What's your advice for someone getting into writing short stories?

Wow, Heinlein nailed it. I'll echo others by saying read a LOT of short stories in every genre you enjoy. You should be able to pick up a lot of tips just by doing that. Find out what works for you, and what doesn't, and then emulate the bits you like best in the context of your own, original story.

I started writing short stories three or four months ago and this has helped me tremendously. I feel like the experiencing of writing short stories has improved my overall writing by a degree that writing my first two novels never did or could have.

+1 on Heinlein and Vonnegut. Also, **cough**shameless plug alert**cough**, this blog series that might help you. It explores the concept of writing for 10 minute periods, but it is focused on writing short stories.
I've been writing shorts consistently for 9 months now and the most important thing not to lose sight of is: tell the story. Everything else is secondary to that central truth.

Deizelcore said:

Seconded.

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I agree with giving necessary information, I hate stories that are jumpy, sketchy and don't make sense.

But, I am a sucker for twisted endings. There!

You probably won't make a lot of money from it, but perhaps enough to pay a few bills. I make enough to maintain a second home (little cottage on Cape Cod.) It pays for upkeep and taxes. Other than that, I'm not about to get rich on my short fiction.

I hope I'm allowed to post in here, but my question is similar to the OP's. I usually write short stories. I was wondering does anyone have any tips for going from short stories to novel/novella/long short story?

My blog post yesterday "Life of a Story: From Idea to Publication" was on this very topic of writing and submitting short stories. A lot of what I wrote has been covered already by other posts in this thread. (And, going back further, the general "Start writing. Finish writing. Submit. Write something else." framework that undergirds the whole thing goes back to those wonderful rules of Heinlein's.)

Silver-Midnight said:

I hope I'm allowed to post in here, but my question is similar to the OP's. I usually write short stories. I was wondering does anyone have any tips for going from short stories to novel/novella/long short story?

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Do you mean for changing a short into a novel, or for switching gears from short story writing to novel writing?

There are lots of differences between a short and a novel, but here are a few for comparison, which might help you switch gears:

For better shorts: take out a lot of details.
For better novels: put in more details.

For better shorts: focus on one individual's desires within the bigger picture.
For better novels: show how several character's desires fit within each other's desires and the bigger picture.

For better shorts:few to no subplots.
For better novels: a larger (but manageable) amount of subplots.

For better shorts: enough setting to be comfortable.
For better novels: enough setting to be immersed.

For better shorts: state new concepts (that are new within the bounds of the story--ie, the story may be science fiction and it's all new to the reader, but I'm talking about new concepts for the MC).
For better novels: slowly reveal and imply new concepts.

Both require strong characters with strong motivations, conflict, and an emotional connection to the audience.

I like to think of short stories like snapshots: they show us one major, sudden, life-changing event for a character.

Novels are more like a photo album: they show several events that culminate in character change. They might end with a big revelation, like a short story, but along the way there can be many smaller events that push the character towards change without suddenly pushing them over the edge of change.

Of course, these are all largely my opinion based on my own observations.