During this last
year, I joined the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime and found I was getting a
lot of messages about writing short stories. I learned about: (1) submissions being solicited for anthologies, (2) societies featuring list serves that offered
market information, (3) critique groups evaluating work and providing valuable
feedback, and (4) awards recognizing various lengths of short fiction.
Suddenly, an aspect of the publishing world opened up for me that I had not
considered -- an avenue where work could be published and a writer could interact
with editors, with or without agents as intermediaries, in a relatively short time span.
As I began
writing and submitting my own short stories, I made many contacts and kept
learning about available venues. Part of that process led me to be a regular
contributor to this blog. And from that experience, I have developed many new
friends, colleagues, and mentors on the writing road.
When I asked my
blogging partners if I could do a series about short story writing, they kindly
agreed. In addition, six of them who write short stories have contributed to my
effort by responding to a brief survey.
In the next few
weeks, I will be presenting a series of messages about the mystery short story
world: (1) its authors, (2) its organizations, and (3) its craft. To whet your
appetite for coming attractions (also to solicit your input and hopefully find answers to any
questions you have), I wanted to give you the thoughtful answers provided by my
blogging partners to my survey questions.
Many thanks to Gloria
Alden, Warren Bull, Kara Cerise, Carla Damron, E.B. Davis, and James M. Jackson for
answering so comprehensively. Each has at least one -- and often more than one
-- post graduate degree. Most of the writers I surveyed for this series had
diverse and significant educational backgrounds; had worked in professional and technical fields; and had spent
significant time honing their craft through writing short stories of various
lengths. They had some interesting thoughts about the current marketplace, its
potential, its benefits, and its detriments. I’m certain you’ll enjoy their
perspectives.
How has being
part of a short story writing community influenced your writing?
Gloria: I only recently joined
an online short story critique group and have found it very helpful. I’d sent the last story to other critique partners
and they helped some, but I got the best help from the online group.
Warren: I had a great critique
group when I started. I have an excellent beta reader and I still benefit from an online short story critique group.
After working on a story for a while I start to read what I intended, not what
I actually wrote. I am also a member of the Short Mystery Fiction
Society (SMFS).
Kara: There are SO many excellent short story writers that I am
learning techniques just by reading their stories.
Carla: I’ve learned to eliminate anything that’s unnecessary
so my writing is (hopefully) tighter.
E.B.: As a
member of the SMFS, I judged the Derringers (short fiction awards presented by
the SMFS) one year. Each judge was given a rating sheet. From this rating sheet
I saw what was being judged and in what priority. It wasn't rocket science, but
at the same time that experience gave me an invaluable education. The short
story community has very high standards.
Jim: Early in my
writing career after I had written the first draft (or two or three) of my
first novel, I penned a number of short stories and ran them through the
Cincinnati Writers Project (a critique group). Short-story crafting helped hone
writing skills.
What is your
thought process when you submit or select stories for a themed anthology?
Gloria: First, I have to come up with
a plot that fits the theme. Some themes don’t appeal to me. For instance, I
don’t think I could write a noir story. Then I develop the main character
adding others to fit.
Warren: It's a great way to get a story started. Even if the story is
not accepted by the anthology, it may get accepted by another venue later.
Kara: I’ve only submitted to one
anthology. First, I read the previous anthology in order to understand what
type of stories they wanted. Then I made sure to follow the directions for
submissions.
Carla: I struggle with this one. Now and then I might have a
story that fits. It’s harder to have to write one to fit the theme.
E.B.: The thought process is based on questions that I ask
myself. Will the story fit the theme? What about my story will
"speak" to the editors? Does it have enough voice to grab them?
Jim: I let the theme
percolate for a time and either an idea develops or I pass on the opportunity.
I do not try to cram a previous story into a themed anthology. Once, I did have
a previously written story that fit perfectly, and after a further polishing, I
did submit that one.
When do you know an idea is suited for a short story
instead of a longer work?
Gloria:
When the plot doesn’t lend itself to anything more than a short
story – maybe only one murder or a character that I don’t care to develop
beyond a short story, although I have thought of adding some of my characters
to my books, but usually the characters that are the strongest are the
murderers.
Warren: As Earl Staggs (a Derringer winning short story writer whose website is http://earlwstaggs.wordpress.com) said, it is a matter of size. Not just word count
but few characters in one or two settings and a short period of time; one main
story with one secondary plot.
Kara: Good question. I don’t know. I
think that some characters and situations can be expanded for longer stories.
Carla: Sometimes I’ll do a short story and then later
consider expanding it, if it has more depth that needs exploring, or if the
characters stay with me and have more to say.
E.B.: An
idea can be suitable for both short and long works, but in a short story, the
writer must focus on one central aspect of the story because few short stories
have subplots, and if they do, it's minor and noncompeting with the main plot.
Jim: The size of the
necessary canvas. How many characters? How big a problem? How simple a
solution. [I don't write plotless stories.]
Have you written
flash fiction (usually stories of under 1000 words)? What do you think of flash
fiction as a literary form?
Gloria: I wrote a flash fiction
“Norman’s Skeletons” for an online class I was taking a few years ago. I just
dug it out to see if I could use it in a longer short story. [NOTE: Gloria
has revised “Norman’s Skeletons into a longer story and submitted it for
consideration.] It was fun writing it.
Warren: Yes. It is a fun
modality to work in.
Kara: I have not written it unless you consider a mystery
in 25 words for the Guppy 25th anniversary flash fiction. I wrote
two of those. I enjoy reading it because writers can be very clever using few
words.
Carla: Yes. HARD. This is the leanest, meanest form of
fiction.
E.B.: Yes,
I have written flash and it was published in Kings River Life Magazine. I used
to not like it at all. Ellis Vidler (website: http://www.ellisvidler.com) asked me to write a flash for her blog (http://theunpredictablemuse.blogspot.com/search?q=E.B.+Davis) based
on a picture. I approached it as a challenge and a test. Every word counts.
It's like writing a log line -- the writer has to pare down the story to its
minimum structure. Flash isn't a form I favor, but it is a way of revealing the
bones of a story.
Jim: Yep. Again it forces
me to focus on the core of the story and find ways for the reader to fill in
all the details I would provide in a longer story.
How many
characters can be in a short story?
Gloria: I’m not sure of the limit, but
certainly fewer than in a novel. I try to keep the number down, but I have
trouble because all these characters sort of appear and want to be part of the
story, and one does want enough to keep the reader guessing who the actual
murderer is!
Warren: I don't have a
absolute rule, but beyond 3 or 4 is a problem.
Kara: I think it depends on the story length. I’ve
noticed that flash fiction usually has one character whereas a long story or
novelette can have many characters.
Carla: Tough to say. I tend to limit to 5-6 for longer short
stories. 1-4 for shorter ones.
E.B.: It
depends on the length. The story can only have one character or it can have
4-5 -- more than that and it probably will be too confusing to the reader.
Jim: As many as it takes,
but not one more.
How long have
you been writing short stories?
Gloria: Except for one I wrote when I
was a freshman in college in my early 40s -- which won the prize for best
freshman short story and an award -- I didn’t write another one until the call
went out for the first Guppy Anthology FISH TALES three or four years ago. I
have one that was too long for that, but the one I submitted was accepted. I’ve
been writing short stories ever since then.
Warren: For as long as I can remember.
Kara: A few years. Honestly, I have about 10 short
stories half written because I’m an over-researcher. I find an intriguing
subject and want to learn more, more, more. It’s a bad habit! (Wait-I feel a
blog coming on.)
Carla: A few years.
E.B.: About 5 years.
Jim:
10 years (not counting the "Story of the Red and Green Striped
Zebra" written circa 1960)
What is good/bad
about the current short story market?
Gloria: That’s kind of hard for me to
say. I belong to a short story list serve, but I almost never have time to read
their digests to see what’s out there. I’ve had four short stories published –
two in the Guppy Anthologies, one in Crimespree, one in Bethlehem Writers
Roundtable and one that’s been accepted for another anthology. But I’ve only
submitted others to a few places and those weren’t accepted. I might do better
if I did more submitting.
Warren: There are a number of
venues, which is good. Unfortunately the payment is often nothing or very
small. Except for Alfred Hitchcock
and Ellery Queen the markets don't
last long.
Kara: From everything I’ve read it looks like there is a
growing market for short stories.
Carla: It’s easier to find a journal to take a short story
than to find a publisher for a novel. These days, the publishing industry needs
therapy.
E.B.: I've
been lucky to get most of my work published. The bad part is that on only four
occasions have I actually been paid, and the pay was paltry. The other bad part
is that few of the publishers are on the MWA's "approved" list so as
far as that organization is concerned, my work is zilch.
Jim: Good - lots of
ezines so getting published is relatively easy. Bad - story rates haven't
changed since the 1950s (unless it's that they have declined) -- and the
cost-of-living is much higher.
Should an
unpublished author self-publish short stories?
Gloria: I have the rights to all my
short stories and I plan on self-publishing them. First I’ll do them individually
and later put them into an anthology. It’s another way of getting my name out
there and certainly better than letting them languish in my file cabinet.
Warren: Probably not. As noted
above there are many markets, I would suggest trying different markets to gain
a reputation. I would not buy or read a short story from a writer I did not
know.
Kara: I think an unpublished author could self-publish.
Hopefully, the stories are critiqued and edited by a professional editor or
other writers before publication.
Carla: Submit to anthologies. If you get rejected, you may
get helpful feedback you can use to tighten
your work.
E.B.: NO!
Why publish when your work hasn't been tested in the market and you
don't have a public to publish for?
Jim: To what purpose?
If the unpublished author has a great platform and the stories somehow enhance
that platform, perhaps. But really -- if no publisher will run the story why
should the author embarrass himself by publishing dross? A possible exception
might be if someone is writing experimental fiction for which there is no
current market. But for genre fiction, I suggest that the author keep working
on craft until someone else is willing to publish it.
The reason I
write short stories is:
Gloria: I hear of a contest and think
it would be fun to compose something for it. I like writing them and would
write many more if I only had the time. I have at least three or four started
-- maybe more -- that I plan on finishing.
Warren: I like writing short
stories and it is much easier to get a short story published than to get a
novel published.
Kara: I like the challenge of completing a story in the
least amount of words possible. (Probably why I prefer Twitter over
Facebook.) Also, I write screenplays
which are short (about 110 pages with lots of white space) so it’s a good
opportunity to see if I can use a short story as the basis of a screenplay.
Carla: It helps me learn to edit/tighten prose.
E.B.: It improves my writing and allows me to take chances
on ideas that I'd rather not spend two years writing only to find out the
concept falls short in marketability.
Jim: To tell a tale.
The most
important aspect of writing a mystery short story is:
Gloria: for a character to grab a
reader and the story to have a twist at the end.
Warren: writing about
characters.
Kara: I don’t have an answer for this question. I’d like to know
the definition of a mystery short story. What sets it apart from a short story
with a dark theme? Does a mystery have to be “solved” in order for it to be
considered a mystery? I’ve read some mystery shorts where a murder takes place
and the killer relates how it’s done, but there isn’t a sleuth solving the
murder.
Carla: suspense and surprise.
E.B.: writing
concisely, moving the story forward, and trying to fool the reader without
cheating him.
Jim: not known to me. All
aspects of craft come into play in writing a good story. Maybe I'll relent --
if you are writing for a particular market, know the market well before
submitting.
