Writing short stories is a great way to learn to trim your prose, and
writing tight can really benefit novel writing.
It can also help you master character descriptions too. When you can only afford a paragraph to
introduce each character you sharpen your skills for careful word selection.
In other words, writing short stories is great practice. In a short story
you get to work through every phase of story writing: the hook, plot twists,
character development, pacing, and wrapping up a strong ending. And as a bonus, you get to make all the
normal mistakes without losing weeks or months figuring out how to backtrack
and fix them.
And the time element allows for faster feedback too. Instead of spending a year writing a novel to
get some feedback on how you drive a story to a strong conclusion, you can
write a short story so in a fraction of the time you can get feedback on your
writing. And it’s a lot easier on your
first readers to get through a short story and give you immediate feedback.
There are also commercial advantages.
Short stories can be an easy and inexpensive way for new readers to sample
your writing style before they decide to dedicate the time required to read a
novel. That’s the main reason I posted
three of my short stories on Amazon for 99 cents as The Reliable Witness.
Like any form of writing, it pays to associate with others in the
trade. I’m not aware of any conference specifically
for short story writers, you can join a gathering of some of the best by
joining the Short Mystery Fiction Society.
The Society welcomes writers, editors, publishers, and readers to promote
the creation, publication, and appreciation of the genre. Membership is free. You just have to join
their Yahoo Group -
- to get access to their discussions and participate in the annual Derringer
Awards.
So if you’ve been laboring away at a novel for a while, why not take a
break and try writing something short and sweet?
