Who reads short fiction? Is it easier or harder to write?
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Re: Who reads short fiction? Is it easier or harder to write?
I remember reading a work by Annie Proulx, the same woman who pinned the short story that became Brokeback Mountain. The short story we read became the inspiration for the Alfred Hitchcock film The Birds.
We also read "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant. That one stuck out so much to me because we have all had that "Ah! I ruin this and I borrowed it!" moment. Thankfully, most people are not like the side characters in this story.
It is probably harder to write a short story compared to a novel since there are word counts you have to stay below while including world building, narrative, characterization, and themes!
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I personally think it would be harder, you have to cram the whole story structure into a shorter format, while still setting the scene and fleshing out characters. Then again, I haven't really written any but that's my assumption.
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Short stories are definitely a great writing form. They are quick and easy to read, so you can fit them in even if you are reading other novels.
As for writing them - I find that there are pros and cons to short stories. They allow for less planning (as you don't have to leave hints or work out how you'll lead the characters to the main plotline) because you generally only have one main plotline to write. However, they don't allow for as much explanation of characters/character progression.
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I dare say, short stories accredited with, arguably, some of the most memorable phrases in literature. Especially, when Magi ends on a heart-felt and touching Christmas lesson on selflessness. In fact, the reoccurring themes of lessons learned through trials is a known characteristic in that genre. In a matter of ten of so pages the author must distract and mislead the reader in such a way that the ending shocks them or moves them in a most unexpected way. Tales like the "The Yellow Wallpaper," by Charlotte Stetson (1892) have managed to do this - or else they would not have survived the test of time like they have.
To say wither not they are more difficult to write or not I suppose is up to the individual. Novels are difficult because the author has to manage to keep the reader's attention for as long as possible until the story ends. There is the complexity of world building to consider and character growth to manage. Nonetheless, short stories are remembered because of their clever use of irony, psychological plot, and twisted lessons learned. To achieve all that, is its own challenge.
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