Who reads short fiction? Is it easier or harder to write?
- Idleheim
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Re: Who reads short fiction? Is it easier or harder to write
As far as the Shyamalanic twist being the hard part about short fiction...eh, I don't think that that is ALWAYS good for a short story. True most good ones do have them, but to me the hard part is actually getting people invested in fully fleshed out characters and plot enough to be worth reading and considering. All the twists in the world won't matter if the story is crap to begin with.
- H0LD0Nthere
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One that I did not see on your list was "My Oedipus Complex," by an Irish author whose name I forget. In this poignant, funny story, a boy of 3 or 4 years old has to adjust to his Daddy coming back from the War. Maybe it is included in "The Dubliners" collection that you mentioned.
As an author, I would say I find shorter pieces easier. If I have a big vision in my mind, it can take more time, hard work and discipline than I have available, to commit that vision faithfully to paper. But a slice of it, I can manage.
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I think short fiction can be incredibly difficult to write because as mentioned in earlier posts, every single word is essential. Each word serves a purpose -- either to characterize, to create atmosphere, move the plot forward, etc.
I know that Marie Lu (best-selling author of the Legend trilogy) admits that she "sucks" at it in "epic proportions." This is just one example that points to the fact that it takes a different set of skills to write short fiction as opposed to a novel.
I guess it depends on the writer's skills and what aspects of writing they enjoy.
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8."The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson: First published in 1948, this short has been ranked as one of the most famous short stories in American literature– despite its negative reception in some places.
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I remember doing this story back in high school. It was a very insightful story of people doing what everyone else did, even if it may not have been the right thing to do, which often leads them to do heinous things that they would never otherwise do.
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Agree. I think that quality fiction is harder to write when it's longer. I say that because I have written short fiction as a lead-up to longer work - it takes more complexity to write a consistently great novel. With a short story, every word matters, and authors can review every word and remember the plot with greater ease. Writing a longer work requires keeping more information (with all its intertwinings) in your mind, and it's therefore harder for me. Though I don't start out intending to write in one format or the other; the thing evolves as it is revisited.KattPascale wrote:OMG thank you!
I love short stories with twist endings!!!
This list is perfect!!!!
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