Short Stories
Sunday, November 8, 2009 at 6:00AM in Allison Brennan
I just finished a 4,000 word short story that's going in a special edition of ORIGINAL SIN that will be exclusively at Walmart, and then later I'll give it away free on my website (sometime before CARNAL SIN comes out at the end of June.) This is the fourth short story I've written (fifth if we count my 38,000 word novella). I've learned a lot about short stories since, but mostly I learned that they are damn hard to write.
Short is not my strong point. When I was in high school American History, I had a fabulous teacher (Dwight Perkins) who gave me an "A-" on my final essay because I, "so eloquently said in 10 pages what could easily have been said in 5."
Why did I ever think I could write a short story? I didn't even consider writing short stories when I started writing-I wanted to write a book. I meaty, 100,000 word novel. But in Stephen King's ON WRITING, he lamented the death of the short story and what a wonderful medium it was. And I reflected how much I enjoyed reading short stories, from when I was a little kid through adulthood. To this day, some of my favorite stories are short stories. "A Sound of Thunder" and "He Built a Crooked House" by Ray Bradbury; "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson; "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allen Poe; "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut; "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" by Mark Twain; "Mrs. Todd's Shortcut" and "Quitters, Inc" by Stephen King. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, what I can think about off the top of my head, the ones I think of from time to time when a theme or image from the story plays out in my life. If I took the time to cull through my shelves I would likely find a dozen or more short stories that I could call a favorite.
So when I was asked to write a short story in KILLER YEAR edited by Lee Child, I jumped at the chance (not to mention that it was being edited by Lee Child. I mean, I'm not an idiot. Most of the time.)
"Killing Justice" in KILLER YEAR was 5,800 words (over my allotted limit, but since my "mentee" Gregg Olson came way under his word count, JT was kind enough to let me keep my words.) Kind? Well, maybe not, because that story could have been better if I knew more about short stories.
Don't get me wrong, I still love the story. It takes place in the California State Capitol and takes what I know about politics and deals and legislation and puts them in a very short story about a subject I care deeply about: child predators. But the structure of the story was like a novel-multiple viewpoints and multiple scenes. This doesn't work well when you have less than 6,000 words.
My second short story was "A Capitol Obsession" in TWO OF THE DEADLIEST edited by Elizabeth George. Yep, you guessed it, I took a setting I was intimately familiar with (the Capitol) thinking that would be easier to write the story. I had more words to play with-7-9K (my story ended up just over 10K. Remember Mr. Perkins!) But I had learned from my first short, so I focused on one crime, primarily one setting, and only two viewpoints (a female state senator and a homicide detective who were on the "off" swing of an on-again/off-again relationship.) I started with a dead body (a lobbyist) to get immediately into the story (on the fantastic advice of Ms. George who commented that my first draft didn't really begin until the second scene . . . so I cut the first scene during revisions.) I had my cop and my senator working parallel investigations. It was fun. In hindsight, I would have cut one scene (where my cop goes to the victim's employers and apartment to gather information about her) simply because though the information was important, I could have probably incorporated it in such a way so I never had to show my characters outside of the Capitol.
Next came a story that hasn't come out yet that will (hopefully) be in the HWA anthology. It's tentatively titled "Her Lucky Day" and is a supernatural "light" horror story. I put it aside for a couple weeks and will edit it one more time. One POV and two settings AND I came in under my allotted word count of 4,000! Woo hoo! (A little bit of trivia: I originally wrote the scene as the prologue for CARNAL SIN, but it didn't fit the tone or the direction that the book ended up going, so I cut it . . . but I really liked it, so I reworked it and gave it a conclusion.)
The given criteria for my short story in the back of ORIGINAL SIN was that I had to use major characters from the book in the story. As I thought about it, I realized that I also couldn't have anything majorly pivotal to the series happen in the story because it's "bonus content." So no blowing up buildings in my fictional town that I'll be visiting again, or killing off a major character, or anything that changes the goals or motivations of my main characters. I considered a lot of different ideas, but ended up with the same problem: too big. Just thinking about the ideas, I could see the bigger story behind it. That was my problem with "Killing Justice"--there was a much bigger story I tried to tell that didn't fit well in the short word count.
When I was driving back from my trainer on Thursday (amazing, I often think of murder and mayhem after working out . . . ) the idea just popped into my head: a ghost story. Well, not just popped because I'd been mulling this issue over and over for days. But the story goal, the set-up, the setting, the conflict, it was all there bam!
It was perfect for me on multiple levels. First, the series is about demons and witches, not ghosts-but I'd set up in the book that ghosts exist and could cause problems for my characters. So if I wrote about a ghost, I wasn't messing with my major antagonists-they could safely remain in hiding. Second, I had a perfect setting for the story where something tragic happened during the course of the book. Third, I had a plausible story conflict that didn't mess with my series characters primary conflicts-I could use them more as catalysts rather than being considerably changed by the event. And the one character who is truly affected had already discussed her conflict about the situation in the book, so it's believable for the story as well as if I use the issue in the future. (Sorry for being so vague, but I don't want to give anything away.) And finally, I had a "villain" (the ghost) and who had a strong motivation for his "crime."
Believe me, I was totally excited about this. I started writing. I set up my sheriff going to the scene and why . . . and my heroine and hero going to the scene and why . . . over 1000 words before they even got to the main conflict.
Argh! Seven pages and . . . they all had to go. Sure, I tried to convince myself that they didn't have to be deleted. I told myself that those 1,000 words were really the first act of the story and they did end in a mini-climax/hook. Yes, we delude ourselves when we don't want to delete something. They weren't bad pages-in fact, even the first draft was pretty tight and to the point. But I had to remind myself that this was a short story. I didn't have to painstakingly set the scene. I didn't have to SHOW why the sheriff went to the scene; I didn't have to SHOW my heroine's growing worry and sense of foreboding when she couldn't reach her friend (the sheriff.) Yes, in a full-length book such scenes are necessary at times especially leading up to the final confrontation. But for a 5,000 word story? No.
I realized I could SHOW my heroine's fear as they arrive at the scene and find all the streetlights broken, adding to her growing apprehension; be with her and the hero when they see two cars parked in the back, one being a stranger; listen as they hear a scream and gunshots as they're about to break into the building. All that in less than two double-spaced pages. It sets the tone and the scene and the primary goal (save the sheriff) without the longer, meatier lead-in. Why the sheriff is there de facto comes out as the scene unfolds.
I also made the choice to keep the entire story in my heroine's POV. Believe me, this was tough because I LOVE multiple POVs. But it kept the story tighter and more focused and, therefore, the word count down.
Easy? Hell no! As hard as writing a book. Sure, a 100,000 word novel-or in the case of ORIGINAL SIN 125K-takes far more time, concentration and revising, but no individual scene was harder than the short story.
Every short story I've written has taught me lessons about writing that I couldn't have learned in class. I was thinking about this after reading about Pari's absolutely incredible experience with her in-depth writer's program. I was itching to do something like that as well, to learn more about how to write, the different types of writing I can do, how to really dig deep and challenge myself.
And maybe, some day, I will do something like that.
But in the end, the key lessons I took away from Pari's post was that they wrote every day. They practiced. They challenged themselves by doing--not just thinking about writing, not just talking about writing, but writing.
The short story is hard for me, but the only way I can learn to do it well is to do it. I was as giddy typing THE END on the short as I was typing it on my last book.
I'm hoping that with the multiple anthologies of novellas and short stories coming out these past few years and in the future that there'll be a resurgence of sorts in short fiction. What do you think?
Readers, do you like reading short stories? Novellas? Or prefer to stick only with full-length novels? What is a short story you've recently read that stands out, or one you read years ago that you still think about?
Writers, do you like reading and/or writing short stories? Putting the time factor aside, is it easier or harder than a book? Some of your favorites?
Reader Comments (26)
Hi Allison
Great post! I do not consider myself a natural short story writer. I didn't start there and progress up to a full-length novel - but then, I always did have a tendency to go about things backwards ...
The first short story I wrote was after an anthology editor casually asked me to send him a contribution. I didn't tell him until after it was accepted that I'd never done one before. And I still don't have ideas for them unless given a deadline, and the more restrictions the better.
But, weirdly, I've been nominated for a CWA Dagger Award for one story, and another's been turned into a short film, so maybe I should abandon my novel career and stick to shorts instead ;-]
Oh - forgot to mention favourites - just about anything from Jeff Deaver's TWISTED anthology is brilliant, and from years ago (and nothing to do with crime) Laurie Lee's I CAN'T STAY LONG.
There are probably lots more, but those are the ones that spring immediately to mind!
The only short stories I remember reading were written by Stephen King (as I've read almost everything he's ever written). And two that come to mind are "The Sun Dog" and "The Mist".
But typically, I prefer reading novels. I like being immersed in a different world for longer than a couple of hours.
I've always enjoyed concise writing and written concisely, but I'm not satisfied reading or writing just short stories or novels. I think the scope of a story should determine its length. For the classic journey that changes the hero on several levels, a novel can show that journey at a more believable pace than a short story. Conversely, a short story is often better than a novel for showing the immediate effects of a single event. A short story allows you to give the event its due while a novel would force you to draw out its effects perhaps unnecessarily or implausibly.
I don't really like short stories. I don't know if it's a hang over from school and having to "study" them or I prefer my reader's commitment to the world of a longer story rather than jumping around. I have read some short stories, however. I am a fan of historical mysteries and I have Mike Ashley's anthologies. It is frustrating to have such little glimpses of favorite characters but it is more of a world I love so I can't complain too much. To me, it's like: these are the bits of books that could have been but I'll never see them, taunting me. :) I also used those anthologies in the beginning to discover other authors I may not have known about. Novellas are a second choice as well, not something I'd rush out to read but rather as a supplement down the road. J.D. Robb comes to mind; there's a couple out of hers that I should get to someday.
As a writer though you have to a) go where there's work, i.e, selling stories to anthologies and b) expand your skills. I'll bet -- even though you may or may not be aware of it -- having the limitations of the short story is improving your writing overall. You may be down to only 8 pages where before it was 10 and telling a better, tighter story.
Congrats Zoe on the nomination! I'm tickled to be among such a talented bunch :)
Short stories don't come to me easy, either. Before KILLER YEAR, I hadn't written one since creative writing in high school . . .
Stacy, I love "The Mist" (the story, not the twisted version of it they made into a movie. Sorry, I hate it when they change the ending. To me that screws with the story promise. THE SHINING was a great movie until the end.) To me, "The Mist" is more of a novella (it's probably 30,000 words, +/-) but it's a great example.
Good point, Gerald. Some stories need more room, some don't.
PK, my mom doesn't read short stories at all, and rarely reads novellas because of the exact same reason--they're over too soon. I do think that writing short helps me write individual scenes tighter. At least I hope . . . I do love novellas, though. Stephen King wrote some of the best novellas I've read. I also enjoy the JD Robb novellas, sort of a taste of her world between bigger books. I'd like to write a 4-story anthology like Stephen King did in a couple books. THE LANGOLIERS and APT PUPIL were two great stories done like that.
I do love short stories. Some of my favorites come from Hemmingway or Katherine Anne Porter. And Poe, as you mentioned. Screenwriting is actually a great preparation for writing short stories, since screenplays require the tightest of structures. Everything that isn't absolutely relevant must go.
I've been wanting to write this one short story for years now. It will be an eight page story and the real action takes place in the last two pages. I spent about a year doing research for this story - it actually took me into the hills of Alabama on a turkey hunt--and, ultimately, I felt that I didn't know the protagonist well enough (first person) to write from his point of view. Crazy, no? I'll write that story some day. I can't wait for the time to write short stories again. As some great writer once said, "If I'd had more time I would've written you a shorter letter."
I'm reading a Stephen King short story collection right now, as it turns out, and marveling at how well he does at compressing the story into the format.
Whenever I try to write shorts, I always end up with a novella. And where the hell do you sell one of those?
Given that I have to push my writing to get it to novel length, I probably should try short stories. Or flash fiction. Or haikus. Or Twitter.
Hell, I'd settle for longer blog comments.
Louise always cracks me up.
I love short stories, though my leaning is more toward southern literary fiction: Eudory Welty's Why I Live At The P.O. is probably my favorite collection. I also loved Ellen Gilchrest's I Cannot Get You Close Enough.
Writing them? Freaking hard work. Having the right idea is 2/3rds the battle, to me, because like Allison, I think in large scope. I nearly didn't have an idea for the Killer Year anthology and I think JT was damned near ready to wring my neck because there were two days left until the deadline and I had no ideas. Then, bam, I did, and I wrote the story in an afternoon and it worked. (I wish I'd been able to write it earlier and then go back and edit. I had too many he saids/she saids in there.) Overall, though, that story fractured time, which was the point, and I got to use the title as metaphor as well as the structure as metaphor, so I was happy with it.
Thinking in terms of novels is far easier, though.
To be clear, JT was nothing but amazingly patient. I should have said that if I'd been in her shoes, *I'd* have been ready to wring my neck.
I just last night watched a recent video clip of John Grisham talking about short stories (found the link through twitter, but it's on his site). And now you're over here talking about short stories. And last week Brett was talking about them. And I'm at the point in the ms where ANYTHING other than what I'm writing seems like The Best Idea Ever.
You all are dangerous.
Redbook Magazine used to have a lot of short stories, some of them very good. I remember one I read when I was babysitting, wa-a-a-y back in the late 60's, if you can imagine that. The imagery that struck me was the young man's impression of the girl, who was in a long white nightgown, and kneeling, for some reason. That has stuck with me for more than 40 years, so yeah, that was a powerful story.
Okay, I might have to write a short story. Not for publication, just for me. Probably I'll put it on my blog.
Because now I'm, um, sort of obsessed with the whole idea. I can write two things at the same time, right? Stop laughing. I do five or six things at once at work every day. And at home? Pfft. Writing more than one thing should be a piece of cake.
And I can be concise. When I try. I had no choice but to "write tight" when I was doing op-ed columns.
I think it's going to be a scary story. Because I've never done that. Like terror inducing scary. The kind of thing that will make you leave the light on at night...
Yes indeed. This is a dangerous place.
BCB, yes, you can write two things at once but don't use the short story as an excuse to not work on your main project!!!
Dusty, novellas are more popular in the romance world I think--usually 3 or 4 25-30K stories in a book. It's fun, and I like writing them. Stephen King had several collections of novellas--maybe you should write 3 or 4 novellas and put them in a themed book.
Toni, your short in KILLER YEAR was incredible.
Steve, you got it! I love that quote about more time. It's so, so, so true.
I actually have discovered in the past few years just how much I enjoy a good short story. Some of my recent faves are Joanne Harris's collection, Jigs & Reels, and Joe Hill's 20th Century Ghosts. Older faves are, of course, Stephen King's collections -- Skeleton Crew is my favorite of his. I think the range of stories in both collections is very impressive and I love that Harris in particular tells where the inspiration for each story came from.
Thanks for reminding me about Joe Hill's 20th Century Ghosts. Fabulous collection. I read his debut novel, THE HEART-SHAPED BOX which was incredible.
Girls, you make me sound like some sort of slave driver.... ; )
I do like shorts, though it's a medium I never thought I COULD write, mostly because all the shorts I wrote in college got dissed by the profs. But I went back and read a couple of them last week while we were cleaning offices, and damn if they aren't decent. One especially, I'm thinking of reworking it a bit. It's a semi-ghost story, and I can see the ways to make it work that I didn't know before.
Strangely, I found that I enjoyed the short form tremendously. I just had a piece come out in the Surreal South 09 anthology, and I've got another coming next summer in the new ITW debut author antho, and I'm going to do a few more. Funny how you think you can't yet find you most certainly can...
That all said, Flash Fiction is still my favorite.
Oh, Allison . . . Quitters, Inc? One of my all time favorites!
As far as writing short stories, I'm truly a novice. Right now, I'm trying to write one a week. I know, I know. The quality, alas, distresses me because there's so much I DON'T know how to do yet. But I figure if I keep up at this pace -- and with my other longer fiction as well -- just the sheer amount of words on paper I commit will result in me learning something.
At least I really, really hope so!
It's funny how Quitters, Inc came to my head when I was writing this blog. My mom, after nearly 45 years of smoking (she starting in college), quit two weeks ago. She'd been going to a support group for two months prior to that. Out of like 20 people, only 6 stayed with it. I'm very proud of her, but seriously? When she told me about the group, the story popped into my head and I hadn't read it in more than 20 years. Now THAT is scary!
Nice article!
I really like short stories. your post is most impressive and Harris in particular tells where the inspiration for each story came from. I enjoyed it very much. Thank you!
Short stories in this days are so popular.In this age no people have a time to read so long sroues.So if you write short story then people can easily read that story in so less time and it's become popular due to less time taken to read the story.
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I'm actually getting back into short stories after being away for a while. I started with short stories before I attempted novels, but I've never considered myself very good at them. I've always found a good short story depends more on the ending than anything else and endings have always been my greatest weakness. But after a while of trying a certain type of novel that didn't seem to be working for me no matter how hard I tried, I went back to short stories to try my hand at a new, darker style and spent a few years honing a new voice and, I hope, getting better at endings. I still love writing short stories and getting that high of completion after only a few weeks work. They've also been a good way to discover new writers I probably wouldn't have heard of otherwise.
My experience is the opposite of many of the previous posters. I find short stories easy to write (I've sold more than 800 of them), but novels are difficult. I've written five, sold four, and the longest one of the bunch barely cracks 60,000 words.
As a reader, I enjoy novels and short stories equally, but too many novels these days seem to be bloated with unnecessary information and space-filling side-trips that have little or nothing to do with the primary story.
In the end, a good story, well told, will capture my attention no matter what the length.
The only way I can write a short story is to write a long one and cut it.
I've written three short stories in my life, two of which were published. The first was in EasyRiders magazine many, many years ago. And it was so long, in fact, that they made it a two parter.
My story for killer year started out as a novel. But I got three chapters in and didn't know where to go with it, so I said -- HEY, short story! Then it went into a drawer until JT put out the call.
Top Page! Carry on the fantastic work!