Hi Alison, thanks for this stimulating piece! I'm curious to understand more about what's left in vs what's let out, for both the short story and the novel. How do you decide what details are crucial that the short story/novel can't exist, and what details are superfluous the reader will fill in the gaps? I've often considered short-stories as some forms of condensed novels. Is this view too flawed?
Loved this piece. Thank you for sharing! It’s refreshing and enlightening regarding the different directions we can take.
In my own journey, I have been writing a book of fables for the past six months. Somewhere along the way, I had an idea for how to (loosely) thread the stories together. I’m liking the idea of it being more of a novella, an overarching story with short stories within it.
All that said, the thing that really stuck out for me from this post is the “burden” of reading short stories and nee characters each time. I do feel this, especially in this day and age of lowered attention and energy span. At the same time, I’ve also learned that it’s something I enjoy as a writer. I like to explore different roles, skills etc… and short stories let me do that with worlds.
Hi Alison, thanks for this stimulating piece! I'm curious to understand more about what's left in vs what's let out, for both the short story and the novel. How do you decide what details are crucial that the short story/novel can't exist, and what details are superfluous the reader will fill in the gaps? I've often considered short-stories as some forms of condensed novels. Is this view too flawed?
Loved this piece. Thank you for sharing! It’s refreshing and enlightening regarding the different directions we can take.
In my own journey, I have been writing a book of fables for the past six months. Somewhere along the way, I had an idea for how to (loosely) thread the stories together. I’m liking the idea of it being more of a novella, an overarching story with short stories within it.
All that said, the thing that really stuck out for me from this post is the “burden” of reading short stories and nee characters each time. I do feel this, especially in this day and age of lowered attention and energy span. At the same time, I’ve also learned that it’s something I enjoy as a writer. I like to explore different roles, skills etc… and short stories let me do that with worlds.
Thanks again for sharing your wisdom!