I could look at? Unfortunately, at the time I didn’t, so it was a missed opportunity.
I’ve now published over fifty short stories, some of them in the sorts of places that look good on a cover letter. I also have a backlist of another twenty currently seeking good homes. However, unless I happen to get published in The New Yorker or Playboy, it’s hard to imagine much that would enhance my resume significantly. I’ve demonstrated to myself and to some others that I can write. Now I have to finish novels and get them in front of editors.
So, why do I still write short stories? Why do I spend weeks on something that will bring in, at best, a few hundred dollars in income, when I could be writing novels?
I am writing novels. I finished the first draft of my fifth novel a few weeks ago, and am about to embark on the first round of revisions prior to sending it to my agent. He thought one of the earlier manuscripts was good enough to shop around, but editors didn’t snap it up.
But I’m still writing short stories, too. Why?
Because I love writing them. When I’ve finished drafting and revising one, I feel like I’ve accomplished something special. I’m much better at it than when I started nearly a decade ago. Not only has my writing improved, my editing has as well. Writing and revising short stories continues to make me a better writer. Working on novels develops different skills: Plotting and sub-plotting, characterization on a grand scale, pacing over the long haul. However, I seldom feel like I have improved as a wordsmith after working on a novel. Books are about big things, like sections and chapters. Short stories are about smaller things, like paragraphs and sentences. With a short story, I can (and do) agonize over every word, moving sentences around in paragraphs for maximum effect. If I spent as much time (proportionately) revising a novel as I do for a short story, I don’t think I’d ever finish one. That might change once I spend more time with novels, but at present short stories are where I am continuing to learn to write better.
When I’m working on a novel, I can seldom divert my attention from the story to do anything else, although I did knock out one 5000-word story during the course of writing this latest book. If novels become my daily routine, there might come a time when I have to put short stories on the back burner.
I can only hope that I end up in a situation where I have to make that choice.
Why do you still write short stories?
8 Comments, Comment or Ping
Dave Wilson
Bev, I long ago decided that I would have to accept my addiction to short fiction along with writing novels, or I’d do neither. Oddly, they have blended. Now, sometimes, I start what I think is a story and it stretches into a novel…or an old short story suddenly falls into a bigger pit of epiphany and BECOMES a novel…
The bottom line, though, is that I seem to have some talent with short stories, and I enjoy writing AND reading them. After publishing over 150 of the silly things, they are part of who I am as a writer…
It’s the same with poetry, though I’ve diverged from that path without even making it to the yellow wood — I seldom spend time on poetry, and at times I miss that too. Diversity keeps us honest.
D
Apr 17th, 2008
Robert Jones
Short pieces usually seem more difficult to write than do long ones. They require more concentrated thought from me to present what I want to say with few words, and the result is almost always better. Given that, I must conclude that writing short pieces sharpens my ability to write generally.
Fine piece, Bev.
RCJ
Apr 17th, 2008
Peter S
Great essay. I feel the same way, though I have not yet attempted a novel or have enough publishing credits to call myself a writer yet. I love short stories too and I agree with agonizing over every word and sentence. Writing a novel right now seems very daunting to me, though I do have three chapters of what could be a novel someday. Until then I will continue to sharpen my skills with the short stories.
Apr 17th, 2008
Thomas Sullivan
On the mark, Bev. Was going to write “on the money,” but that’s the point. Very little money in short stories. I did about 80 of them, never sold one for less than 5-10 cents/word,and got a lot of attention quickly. In fact, it was the listing of one of my short stories in the top 10 horror stories of all time that caused me to write a novel in that genre, at the behest of four different editors. But, as you say, once you’ve built a rep, there is very little another story will add to it. I’d love to do a collection of short stories, but that’s a hard market to approach over the transom. And I love writing them, if I could just justify the time and effort. Can’t unless it’s sold before I write it. So now I simply respond if a collection or publication makes a request. Cemetery Dance will be bringing out a short story of mine this year that came out that way, but that’s the only one I have in the hopper. Seems counterintuitive that the short story market isn’t more self-sustaining.
– Sully
Apr 17th, 2008
Gerard Houarner
I also love writing short stories, in part because they “keep my name out there” (for whatever that’s worth), and more importantly because they allow me to experiment with style, characters, ideas. I’ve used tricks I learned in short work on longer pieces, and discovered things I like to write about (and things I didn’t) while hopping around in the short story markets. At least in the sf field, short stories have always been the place where fresh ideas and styles first emerge. Horror and fantasy seem more novel-oriented in terms of making an impact on critics and fans. What do you think? As for short stories, I’m afraid that with markets tightening there just doesn’t seem to be much to gain anymore — though I’m sure I’ll keep trying.
Apr 17th, 2008
edwin mcrae
At the moment, it’s a great diversion from TV writing, a chance to say something in my own voice without having to take time off from my writing day job. And, writing short stories was how I got into writing in the first place. Can’t say I’ve made much money out of them, but I find they’re a great way to explore ideas, some of which mutate and grow into plays, films or novels.
Apr 18th, 2008
Marcy Italiano
I started out writing poetry and short stories and I think some success with either or both of those is a great first step. Publication and dealing with different kinds of markets/publishers/editors teaches a write a LOT before venturing on to bigger projects and a little confidence gets built up.
My second book is coming out, I’ve written two more (one which might be put in a drawer for good) and my short story writing has slowed quite a bit, but not stopped. A novel is a large project and you’re looking at a huge personal commitment. Short stories bring some relief when you get to write “The End” and send it off a little faster, and although the pay isn’t going to buy me a house the sense of accomplishment goes far.
Not all ideas are monumental, not all characters are meant to be flushed out with friends and family, and sometimes a witty idea is best expressed in ten pages.
Apr 18th, 2008
Caitlin D.
Short stories are so much easier than writing a novel. I’ve tried, and I end up digging my brains out. Truly, I think it’s because I’m very poetic, and short stories, for me, can be just like poems, only with characters, you know? Like, it’s just a perfect medium with my poetic-ness and my passion for storytelling.
Apr 21st, 2008
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