J.A. Pitts

Writing in the short form

Now that I’m worming my way out of the post-novel ennui, I’m back on a short story project. When I’m writing a novel, I can’t read anyone elses work. That’s something I’d like to fix, but for now, the world I’m writing in has to have precedence over anyone elses world.

So, when I finished book two in the Black Blade series, I read a couple of books, and turned my brain away from the world of novels and have begun thinking of shorts again. I’m hoping to knock out a couple before the first readers get back to me on the second book.

I have really needed the break between books, mainly do to the significant work load of my day jobbe, but now I’m craving words again. I’m dreaming story and want to purge some of this abundance into a viable form.

It took me ten years to really understand the short story and the novella. The fact it was a problem to have multiple POV characters and two or more plot threads in an 8K short, finally convinced me my strength lay in the long form. When I started writing novels, it was like someone had removed the plow I’d been pulling and allowed me to run free.

The act of writing a novel has been like breathing free for the first time. I love it. But now that I’ve written a few, I’m thinking about the short form again. I write fast, and if I know the story, I can knock out a short in a few hours. And they are typically good. Enough so that I’ve been able to join SFWA on my short story sales. So I delve back into that world, study the lean aspect of a form that vexes me as often as not.

It’s like when I did the poetry workshops in college. Short is hard. I envy those who are good poets. The expression of immense emotion and story in so few words is breathtaking.

My poet friends can’t understand the immense space allowed by a short story. It’s all perspective.

Soon, I’ll slip another little thing into the world and see how she does. But first I have to flesh out the wings and see how well she’ll fly

Back to the words for me.

Peace

« The ball starts rolling. Mention of Black Blade Blues. | Free books from talented friends »