tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656921634940224775.post1359042643689796855..comments2024-02-11T15:29:31.409-05:00Comments on Richard's Pretension: Short StuffRichard Bellushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108081864942272619noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656921634940224775.post-39775841780538915132014-05-15T14:46:36.324-04:002014-05-15T14:46:36.324-04:00Writing short is harder than writing long if you h...Writing short is harder than writing long if you have a complex tale to unfold. The 1000 page tomes so common on bookshelves may be justified on rare occasion (e.g. Michener) but more commonly are signs of bad editing. The problem is that we often have just about 100 pages of things to say – I do anyway – which is an awkward length. After trying it both ways I’ve concluded it’s better to pare the tale down to a dozen pages than pad it up to 250, even if that means (as it will) slicing out whole sections. Only once have I written a short story that I thought would work better as a novel. (“Slog” doesn’t really count since those are really four short stories put together – they just happen to share the same universe.) “The Reptile Way” over at my “Richard’s Mirror” site has so much going on in it that a lengthier treatment might work better – maybe I’ll do it someday.<br /><br />In longer pieces we often lose control to the characters anyway. Mark Twain explains that Pudd’nhead Wilson was supposed to be a minor character in a novel about the Italian twins. But Pudd’nhead kept bullying his way to the front so that Twain gave up and handed him the lead and the title. He made it up to the Twins by giving them their own short story.<br />Richard Bellushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10108081864942272619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656921634940224775.post-593228655857261462014-05-15T00:15:19.889-04:002014-05-15T00:15:19.889-04:00I go through phases where I read and write a lot o...I go through phases where I read and write a lot of short fiction. One of the great things about writing it, is the freedom it gives you. I always feel my shorter stuff comes across more dynamic and lively than my longer works. I think it is because that creative spark is still strong while I write the first draft. With my novel length material, I usually lose that spark about half way through the project, and feel like I'm rolling a bolder uphill for the second half. Sometimes I can tell when I go back and read the novel, but other times it isn't apparent. <br /><br />I can also get really weird in short fiction. It's almost like, "Hell this is short, if someone doesn't like the ending or the fact that my protagonist explodes in gooey chunklets at the end, they can just read the next one."<br /><br />With a novel I find myself not daring to go so far. Probably because I've been working with the characters for so long, I feel bad if I have to utterly liquify them. :)Roman J. Martelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09545497713474664555noreply@blogger.com