Rosanne Dingli

Rosanne Dingli

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Short fiction rules - OK

Short stories are back in style. Were they ever out, you ask. Well, yes. During the long and powerful reign of big-name corporate publishers, it was difficult to make much headway with short fiction. Authors were always told a number of things about short stories, and they believed them. So did the reading public. What were these things?

Raymond Carver:author of Little Things                            Image via Wikipedia Raymond CarverShort stories do not sell. It was utterly pointless sending a collection to a publisher or agent as a new author. Collections were not bought because of the myth that collections do not sell. They do, of course - just not in the quantities that would make them viable as competition for novels. And the big publishers compete against each other using novels and non-fiction, so it was rather pointless offering something they could not play with.

Short stories by successful authors are the only viable proposal. Despite the success of Raymond Carver, Andre Dubus and Annie Proulx with short stories, before they published novels, this myth was repeatedly put about by those who found them hard to understand.

Andre DubusImage via Wikipedia   Andre DubusShort stories are not taken seriously by readers. Readers have always loved and sought short stories - and verifying this truth is easy when one remembers the popularity of short story journals, anthologies and magazines. The New Yorker readers thrived on some of the best short fiction authors of the last century had to offer.

The number of movies based on short stories can be counted in hundreds: literally. Because of its succinct, distilled quality of prose, a short story lends itself to action, and the necessarily visual quality of film. No words are wasted on heavy description, and the director can go to town with interpretation.

In the 21st century, readers live lives dictated by the clock and the various digital appliances they carry about. Time is tight, and reading is done in snatches, in the oddest of places. Nothing lends itself better to this situation than the short story, which can be grabbed and digested in a very limited window of opportunity. I can think of nothing better than waiting at the dentist (which I have done a bit of lately) armed with a Kindle and a nice virtual stack of short stories by a number of varied authors.

Time seems to shrink-wrap itself around a short story, especially if it is of the quality that takes on enormous dimensions, with impressions to match. The impact of one of Andre Dubus's stories is equal, if not greater, to that of a great novel: it stays in the memory just as long, and its premise has the concentration and balance that takes all the genius an author can muster. There is much, much more play with words and juggling with spaces and suspense in a piece of short fiction.

Way back in the 90s, short fiction was my genre. Short stories might be easy to read, but they are the devil to write well. They need an entirely different mind-set and game plan to a novel, and they require mastery of vocabulary and what writing teachers like to term 'strong' verbs. They are a challenge, and great fun to write. And I wrote many.

Now, in the second decade of the new millennium, armed with my old skills which I am dusting off and reinstating, I find the short story to be a challenge once more - not merely in the writing, but also in promotion and marketing. Publishing them piecemeal for the Kindle is easy, which brings quick feedback and makes it easier to decide whether the game is worth the candle.

My latest one is called The Beige Porsche, and is one of a series that uses cars as a vehicle (ha! couldn't resist that one). I would appreciate comments on whether you like short fiction, have ever bought or read it, and whether writing it is as much a challenge to you as it feels to me.


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15 comments:

  1. Yay, for short stories! Rosanne, where do I buy The Beige Porsche?

    Boyd Lemon-Author of "Digging Deep: A Writer Uncovers His Marriages," a memoir of the author's journey to understand his role in the destruction of his three marriages, helpful for anyone to deal with issues in their own relationships. Information, excerpts and reviews: http://www.BoydLemon-Writer.com.

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  2. Hello there Boyd - I'm reading your collection next, after I finish Ian Mathie's book. You can get The Beige Porsche on Amazon and Smashwords. Happy reading.

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  3. I'm sure I would love your stories--especially The Beige Porsche, since we have one in the garage and because I spent my life coming up with auto advertising that had clever ad copy when I should have been writing stories and novels. Finally, I'm trying to write my novel which is actually finished but I'm working on the revisions. Meanwhile, I've had a bit of success with some stories both fiction and creative non-fiction and I love the art of stretching my attention span into a story. Most of my previous "serious" writing was always poetry for several reasons, but mostly because of narrow windshields of time. Great post and I guess ours is actually closer to off-white....

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  4. I'm sure your short stories will be as intelligent as the rest of your writing, Rosanne - and that includes your blogs. Not sure if I can get fascinated by cars, though.

    I came to short stories after getting novels published, writing mainly romantic tales for magazines. I do so love happy endings. I've just had a collection of these short stories published in the UK, all of which had been published elsewhere first - 'Short and Sweet'. I was going to self publish it, but my agent said wait a minute. Thanks to her input, one of my publishers has taken it instead.

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  5. Rosanne, thank you for a post on a crucial topic for our time. While I love a good novel, I rarely contemplate reading one unless I can see enough available time in the days ahead to finish it. And I have many varied commitments that often grab my time without warning. I daresay most readers are the same but in my case it's a major issue because I'm quite a slow reader: I have to chew thoroughly before the next bite. So reading short stories is usually a much more attractive proposition for me.

    But the other thing that makes short stories so attractive is that, when well written, they can pack so much into so little and give the reader an experience and insight that is next to impossible for a novel. (I recommend Frank O'Connor's book, "The Lonely Voice", for anyone who wants to delve more deeply into the unique qualities and potential of the short story.) I think this is beautifully exemplified by your stories -- although your novels are wonderful too in their own way.

    The same reasons hold for me as a writer: I'm concentrating on writing short stories rather than novels. Your post encourages me to persevere. Thank you!

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  6. Thanks for your comments, Desert Rocks and Anna. My latest stories use cars as a springboard, but they are really about an aspect of the human condition: male mid-life loneliness and bewilderment. I have found that linking that abstract aspect to the concrete one of cars has attracted a number of readers who can link the two successfully.

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  7. Stephen - I wish you every success. I am a slow reader too, but rather a fast writer if I get a big chunk of inspiration in one go. That's another reason I can write short stories with something that approaches pleasure... sometimes. All writing is tough.

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  8. I'm one who rarely if ever reads short stories. I prefer getting into longer works.The only time I ever used to read S/S was in magazines while waiting in doctors surgeries or standing in the checkout line. These days I dont even do that. Just take my latest novel I'm reading with me.For that reason I don't write short stories either.

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  9. A good short story has both the qualities of a poem and a novel. There will be attention to language, brevity, condensed thought; and also characters, a story, a resolution sought, though not necessarily gained. I have written 7 novels and 4 short story collections. I found the writing of short stories was a joy. The novels were a long haul. Good luck with the car stories; you are on to an unlimited run of vehicular entertainment! Margaret Sutherland.com

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  10. Thank you Margaret - I am familiar with your work and agree with your sentiments. My car stories are meant to attract a sector of the reading public that would not otherwise be interested in my writing.

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  11. Hi Rosanne (et al). My heart lies with short stories. I started off with them, went on to novels for NaNoWriMo (doing fourth next month) but I've gone back to my first love, and my desert island book would be Roald Dahl's Complete Tales of the Unexpected. I went to a writing teachers' conference (Fay Weldon was the lead guest!) at Brunel University near London a couple of years ago and was in Tribor Fisher's workshop. In the Q&A at the end I asked him how he managed to get his short story collection (which I had/still have - his third book) and he said he'd made it a condition of signing his three book deal. I wonder if then it's no coincidence that another of my favourite authors, Kate Atkinson, has a (wonderful) collection of short stories as book 3. :)
    Morgen

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  12. Heh he - Morgen, I love your response. Like I said up there - readers love short stories, some more than others. And there's never been a time when they fitted better into our lifestyle.

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  13. For the writer, the technological advance of being able to purchase electronic literature is a real opportunity. Someone may not want to purchase a paper book of short stories for 15-20 dollars, but that same person might buy a short story for 99 cents. And if you think about it, a buck a story is about right--most short story collections come to around that for the price of the book.

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  14. This came from Ian Mathie:
    >After further consideration of the short stories issue I came across a field of gold whilst trawling for collections of short stories. You may like to have a look and see the diversity on offer. Try: http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/reviews/index.php?title=Newest_Anthologies_Reviews. You’re sure to find something of interest and it shows that collections and short stories are indeed alive, well and being read.<

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  15. I love short stories too, Rosanne, both reading and writing them. I like the way a skilfully written short story illuminates a fragment of a character's life. They require a different skill set both as a reader and as a writer. That said, although I have a whole bundle of ideas for new short stories my current focus is novels. I'm doing NaNoWriMo for the first time this month and so it'll be novel all the way for a while.

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