Kaye
George
We
all hope to fool our readers, don’t we? We want them to breeze through our
deathless prose and think it was easy to write that. After all, we dash these
things off all the time, right?
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| Upsplash green chameleon |
Once
you try it, you’re not fooled, though. The writing that looks simple, reads
easy, is the hardest to do. Then there’s the type of writing. Journalists don’t
find it easy to write fiction. Novelists don’t find it easy to write short
stories. And short story writers don’t find novels very easy, either. Poets
generally just write poetry. Then there’s non-fiction. Whole ‘nother animal.
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| Thick Books Upsplash morgan harris |
It’s
hard for me to write a novel, but, I admit, much easier to write a short story.
Many writers are the exact opposite. Novels are fun and short stories are hard
work. Well, it’s all hard work, sometimes. (Except for those rare instances
when The Muse dictates a story to you, fully formed, and you need only copy
down the dictation. I think I’ve had that happen twice.) I really do think that
the best novels and stories make it look easy. That takes skill!
Preferring
to write novels or short stories may be due to the difference between our own basic
tendencies. I tend to write “short,” which means that when I write a novel, it
comes in way under the required word count and I must go through my edits,
keeping in mind that I need a lot more words. I learned to write lean through
doing flash fiction. A 1000-word story doesn’t leave space for extra words. A
100-word story, even worse. I consider flash fiction excellent training for
short story writing.
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| Thin Book Upsplash kelley sikkema |
I
know many writers tend to write “long.” They end up way over their word count
on the first draft and have to cut, cut, cut.
Sometimes
I wish I could HAVE those cut words for MY novel. Yeah, they probably wouldn’t
go with the rest of the story.
Word
count is usually dictated by the publisher. My required word counts for my
novels are in my contracts. I’ll admit, I’ve turned some in that are a bit shy
of the requirement, but you’re allowed to round your word count. No one said I couldn’t
round it up.
If
you’re a writer, do you prefer writing long or short? If you’re a reader, does
it look easy to write a novel or a short story?
You may struggle with novel length, but your books are always fabulous, as are your short stories. Combining the two forms is difficult. Few writers handle it with your aplomb.
ReplyDeleteLike you, my first drafts tend to an economy of words. Unlike you, I find writing short stories almost impossible. Which is odd as my writing life began with the True Confessions magazines!
It's tough to transition from short stories to full length books. I write my short stories in batches during December (when focusing on anything other than holiday meal planning is impossible), January, and February.
ReplyDeleteI'm doing Camp Nano right now, churning out turgid dialogue and narrative for a rough first draft. The uncut, unpolished gem of a story is there, and I'll do many rounds of revisions to create the final, brilliant cut gemstone.
Writing short stories is a gift! I can't imagine going back and forth from full-length novels to short stories.
ReplyDeleteMy first drafts tend to leave out setting and senses, so adding them into my book always adds words.
I enjoyed today's post, Kaye. Thanks!
Thank you so much, Kait! Thanks for weighing in Margaret and Jackie. Good thing we don't have to show our first drafts to anyone.
ReplyDeleteI think if a writer isn't under a time crunch (hahaha), that switching from short to long or vice versa can be done with minimal groaning. Having to pound out a short story while simultaneously writing a novel is a true hardship for me. However, I agree with what's been said here, you do both fluidly and effortlessly!
ReplyDeleteI can't do both at the same time either, Maggie. If there's a crunch, I have to drop one for a bit. I'm so glad to see that I have a couple of you completely fooled. You're welcome to witness me tearing my hair out while I'm finishing up (I hope!) the novel I'm working on. No, on second thought, don't watch that. You can see the effortless finished product instead. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the sparse first drafts, Kaye. I just hit 30000 in the WIP, and that means I'm at least halfway through the book. I write spare stemming from my former career as a technical writer. There's no fluff in a sofware manual.
ReplyDeleteAnd I also love writing short stories. So many fewer words to get your head around! So much less time needed. Plus I can try out darker themes and points of view than my novels take.
I love writing short stories. To me, they just kind of flow. There's no need to weave together various elements, and sometimes careful use of stereotypes (I always maintain that a stereotype has come to exist because there is a strong element of truth in it) can leap over the need to use hundreds of words.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of writing novels, and sometimes I even love working on them, but it's a totally different ballgame.
They require a somewhat different set of skills. Some of my favorite short stories have taken as long to write as my novels. I think a short story is the ideal length for a mystery, but that does not make writing easier.
ReplyDeleteEdith, yes, on exploring darker or just offbeat themes. I had the most fun once writing a short story in second person present tense, but I could never, ever keep that up for a novel. Although I read a novel in first person plural once. I didn't even realize that's what it was until I was way into it.
ReplyDeleteKM, they flow for me, too. I love finding just the right noun or maybe one adjective, so that no other words are needed.
Warren, you're a novel writer! That's why short stories are difficult for you.