My writing has always been geared towards writing novels. My ideas are novel-sized, my writing is novel-sized, my mindset is bent toward novels. In thirty-plus years of writing, I have written maybe twenty short stories, and I'm not entirely clear how I managed that. I sold several of those short stories, but I just don't have the chops to work consistently in that framework.
But I adore short stories. I adore reading them, I have enjoyed every one that I've written, and I'd really like to try and write more. I find them satisfying in a way that novels aren't (novels are fun to write, too, just different).
I think of them in photographic form, if you follow me. A novel is a huge panorama, with plenty of room for lots of details and lots of story. A short story is a very tight focus image, extreme close up. I can't figure out how to consistently get that tight focus. My ideas don't lend themselves to short story form. It's something I want to learn.
Obviously this forum is not the place to get an education on how to write a short story, or how novel ideas are different from short story ideas. But can anybody point me toward a book or webpage where I can learn more?
But I adore short stories. I adore reading them, I have enjoyed every one that I've written, and I'd really like to try and write more. I find them satisfying in a way that novels aren't (novels are fun to write, too, just different).
I think of them in photographic form, if you follow me. A novel is a huge panorama, with plenty of room for lots of details and lots of story. A short story is a very tight focus image, extreme close up. I can't figure out how to consistently get that tight focus. My ideas don't lend themselves to short story form. It's something I want to learn.
Obviously this forum is not the place to get an education on how to write a short story, or how novel ideas are different from short story ideas. But can anybody point me toward a book or webpage where I can learn more?
