Do you agree with the likes of Stephen King? Or maybe you think Mary Wortley-Montagu was talking sense. What did they say? Well for those of you who haven't followed me on Twitter or Facebook this week:
Stephen King - 'A short story is like a kiss in dark from a stranger.'
Mary Wortley-Montagu - ' Life is too short for a long story.'
Or what about these evocative quotes from Lorrie Moore - ' A short story is a love affair, a novel is a marriage' and 'A
And from Andre Dubus is - 'I love short stories...I believe they are the way we live." and 'short stories are what our friends tell us, in their pain and joy, their passion and rage.'
Don't the wise words by these authors set the atmosphere well? Because a good short story should captures the essence of a moment, and (when done well) tells us all we need to know about the characters involved.
Have your say below, let's talk shorts!
-oOo-
My collection of short, and short-short, stories A Plate of Bits is available to buy in US here and UK here.
6 comments:
I love the Lorrie Moore quotes, and have always thought of shorts stories the way I think of slide trays - pull one slide out and shine the light through it, then put it back and go to the next. Not that many people shoot slides anymore.
Me too, writer from Minnesota. I think the love affair/marriage quote from Lorrie Moore, and the Stephen King one resonate most with me.
Do you write shorts?
Ahhh of course you do! Hi there Kathleen! How ya doin'?
Hey, Avis! Doin' fine. Have a lovely weekend.
I don't actually write short stories very often, but I do write personal essays quite a bit when I'm not working on poetry. :-)
Hi Avis -- I love short stories! For most of my life, I've written short stuff, then got convinced that I should be writing novels and such. That hasn't worked out well for me so far. But turning to writing flash fiction and poetry got me excited about writing again. Love those quotes! Happy trails from Texas--bobbi c.
Hi Bobbi. I too came to fiction writing thru flash to shorts and now on to novels - but I haven't forgotten my first loves! I've got some more quote I've scouted up from other famous writers. Shorts are an undervalued art form.
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