Making Time

I haven't written a short story for many, many years. When I began to become aware of how ordinary citizens became writers, at least in the science fiction world, it seemed that many novelists made their bones with short fiction. I have no real idea whether it was valid or not but the idea was that they could use their magazine appearances as a selling point when getting a book contract.

At the same time, though, I'd read where many people felt that writers could either write novels or short stories well, but rare was the talent who could produce both. This kind of bothered me as I could never really understand why this must be so. What about Hemingway and Fitzgerald? They wrote both well, or were they just the exceptions?

Anyway, the argument is pretty much moot due to the lack of markets for short stories in today's world. My thought, though, is that each form has a structure and the craft of their creation must be studied, learned and practiced to create something of quality. I've posted previously on learning to identify the structure of a novel; a similar process would probably need to take place to master the short story. Whether strictly for market reasons or not, I think that most writers simply don't bother doing this with short stories.

Personally I still enjoy reading them but I don't read as many as I used to. And I don't read as many consecutively. There was a time when I'd read anthology after anthology and it would be difficult to get used to reading a novel again. I don't remember the last time I've read an anthology, though. Between novels I'll often pick up a collection and read a story or two before picking up another. I just read two Hemingway stories, before that two by William Trevor, and before that, a few by Dickens in the second volume of "Sketches by Boz."

Trevor seems to me to be a master of the form. No sentence is out of place and he instantly transports you to the time and mood of his choosing. His stories don't rely on gimmickry or hooks or any other discernible device. He merely writes with an absolute clarity of vision that translates into a vivid reading experience. Not always a happy one, but at least an emotional one, and when a writer can make you feel, in any form, they've done something very, very well.

Even though I a few posts ago I mentioned I didn't have a clue about writing short stories, I immediately thereafter set about writing one. I finished it the other day and now I'm in the process of typing the seventeen handwritten pages into the computer. Then it'll be edit and rewrite time and I'll see what's there. I wanted to write something with a strong psychological feeling to it and I hope I've done it although I'm afraid it may come across as a giant gimmick. We'll see.

I'd just finished reading Marc Behm's "Eye of the Beholder" and thought that if Cornell Woolrich were still alive, this was a book he may have written. They've both inspired me, at least for the short story, and if it comes out okay I'll submit it to the few remaining short story markets. If nothing comes of that I'll post it here and if anyone reads it, perhaps they'd post a comment and let me know what they think. Again, we'll see.