Is it feesable to add footnotes to a short story the way that authors like Terry Pratchett add footnotes to pages of their novel?
What do we all think?
Cheers.
Sc00t
What do we all think?
Cheers.
Sc00t
Footnotes in a short story?
- Thread starter Sc00t
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Yes.
The first time I ever saw footnotes in fiction was in a short story. Michael A. Stackpole had written some short stories for a role-playing game called Shadowrun. The footnotes were hilarious and really added to the story, in my humble opinion.
Besides, who's to say you can or can't do anything in your writing? Just make it work.
The first time I ever saw footnotes in fiction was in a short story. Michael A. Stackpole had written some short stories for a role-playing game called Shadowrun. The footnotes were hilarious and really added to the story, in my humble opinion.
Besides, who's to say you can or can't do anything in your writing? Just make it work.
I agree! Especially if they are funny. I think Terry Pratchett's footnotes make the whole book more enjoyable to read and I look forward to them. Why not put them into a short story as well?
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Yeah someone did it in this creative writing class I took. They wrote about a future where pets weren't allowed and the footnotes were hilarious!
Footnotes
Sure. Quite a few very good short stories have used footnotes. If it adds to the story, it's always good, footnotes or foot odor.
Sure. Quite a few very good short stories have used footnotes. If it adds to the story, it's always good, footnotes or foot odor.
footnotes bother me. I don't know why, but I don't care for them much. LOTR was hard to get through if you kept refering to the footnotes, then again it was a hard novel (or series) to read through anyway.
I read a pretty good short story a friend of mine wrote that included footnotes. I've done it in satirical op-eds for my school paper, and it went over pretty well. I think it's all about placement and moderation, but they can make a piece if used correctly. I like them.
Sure -- it can be done.
Like fat sweaty guys can wear Speedos.
The question isn't whether you can but whether you should.
A gimmick is a gimmick. Gimmicks aren't writing, & won't fool any editor. A gimmick is at best a crutch, a swath of Duct Tape to get you past an iffy spot on the tour, so the rest of the show had best be sterling.
You need to ask questions like: Is it a "cute" gimmick to bail out an otherwise lame stary (or lack thereof)?
Like fat sweaty guys can wear Speedos.
The question isn't whether you can but whether you should.
A gimmick is a gimmick. Gimmicks aren't writing, & won't fool any editor. A gimmick is at best a crutch, a swath of Duct Tape to get you past an iffy spot on the tour, so the rest of the show had best be sterling.
You need to ask questions like: Is it a "cute" gimmick to bail out an otherwise lame stary (or lack thereof)?
Does that writing sample render the verdict...?
It's only a gimmick if the story isn't written in a manner that allows the footnotes to add to the story. A LOT of very good short stories have been written that included footnotes, and these stories not only "fooled" editors, but some of them apparently "fooled" a tremendous number of readers as well, along with judges when awards times rolled around.
You need to ask whether the footnotes improves the story. Done correctly, this will be the case.
"There are millions of examples, MILLIONS I tells ya! And by millions I mean a lot, which is to say at least one, I think, but don't expect me to remember the title or the author or where I saw it or what it was about. That's what I mean by millions, yeah."
Not novels.
And not "quirky" well-established writers like Pratchett or Rankin or Adams -- heck, since there's "A LOT," name a dozen examples from (say) the past decade who're still getting established, & the stories appeared in pulps, slicks, or original anthologies.
While you're at it, you could maybe divide that list into those that're actual informative footnotes that maybe spell out an acronym (because the writer couldn't figure out how to put it into the story) & the type that're an hilarious digression or one that might come back to bite in some interesting fashion.
But it still sounds like putting a sweaty fat guy into a Speedo, particularly when the writer's (probably) never sold a single story.
Quick -- list a dozen.
Not novels.
And not "quirky" well-established writers like Pratchett or Rankin or Adams -- heck, since there's "A LOT," name a dozen examples from (say) the past decade who're still getting established, & the stories appeared in pulps, slicks, or original anthologies.
While you're at it, you could maybe divide that list into those that're actual informative footnotes that maybe spell out an acronym (because the writer couldn't figure out how to put it into the story) & the type that're an hilarious digression or one that might come back to bite in some interesting fashion.
But it still sounds like putting a sweaty fat guy into a Speedo, particularly when the writer's (probably) never sold a single story.
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