When I first started writing seriously, all I wanted was to publish a novel.
I thought my intentions were honourable—that I wasn’t just another wannabe with dreams of making it big—but there was always that little part of me that still wasn’t ready to put in my dues.
I wanted it all, and I wanted it right away.
Then, something life-changing happened. An opportunity fell into my lap. I was asked by the publisher of a print magazine (who had been following my blog) if I would consider submitting a short story to their next issue. I hadn’t had much luck with my previous attempts at publishing short fiction, but I thought I’d give it a try.
A Writing Revelation
In order to be sure I was writing something that wouldn’t be rejected, I read and deconstructed a lot of short stories, listened to them on podcasts, and spent a painfully long period of time perfecting my piece. I really began to appreciate the things that short stories do best, and in the process of writing that story, I fell in love with short fiction.
My piece was accepted. It was then nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and later it was included in an anthology.
All of this changed the course of my writing forever. I put the novel aside for a while and focused more on short fiction. I still received plenty of rejections, but the acceptances became more and more frequent. Now that I’ve tackled some of the smaller indie mags and mid-range university journals, I have a much better chance of breaking in to some of the larger, more well-known publications.
And that could have a huge impact on my ability to write, sell, and market a novel.
If you consider yourself strictly a novelist, have you given some thought to whether short fiction can help you achieve your goals? Or, have you dismissed it as something that’s ‘just not for you’?
Consider:
1. Reading short fiction can make you a more knowledgeable writer.
You know how sometimes you hear the same authors’ names over and over, but have no real concept of who they are or what they write?
Short fiction gives you the opportunity to experience the work of some great writers without the commitment of reading through weighty novels each time. You might yawn at the prospect of reading Freedom by Jonathan Franzen, but you can still get to know his work by reading the short piece “Agreeable” (which is actually an excerpt from the novel, but it stands on its own). You have no time or inclination to push through Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace or The Handmaid’s Tale, but in half an hour you can read “Stone Mattress.”
Reading short fiction offers an opportunity to become more widely read in less time. There are plenty of short fiction collections at your local library, and thousands upon thousands of stories available free online.
Start today: For one week, read a short story per day. You might do this during your lunch break or before bed, or you can even download an audio recording and listen to it while you exercise or commute to work.
Here are some stories I’ve enjoyed recently:
- “Miriam,” by Truman Capote (Literary Fictions)
- “The Swimmer,” by John Cheever, read aloud by Anne Enright (The New Yorker)
- “Love and Honour and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice,” by Nam Le (Zoetrope: All-Story)
- “This Cake Is for the Party,” by Sarah Selecky (The Walrus)
- “Dog Heaven,” by Stephanie Vaughn, read aloud by Tobias Wolff (The New Yorker)
- “The Gilgul of Park Avenue,” by Nathan Englander (The Atlantic Online)
- “The Gulf,” by Tania James (Boston Review)
2. Writing short fiction can make you a more accomplished writer.
Writing short stories requires economy with words and focus on technique. Think—maximum learning experience with minimum time commitment.
Taking the time to write short fiction, set it aside, and polish it, all give you opportunities to work on your craft and get used to the feeling of completely finishing a piece of writing.
The biggest thing I’ve learned from writing short stories is the art of subtlety: how to be less obvious with symbolism or themes, how to choose subtle titles, and when it’s better to leave things unsaid.
Short fiction teaches you to make each word count, and that’s a definite advantage in writing a novel, especially when you need to hook your reader from the very first page.
Start today: Read the following first short story lines and use each as a starting point to create a piece of micro or flash fiction:
- “They say every girl remembers that special day when everything starts to change.” (“Man and Wife,” by Katie Chase, The Missouri Review)
- “For weeks, the rumours circled into town as if carried by wind.” (“Viaticum,” by Lauren Groff, Open Letters Monthly)
- “What a burden it is to have seen wondrous things, for afterwards the world feels empty of possibility.” (“A Lovely and Terrible Thing,” by Chris Womersley, Granta)
3. Publishing short fiction can make you a more marketable writer.
With a portfolio of published work to my credit, when I do have a novel ready to submit to literary agents, my query letter will sound more confident and experienced than it would have a couple of years ago.
Getting your work published in just a few respectable journals can be a real asset to you as a writer. It shows you’ve put in the time to learn and practice your craft, and that you have the tenacity to keep submitting until you find a home for your work.
If literary fiction isn’t your thing, many popular authors are just as active in writing short stories (think about Stephen King, Jennifer Weiner, Neil Gaiman). For whatever genre you love, there are short-form markets to match.
Start today: Start a spreadsheet of places where you can publish short fiction. You’ll probably want to start with ones that don’t charge reading fees, do accept electronic and simultaneous submissions, and publish work similar to your own writing. Continue adding to the list as you come across new venues. When you’ve polished either one short story or a suite of micro/flash fiction, you’ll already have a tailor-made database of markets.
Here are a handful to get you started (I am in no way affiliated with these journals—I just think they’re cool):
Novelists: do you read and write short fiction? If so, how has it helped you become a more knowledgeable, accomplished or marketable writer?
Photo courtesy of ljfullofgrace at Flickr
About Suzannah Windsor Freeman
Suzannah Windsor Freeman is a Canadian freelance writer and editor whose work has appeared in The Writer, Sou'wester, Grist, Saw Palm, Anderbo, The Best of the Sand Hill Review, and others. She is the managing editor of Compose: A Journal of Simply Good Writing and Writeitsideways.com. She lives in Ontario with her husband and four children.
I agree with everything you have said. I read short fiction and find that it definitely helps with pacing and craft, in particular. There is no room in a short story for info dumping and back story – common pitfalls for the aspiring novelist.
I’d never considered trying to publish my short fiction, but I can see the benefits of it in building a resume. Perhaps I should give it a try? Thanks for the encouragement and suggestions.
By the way, the most recent collection of short stories that I really enjoyed is “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri.
Thanks for the recommendation, Lynn! There’s no reason not to at least submit some of those short stories (as long as they’re polished and you feel they’re a good representation of your best work). Nothing to lose, and a good advantage to gain.
Excellent points, Suzannah! As a published short fiction author and a hopefully-soon-to-be-published novelist, I wholeheartedly agree with this post.
Lydia, you’re a great example of someone who writes and publishes genre short fiction. I know it’s helped you in your longer-form work. Thanks!
Couldn’t agree more. I was never really successful getting short pieces published (just one essay in Literary Mama, which I agree, is a great online journal), but the *process* of writing those many, many unpublished shorts improved my writing in all respects, particularly in regard to “showing” a character and economy of language.
Thanks for all the short story recommendations, too. I’ll be checking them out as soon as I hit “submit” on this comment. ; )
Thanks, Anne! Even one published piece is better than none. I’s still something that can be listed in query letters to demonstrate that you’ve at least attempted to spend some time and effort getting your work published already. I know you’ve had some success with publishing novel-length fiction, so I’m sure all that practice helped get you there. I hope you like the short stories!
Read Stone Mattress and was hooked! The two full length novels sitting on my shelf written by Margaret Atwood and up to date unread BY me – will be the next two books I will now read. Stone Mattress – Brilliant!
Leila, I agree that “Stone Mattress” draws you in from the start! And, its a story that can be enjoyed by both readers of literary and genre fiction.
Publishing shorts can only help, for all the reasons you list. The one caveat is that it can be a really long, long process (yeah, kind of like shopping a novel). Hey, I guess another benefit is how it improves your patience!
Definitely, Jeffo :) Acquiring the patience to publish a portfolio of short fiction certainly prepares you for the process of finding an agent, selling a manuscript, and all the rest! I tend to submit to places that take four months or less to respond and accept simultaneous submissions, otherwise it could take a lifetime to get just one story published.
It was my first love – that and the essay. I don’t write shorts any longer, but one day think I may revisit the ones stashed in my files and see what’s there.
I love reading short story collections, and wish there were more of them out there.
Kathryn, the thing I love about short stories is that I can enjoy one in between caring for my four children. These days, it’s very difficult to find time to immerse myself in a novel, but I can sneak in a short story before bed or while the kids are napping, or if it’s a really busy day, I listen to one read aloud on my mp3 player. Perfect way to motivate yourself to do the dishes!
My experience has been a little different. I started out writing short stories — really, because everyone said that it would help with getting a novel published. At the time, well-meaning family members steered me to them, too, because they were smaller and easier to finish.
The first problem I eventually ran into is that there isn’t much of a market for genre fiction that pays. Some genres aren’t even represented, and at the time, the one I was writing in didn’t work in short story form. I ended up writing outside of the genre I wanted to write, which was frustrating for me. I felt like I was sacrificing things I enjoyed to to get published.
The second problem was writing short. That became detrimental in writing a novel. I tended — and still do — to underdo everything. I have to constantly remind myself to do more than what I initially do. I learned “write short” far too well.
It did give me great editing skills through. While others insist that they can’t edit a single word, I can always find something that can come out.
Linda, you’re absolutely right about the pay thing. To date, I have never been payed (in money) for a piece of fiction. Most literary magazines pay in contributor copies or nothing at all because they simply don’t earn enough money to pay writers. As much as I would love to be paid for my work, experience is the main benefit of being published. In your case, it seems the short form hasn’t been of great benefit to you—but the important thing is that you gave it some serious consideration before dismissing it!
Three words:
Amen, amen, amen!
Thanks, Keith :)
Another wonderful thing about short stories … they are more conducive to re-reading. As a matter of fact, this post has inspired me to sit down for a visit with my favorite author, Flannery O’Connor (and it won’t be the first time.) Re-reading her is like going someplace familiar only to discover something entirely new.
I think I need to start with the last collection of short stories, “Everything that Rises Must Converge.”
Absolutely! I find my favourite stories are the ones I read over and over again, which means you absorb even more of what makes them special and can use that in your own writing. Thanks, Rosemary!
I write shorter novels. This post sounds like a great plan for me. Thanks for the suggestions.
Quite welcome, Mary Jo :) Good luck!
Perfect timing for me, Suzannah. I just finished my last book under contract on Friday, and I promised myself time to play…and short stories was at the top of the list.
But it was scary…your examples are going to warm me up and teach me what I need to know.
Thanks so much!
That’s another good point, Laura: when you’re between big projects and don’t want to let the fire of creativity go out, short stories can keep you going. Good luck with learning more about the short form!
Yes, indeed. Like many writers, I started with a great American novel, without having the skills to write one. But I cut my teeth on short fiction, nonfiction (loads of it) and poetry. I’m a better writer now, and not poor either, and able to work on the longer works of my heart. I’ll never give up shorts.
Vijaya, this is how I imagine I’ll always feel about short fiction, even if I do publish a novel one day. Alice Munro never left the short form, so, who knows? Maybe I’ll stick with it.
I’ve struggled with short stories because every time I start one it turns into a novel. But I love what short stories accomplish in such a short space and I know mastering the short story will only improve my novel writing.
I recently submitted a short story to my critique partners and was very encouraged by their feedback. I will continue to polish it up and look for a few places to submit it. Thanks for this excellent post, Suzannah.
I can see why it’s hard to stop yourself from overwriting things in a short story if you’re used to writing novels, but what helps is reading a lot of short stories to become more familiar with them. Shorts leave more unsaid, and it’s that subtext that makes them special, and helps keep them short!
Thank you for your article, Suzannah–and for the list. (I have a few short stories in need of a good home.)
I have had the pleasure having my shorts published in newspapers, magazines, literary journals and as an ebook. And I’m so grateful. Being published taught me how to work with an editor. The validation I received, by being published, encouraged me to continue to write.
Leanne, the editor thing is huge. Whenever an editor points out something in one of my stories that just isn’t working, it makes me so much more aware of not doing the same kind of thing in future stories. And certainly the validation is enough to go for it! Without the validation of being published along the way, I think my journey toward finishing a novel would’ve been fraught with a whole lot of uncertainty.
Very helpful post.Let me add that writers who want to learn the craft of short stories must read the work of Alice Munro, one of the greatest practitioners. Thanks for a great post.
Yes, Alice Munro is one of the greats and everyone should read her work. I know several of her short stories are available for free online, so no excuses! Thanks, CG :)
If I don’t have time to concentrate on a novel I’m working on, I love to write something short, flash fiction especially. It’s a great way to keep the juices flowing without a big commitment of time.
Thanks, Ronda :) Flash fiction is really interesting. I can’t say I love reading flash as much as longer short stories, but they do make for excellent writing practice!
i love good short fiction, and totally agree with your points about on it can hone one’s skills and provide readier exposure –
lately i’ve been playing with ideas of shorts to compliment longer work too
and how some of the longer work i am able to get to, often has a variety of chapter or section lengths, with plenty of the shorter variety included
all in all, very much enjoyed this article, thanks so much ;-)
Felipe, I’m so glad you enjoyed the article. About the short/long complementary thing: there seems to be quite a few collections of short stories out there these days that retain some elements of a novel. They draw on the same cast of characters and an overall theme and maybe even plot, but each chapter or section also retains the elements of a short story and can stand on its own. I really enjoy these types of books, and hope we’ll see more of them in the future!
suzannah, can you suggest some of these collections?
the closest i’ve come to doing something like that, a set of shorts with the same folk, theme, and plot, is called “Four Shorts…” –
not too much a surprise there ;-) i wrote them after seeing i was developing a series of novels on an extended family, and really enjoyed doing four short stories that hung together, but as a prequel to a trip they all take in the first novel
it was done more as a fun thing i really wanted to do, and am just now seeing it’s not a bad idea, mostly via your nice article
anyway, thanks so much suzannah ;-)
“A Visit from the Goon Squad,” by Jennifer Egan; “When It Happens to You,” by Molly Ringwald, and “Olive Kitteridge,” by Elizabeth Strout are all examples. Happy reading!
I accidentally found myself writing a short, Suzannah, and now I’m wondering why I held out until now, precisely because of all the advantages you’ve listed. Thanks so much for the resources. Will peruse.
Good luck, Jan! Glad this post hit home for you.
This is awesome advice! I have struggled with short stories for ages – they either like to blossom into novels or wither away very quickly. I simply do not want to limit myself to the idea that I am “just” a novelist. I’ve begun to delve deeper into short fiction by way of Ray Bradbury, whose stories aren’t all science fiction, but hit me in the right spot. A good place to start, I think.
Jillian, I think after you write a few short stories and begin reading them more frequently, something just clicks and it becomes easier. Good luck!
Suzannah, your thoughts and suggestions are excellent. I read the classic short stories and blog every week about the stories and authors. It’s quite fun and has turned into my own little study of the master writers from the 19th century. And I was very surprised to see so many people still interested in reading Mary Shelley or A.C. Doyle, Lovecraft, Hawthorne, and Poe, etc. I have had several of my own shorties published in ezines and anthologies and two novels out there now. I can say that writing the shorties definitely feeds the novels. I’m going to tweet your post. Of course, you must know that May is National Short Story Month. I hope you will be posting some more exciting thoughts about short stories for May. Thanks for this!
Paula, I’m genuinely embarrassed to say that I didn’t know May was national short story month! I live in Australia, so maybe that’s my excuse :)
This was a helpful and timely post for me as I’d like to try writing some short fiction. I’ve always thought of it as extremely tricky which is one reason that I shied away from trying my hand at it. Thanks for your tips and short story suggestions. I am currently taking a course in American literature and we’re reading a bunch of short stories so I will focus on how they’re composed. I also loved your tip about listening to short story podcasts.
One of the goal’s on my writer’s bucket list is to publish a short story and I think that you’ve given me the courage and the push I needed to start working on one.
Brande, so glad you’re reading short for your class! The more you read them, the easier it becomes to write them.
I don’t write short stories, focusing mostly on my novel. But after reading this post, I am definitely going to give it a try.
Thanks, Jevon, and good luck!
Suzannah – this post is so great! My writers group recently decided to study short stories as a way to hone our own writing. We are focusing on some of the better known literary journals as a place to find stories. Some of us are also exploring writing our own short stories as well. This is a wonderful reinforcement and I’ve sent my group a link to this post! Thank you – you are making me look wicked smart! 8-)
Thanks so much for passing this along to your writing group, Ellen! I hope they find it just as helpful.
Short fiction is part of my business plan. The plan goes like this: write and publish in newspapers and magazines to gain experience. Check. ( I did news, two syndicated columns and cartoons) Write short stories to gain experiences and publishing credits in fiction. ( yes flash fiction, too) Use the above mentioned platform building endeavors to push novels.
I’m a little out of sink. I’ve published a lot in none fiction. I wrote more than 40 short stories and two novels so far. I’m just now shopping both.
Part of my general plan is to lite the candle on all ends and self pub if I don’t get any bites. So now submitting is a full time activity. Agents, contests, publishers -whoever get to me first wins.
Short fiction is more than a spring board- it’s that too- it’s a huge self learning tool, a passion and an important paragraph on any writer’s resume.
I know this is quite late, but thank you for this post and especially for the reference links you included.
As a writer driven to write the novel that had been in head for some time, I find myself now stepping back and wanting to explore short fiction. I don’t feel quite ready for a new novel, and want to explore stories in a different fashion.
So my next steps are to craft a collection of short stories, with the idea that perhaps I can have a few of them published, or develop the collection as a whole.
It’s a challenge I look forward to, part of learning to embrace the unknown.
Thanks again.
You need to add Alexander McCleod’s short stories to yr list