tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post1475279002034380645..comments2024-03-14T18:09:09.667-05:00Comments on Do Some Damage: SHORT PEOPLEUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-3251505139828536762009-08-08T15:13:50.186-05:002009-08-08T15:13:50.186-05:00Russel,
I actually have people other than writer&...Russel,<br /><br />I actually have people other than writer's reading my stories. Thanks to forums like Facebook and twitter, I'm reaching a ton of non writer's who just like to read a good story. I think it's writer's who tend to leave comments if there's a comment section available.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06827652636843928373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-70021180655355983082009-08-07T13:04:31.888-05:002009-08-07T13:04:31.888-05:00Brian's afraid of clowns too.
Of course, seei...Brian's afraid of clowns too.<br /><br />Of course, seeing the title of the post I thought you were going to poke fun at yourself and our agent. ;)Sandra Ruttanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06109584805469336742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-863786927000948172009-08-07T12:09:50.371-05:002009-08-07T12:09:50.371-05:00Thanks all -
Jay, you're right that there are...Thanks all -<br /><br />Jay, you're right that there are less editors in the short market - the value of a good editor (Gerald So at TD, for example, was great to work with) to work with cannot be stated emphatically enough. I think some people shorts never need tinkering. To which I say, nonsense. I'm a big believer in editors not simply as aquisition guys but as impartial sounding boards with whom an author can work. Which meant I upset more than a few egos during the days when Crime Scene Scotland used to do shorts.<br /><br />Jim<br /><br />Shorts - like novels - should be fear inspiring things to do. But as you realised, they can be the perfect medium for certain types of story. I love 'em.<br /><br />Sandra<br /><br />Never mind beginning writers, I think some vets could benefit from re-learning the craft of the short. And its great to hear from a fan of the form, too :-)<br /><br />Keith<br /><br />Enjoy it and keep at it. There is, sadly, little money in shorts, but they're great fun to write - espcially because they are challenging.<br /><br />John<br /><br />I get the peer review thing, but I'm always uncomfortable with the idea that other readers are merely other writers. There's something that unsettles me a little; almost like your audience isn't reading purely for pleasure.<br /><br />Dave<br /><br />I don't have half the time I used to write shorts. And I sweat over 'em, too. Between novel deadlines and the day job... but I still try to keep my hand in. There's one I'm working on at the moment for a very specific market which I'm quite excited about.<br /><br />Scott<br /><br />Yeah, some ideas can seem too large. I think shorts are about immediacy of ideas and situations. A lot of setup, you can dispense with. I always try and ignore non-essential backstory with shorts. Emotional immediacy is what its all about. I think. I'll be checking out the western shorts...Russelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08882590221382217329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-18642106102899803322009-08-07T11:08:33.929-05:002009-08-07T11:08:33.929-05:00I'm still new at the short story business. The...I'm still new at the short story business. The western Jay kindly mentioned was a one-sitting wonder. It was an exercise to see whether or not I could write an interesting story with all the deduction done off-screen. Now, I've a few more ideas and a few more characters I want to introduce as well as more Calvin Carter outings (that'd be the western detective hero of the short story). However, I've discovered that, like Dave, I think big. I think in novel-sized chunks. The short story ideas for me seem to small. That might be because I'm still thinking too big. I'm working on it and I agree that it's a great way of finding the elusive voice. And I've got a writing regime I'm trying out to see (a) if I can do it and (b) if it'll lead to a better organized writing life. More on that in a future post.Scott D. Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293540073601809197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-14835468814867516962009-08-07T09:17:04.482-05:002009-08-07T09:17:04.482-05:00You know, I love short stories and I used to love ...You know, I love short stories and I used to love writing them. But now I have a hard time with it. Ever since publishing a novel, I can't get the pacing down anymore. I think big. Anyone else having this problem? Because man, I want back in the short story party...Dave Whitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10185814518997114591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-20601027307216713232009-08-07T08:09:32.788-05:002009-08-07T08:09:32.788-05:00Great to see some discussion about short stories t...Great to see some discussion about short stories tht talks about "finding your voice" and learning your craft as a writer instead of the usual stuff about should you give it away for free or not.<br /><br />I will say I don't think there's a big problem if only (or mostly) other writers are reading these short stories - think of it as peer review. Other people who take writing as seriously as you do, who think about all the aspects of it as much as you do are reading your stories and offering comments.John McFetridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09442198820998606682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-34003831849640948142009-08-07T07:43:34.697-05:002009-08-07T07:43:34.697-05:00There is no forum greater for discovering new writ...There is no forum greater for discovering new writer's than the short story and new venues for the form seem to expand by the day. I am also "making my bones" with short stories and have had a blast with the form and discovering my voice through it. Plus, I've gotten to meet, interact, and learn from a slew of great writer's because of it. <br />Cool post Mr. McLeanAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06827652636843928373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-11919308608948158442009-08-07T07:24:46.344-05:002009-08-07T07:24:46.344-05:00I love short stories because they make you stop an...I love short stories because they make you stop and think when you're writing. You have to look for the that perfect word to replace a dozen. You learn to pinpoint exactly what the story is about instead of taking sidetrips that add nothing to the story. And there's no better place for a beginning writer to learn the craft. Can you tell I'm a big fan of short stories?sandra seamanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09786095189231150008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-31093535933747796152009-08-07T07:13:12.482-05:002009-08-07T07:13:12.482-05:00I used to think writing short stories was a necess...I used to think writing short stories was a necessary evil all writers had to go through, but also the basis for which the Bush Administration said waterboarding was not torture.<br /><br />At one point, I said, "Not gonna do it anymore" (and I have the output to prove it), then went back to it.<br /><br />A funny thing happened when I went back. I realized that I could tell small stories in a small amount of space so that where I once found 7000 words too constraining, I now look at 3000 words in some cases too long.<br /><br />Go figure.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-90765993661789664812009-08-07T05:10:26.917-05:002009-08-07T05:10:26.917-05:00should have added this before hitting PUBLISH.
I&...should have added this before hitting PUBLISH.<br /><br />I'd add a few specific links for shorts;<br /><br />Allan Guthrie has one up at crimeWAV, a free podcast well worth subscribing to. This could be the future of the short, and the story itself is hilarious; <br /><br />http://crimewav.com/?q=content/episode-31-allan-guthrie-turnip-farm<br /><br />My favourite Cal Innes story remains THE MONKEY MAN, simply because it's so lean and simple, and get the character across;<br /><br />http://www.thesaturdayboy.com/?page_id=10<br /><br />Russel himself has a TON of stories to check out over at his own blog;<br /><br />http://theseayemeanstreets.blogspot.com/<br /><br />and Scott, our own saturday boy, has a good western up at Beat To A Pulp. It's a good example of telling a whole story with a few words.Packs an emotional punch, too.<br /><br />http://www.beattoapulp.com/stor/2009/0426_sdp_YouDontGetThreeMistakes.cfm<br /><br />Okay, that's the hustle over!Jay Stringerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08764183157841848163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-43606701768400423062009-08-07T05:00:41.612-05:002009-08-07T05:00:41.612-05:00There is nothing irrational about a fear of clowns...There is nothing irrational about a fear of clowns. They are freaky face painted weirdo's. <br /><br />I have spoken. <br /><br />I love writing shorts. I don't push to get many of them published because there seem to be less and less editors out there in the short market, and i'm a writer who needs a bit of editing.<br /><br />Much as we discussed with screenwriting, writing a short is great for teaching you how to tell a story. The story i entered in a Scotsman competition last year was a great learning curve for that. Up until that point my shorts had always been character pieces, where plot was secondary. But for the competition i needed a narrative with a beginning, middle and end in 2000 words. There was a lot of sweating, a lot of work, and a lot of learning.<br /><br />This has actually inspired a blog about narrative music. That may appear over the next few weeks.Jay Stringerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08764183157841848163noreply@blogger.com