I don’t plan to begin any large-scale writing projects until November (NaNoWriMo, baby!), but in the meantime, I have to keep the writing muscles limber. So I’ve been batting around some short-story ideas, one of which I saw through to completion this week (more on this in a bit).
Here’s my problem, though: I’ve never been a particularly active writer of short fiction. If I may borrow from my tired tennis parallel, I’m more like Pete Sampras (who rarely played doubles) than John McEnroe (who was great at singles and doubles). And when I say I’m like Pete Sampras, I mean I’m what Pete Sampras would be if (a) he didn’t play tennis and (b) he put on about 150 pounds.
What was I talking about again? Oh, yes, short fiction.
Anyway, my struggle is that my ideas tend to be sprawling, and short stories — because, you know, they’re relatively short — tend to be tight. In other words, I find the form challenging, which is fun in its own special way.
I submitted my completed short story to Stone’s Throw, an online literary magazine edited by Russell Rowland. Stone’s Throw is actively seeking submissions of short fiction, poetry, art and reviews, so if you have something to offer, please consider tossing it in.
Now, it’s back to trying to tame the next idea that bubbles up. In the meantime, I would love to hear tips from folks who are more confident in the form. If you have any, drop ’em in the comments section (or consider writing a guest blog post).
On my bookshelf, right in my line of sight, is a compendium, The Best American Short Stories of the Eighties (cover image above). I think I’ve found tonight’s reading material.
Craig Lancaster | A Mind Adrift in the West 
11 comments
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August 27, 2009 at 10:09 am
kristentsetsi
Tip 1: Read “What If?” (Or, rather, skim it. Flip through the pages. Great exercises geared, I believe, toward short-story writing.)
Tip 2: Imagine the sprawling idea. What’s the climactic part of that larger idea? Whatever it is, make it the short story.
August 27, 2009 at 10:21 am
JW
I would take a look at some examples. I like Hemingway’s shorts on fishing & hunting, especially “Big Two-Hearted River,” which actually involves a recurring character in Hemingway’s writing. If you have sprawling ideas, maybe write about a daily activity that a character you have in mind would participate in, like fishing, and how that activity hurts or heals the character.
August 27, 2009 at 10:55 am
craiglancaster
Good suggestions, all.
John, great point about Hemingway. I was a fiend for all things Papa when I was in high school, and I loved his stories (particularly “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”). Odd that my affection for them never really made the jump to attempting to write some myself.
Better late than never.
August 27, 2009 at 1:29 pm
JW
Maybe a short story centered around a game of golf? I wrote a Faustian golf short story for a creative writing class in college.
August 27, 2009 at 1:53 pm
kristentsetsi
Hemingway (and Kate Chopin) made me want to write short stories. But Hemingway’s Iceberg theory is da best. I never write anything without applying it obsessively.
August 27, 2009 at 1:59 pm
craiglancaster
Hemingway had a wisdom about writing that I waste many words trying to describe on my own.
The iceberg theory is perhaps the best. There’s also the tagline on this blog, which helps me keep in check any impulse toward being overly florid.
And then there’s this: “Start with the truest sentence you know.” It really is just that simple — and just that difficult.
August 29, 2009 at 4:30 pm
jimthomsen1
I too look to my favorite short-story collections for inspiration:
— Stephen King’s “Skeleton Crew”
— Raymond Carver’s “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love”
— Stephen Dobyns’ “Eating Naked”
— “Later, At The Bar,” Rebecca Barry
— “Man Descending,” Guy Vanderhaeghe
— “The Good Old Stuff,” John D. MacDonald
— “Duel,” Richard Matheson
and just about any mystery-story anthology, especially the annual Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen magazine volumes.
They almost always get me jump-started.
The risk, of course, is that you write too much like whatever you last read.
The old me used to think that was a good thing — that if I aped a master’s voice well enough, I’d be under less pressure to develop my own.
August 29, 2009 at 4:48 pm
jimthomsen1
The new me, hopefully, knows better.
August 29, 2009 at 6:07 pm
Helen Ginger
You already have one of the best ideas – reading other great short story writers. But don’t just read, analyze each story and figure out what made them work, what made them great. If the book is yours, make notes in the margins.
Helen
Straight From Hel
August 30, 2009 at 11:26 am
kristentsetsi
Maybe even read some bad short stories to remind yourself what not to do. 🙂 Sounds like I’m kidding, but actually, doing that has an effect that’s similar to what happens in a writing workshop: the more you find yourself commenting on someone else’s writing, the more you find you might not have thought about for your own.
August 30, 2009 at 11:27 am
kristentsetsi
I wish we could edit comments…meant to say, the more you find THAT you might not have thought about for your own.