“Short stories are tiny windows into other worlds and other minds and other dreams. They are journeys you can make to the far side of the universe and still be back in time for dinner.”
--Neil Gaiman
One of my favorite books of all time is the collected Marple stories by Agatha Christie. When I sit down and read them I can imagine her, gleaning inspiration from the Detection Club (seriously, look it up, it's a real thing) and pouring herself into Miss Marple because that's generally established as a fact now.
It's hard to be anything but jealous of Agatha Christie, if for no other reason than her prolific writing pace. I'm jealous of her ability to tell a short story. She takes those tiny windows and turns them into entire universes, and then manages to wrap it up in time to get you home for dinner. I'd be lucky to get you back before next Christmas.
The last time I tried to write a short story it turned into a ten-book plot arc. I don't think small on plot, and I never have. Most of the time I have a hard time planning for the book I'm writing and not the next four in the series. Which is, I admit, about like whinging that you're being buried in gold coins.
I said I had idea's for all of that, not that they made sense, or that I thought I'd ever get around to writing them.
So why do I think short stories are so hard to write? Probably for the same reason I look at people blankly when they tell me to describe something in ten words or less. You've got so little space, everything becomes vitally important. There's no 'put the gun on the mantle in act one' or red herrings or space for repetition.
For the same reason I'd rather write an entire novel than a synopsis. Because when you tell me I have five pages I start panicking over what absolutely has to be there.
That's not necessarily a bad thing. I should probably be doing that all the time.
ps--Sci-Fi Friday is already written, so I won't be missing it this week (despite being on the road). I know, I'm an over-achiever.
It's hard to be anything but jealous of Agatha Christie, if for no other reason than her prolific writing pace. I'm jealous of her ability to tell a short story. She takes those tiny windows and turns them into entire universes, and then manages to wrap it up in time to get you home for dinner. I'd be lucky to get you back before next Christmas.
The last time I tried to write a short story it turned into a ten-book plot arc. I don't think small on plot, and I never have. Most of the time I have a hard time planning for the book I'm writing and not the next four in the series. Which is, I admit, about like whinging that you're being buried in gold coins.
I said I had idea's for all of that, not that they made sense, or that I thought I'd ever get around to writing them.
So why do I think short stories are so hard to write? Probably for the same reason I look at people blankly when they tell me to describe something in ten words or less. You've got so little space, everything becomes vitally important. There's no 'put the gun on the mantle in act one' or red herrings or space for repetition.
For the same reason I'd rather write an entire novel than a synopsis. Because when you tell me I have five pages I start panicking over what absolutely has to be there.
That's not necessarily a bad thing. I should probably be doing that all the time.
ps--Sci-Fi Friday is already written, so I won't be missing it this week (despite being on the road). I know, I'm an over-achiever.
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