Years ago one of my dear friends (who is a huge bookworm) and I were talking. She told me she hated short stories. I can’t remember why or if she even told me a reason. This conversation has stuck with me, because I struggle with them- why? I have no idea. I have tried different tactics to overcome this. I am s l o w l y reading one now, but I don’t gravitate toward it (not the one pictured, but it’s one I really want to read if I can ever get there).
@Likewise@bookstodon I love short stories.. I prefer them to novels. I am #ADHD and so read slowly and flit from one book to another but also, I find that most novels are less than the sum of their parts. Stories give an insight into a life, a glimpse. I find this more powerful than trying to give answers or some worldview. With stories I find I can come to my own conclusions or simply reflect on a situation, character, a place or atmosphere. That said, I suspect they often require a different approach from the reader and, like poems, require different skills.
@Likewise@bookstodon Alice Munro should probably cure that problem. Any of the stories, really. Besides winning the Nobel and all that, I'd say if you can write a short story in Ontario and Pedro Almodovar makes an entire Spanish movie based on it, you are cooking with gas alright.
@Likewise@bookstodon I used to read a lot of short stories, especially science fiction and fantasy, but I tend not to so much now. This is partly because they're hard to find and partly because I prefer to have time to get into a story.
@MikeHar94962844@Likewise@bookstodon
For science fiction, there are plenty of sources of excellent short stories, e.g. Analog, Asimov's, Clarkesworld, Uncanny, ..., especially if you're OK with epub or PDF.
Of course, sometimes, a long story is what one needs! I like alternating.
@Likewise I adore short fiction, especially SF/Fantasy and horror. I've been a long time subscriber to The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and it's a treat each month when the new issue arrives. Short fiction is also exceptionally ideal for horror.
Short stories allow for greater creativity and experimentation that may not hold up in longer forms. @bookstodon
@Likewise@bookstodon I’ve always been a big fan of short stories. I used to get anthologies from the library when I was young. I do read fewer these days, I guess, partly because the book clubs I’m in read novels almost exclusively.
A GOOD short story is a wonder. So much done in a (relatively) small space! And, as someone else mentioned, if the story isn’t that wonderful, at least it hasn’t taken much time to get through it.
@mloxton@Likewise@bookstodon I still enjoy reading short story anthologies. Many of my favorite writers specialize in short stories, such as Harlan Ellison and R. A. Lafferty.
@Likewise@bookstodon I am currently fascinated with the Collected Stories of Jean Stafford. The variety of the stories and the variety of emotions they have provoked leaves me stunned. Some seem tongue-in-cheek; some almost grotesque; some plainly serious. Yet, all that I have read so far have really made me think.
@Likewise@bookstodon I enjoy short stories, I hate short story anthologies. For me it’s that the tone and flow change too often to build up any momentum in my reading flow. I’m struggling through one now where I’m enjoying most of the individual stories, but the changes are rough.
@JaymesRS
That is really interesting, and I can see that.
Some readers who have given me feedback on my anthologies say they sometimes can't pace themselves and end up binge reading.
I have also heard back from some readers that they felt a sense of loss at the end of a story, and would have liked to hear more about a particular character.
Maybe repeat charcters would soother that experience a bit.
@Likewise@bookstodon I love short stories; tightly written, no unnecessary words. I often have a collection on the go at the same time as a novel. I often prefer some writers’ short stories to their novels too.
@Likewise@bookstodon I love short stories. Especially ones that make you think. It gives the opportunity for the author to make a short, but very impactful point without belaboring it.
@Likewise@bookstodon I think form can really matter, and when it's not done well (poetry is a great example) you can be soured on it. For instance, I've yet to find very many "novel in verse" structures I've liked. I do love short stories, because it's more difficult to do them well. I have tossed many a collection and anthology to the side, though, to get to the good ones.
For a long time, I didn't think I liked them at all. Now, I love them. That's a change even I can't explain. I do look at it as a pattern of consumption. Poor quality champagne or poorly prepared beef stroganoff made me think for a long time that I didn't like them, until I had good versions. On the other hand, I will always dislike beets or meatloaf, no matter how you prepare them. I look at reading the same way. Short stories for you may be like beets for me
@kimlockhartga I was hoping you’d chime in, because I know you enjoy short stories. Interesting thoughts about reading short stories done well vs. the latter, about “getting to the good one.” Several yrs ago my old book club chose the short story collection, A Good Man is Hard to Find, by Flannery O’Connor. This wasn’t the collection of her stories in its entirety, but just a few. To me, AGMIHTF was the standout. However, because I know she is a great writer, when I came across a collection in its entirety, I bought it—because it may need another go, or maybe there are more stories I will enjoy in that. I’m rambling, but that’s my take, I guess. Maybe I’m a snob and will be too critical of short stories, I don’t know. PS. I like beets, but rarely eat them. Meatloaf is a hard pass because I don’t understand the point of it. I know it can be mixed with different ingredients, but the bottom line, is that it was a loaf of sorts in the package from the store, then you cook it as a loaf. Just seems like zero ingenuity, why mix it with stuff just to turn it back into a loaf??
@Likewise@bookstodon you might try the Selected Shorts podcast. It's introduced me to lots of great short fiction. Typically there are 2-3 stories in under an hour.
@Likewise@bookstodon sometimes it can get annoying to really get into the story and characters only for it to, well, end. But I adore short stories and like to alternative between shorter and longer forms when reading
@Likewise@bookstodon I’m crazy for short stories, especially in audio format. With novels I sometimes slog along for half the book before abandoning it as not worthy of my time and attention. With short stories, I almost always love the whole piece, regardless of genre or style. Sort stories are generally written with care and precision, while novels sometimes waste a lot of time or indulge for pages. Of course sometimes you need a novel. Moby Dick would make a poor short story.
@Likewise@bookstodon I've never had trouble with liking or disliking a story because of its length (as opposed to thinking it's over- or underwritten).
Do people walk into bookshops and ask what's new in the 100,000 word plus category?
@eyrea I don’t think it’s a matter of looking for “100,000 word plus” (or any random number), but rather the enjoyment of a continued storyline, the idea that something isn’t going to end quickly or abruptly. I guess I like to settle in with a story.
@Likewise 🤔 1,000 page tomes can still end quickly or abruptly. And short stories can end with the satisfaction of a novel.
I just don't see this being about the story, but prejudice about what can be done in a given word count.
Jorge Luis Borges, James Tiptree Jr... these are master short story writers (among many) creating entire universes in short form. To make their works longer would stretch the point.
The story needs to be the right length, not short or long.
lots of people tell me they hate em, esp. romance readers-- i get the idea that a lot of it is about the rather snappy abrupt endings you often get & the fact that the writer has to leave more about creating the world of the short story in the reader's mind, which apparently strikes some readers as a cheat
i like to read them myself but as a self publisher i rarely write them since my readers want novels or series
@Likewise@bookstodon didn't use to like them, but now I love them! Collections and anthologies are among my favourite type of books to review because I love the craft (they're the main thing I write myself) and drawing connections between the different stories.
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