Last week I ran across a blog post by Rafe McGregor asking if the short story was dead. http://rafemcgregor.blogspot.com/2009/03/short-story-rip.html I think Mr. McGregor was thinking more along the lines of actually making a living or getting paid for short stories like they did back in the 30's and 40's and right up until the sixties when there were a variety of magazines that published short stories.
While short story writers no longer have the print venues we used to, I believe that zines have taken up a lot of the slack. Hey, just take a glance to the left. There are a lot a zines out there and many of them on that list actually pay. Yeah, I know it's mostly a token payment but it's better than a slap in the face, right?
But there's something else I've noticed going on in the short story arena lately. People are talking about them, and not just writers. There are now four review sites for short stories. Anyone looking for something quick to read can find them through these sites.
Nasty, Brutish, Short http://nastybrutishshort.blogspot.com/
Eastern Standard Crime http://easternstandardcrime.blogspot.com/
Book Spot Central launched their new review site last weekend with reviews of 5 stories and promises to do the same every week at http://www.bookspotcentral.com/2009/03/short-thoughts-on-short-fiction/ That link is to last week's review you can find them as always with the link to the left. There's also a spot on their forum where they discuss shorts in every genre.
The last one is a print venue with Bill Crider manning a new column in Mystery Scene Magazine. And yes, the link is on the left.
For other short story spots you can check out:
Criminal Brief http://criminalbrief.com/ where they discuss writing short stories.
Cullen Gallagher at Pulp Serenade posts Stories for Sunday where he reviews a golden oldie short and provides a link to the story http://pulpserenade.blogspot.com/
Author Kelly Para provides a site for flash fiction called Fictional Musings where she post flash stories from beginning and experienced authors. Lots of good reading in the archives and if you've got a flash send it along and Kelly will publish it for you. http://ficmusings.blogspot.com/
And if you think there's a lack of good stories out there, check out Story Souths Million Writers award that's going on right now. With two weeks still to go for nominations, there are close to 200 stories and their urls posted. This is a great place to find new markets and check out stories. And you writers and editors out there should be nominating stories because it does drive traffic to the stories and the site. http://www.storysouth.com/millionwriters.html
And finally, if you don't think you can make a living writing short stories, check out Michael Bracken's blog http://crimefictionwriter.blogspot.com/ Not all of his income is from short stories. I think he broke it down last year and it was about 1/4 but still, that's nothing to sneeze at. And he doesn't confine himself just to crime but also publishes in the women's true romance magazines, sometimes multiple stories in a single issue. His blog is the place to go when you think there are no markets and that writing shorts is a waste of time. He shows you what can be done if you're willing to do the work.
So, are short stories dead? HELL NO! They're alive and well and living on the Internet.
9 comments:
Alive and kicking like a stubborn mule! Thanks for that and the links.
We short writers have to stick together :-)
And if we can get people talking about the stories maybe we'll be able to get more people reading them. We can only hope and jump up and down screaming, "Hey, read this, it'll only take a couple of minutes of your time."
Some of our finest films: REAR WINDOW, THE BIRDS, 3:10 TO YUMA etc all began life as short stories and yet the short still doesn't get the respect it deserves. But thanks to folks like Kiernan Shea, Glenn Grey, and Paul Brazill they will endure.
There are a lot of old films made from short stories, David. It always surprised me to see based on a story by and first published in The Saturday Evening Post. It must have been wonderful back then to have magazines that published across the genres instead of sticking to just one form.
I've also noticed on the Sci-fi channel that many of their films are based on short stories also.
I've also heard that it's easier to make a movie based on a short story because the shorts are just a straitforward story without all the side trips and interior monologues that a novel uses.
And I forgot to add that I agree, there are a lot of new young writers coming up that are doing wonderful things with the form, David. I think it's the freedom to experiment that attracts them and helps them to develop their voices. I don't think there's any better learning ground for writing than short stories.
Hi Sandra -- thanks for the link.
I've been reviewing crime fiction at BSC for a couple of years now but just recently started turning my attention toward the short form (reviewing that is).
I'm actually planning on sending you an email in regards to a huge project I'm working on that I know you'll love. So look for that in the next day or two.
Thanks for dropping by, Brian, I'll keep an eye open for that email.
It seems to me, Sandra, that "short stories are dead" gets floated every 5 years or so...just about the time when there's a huge resurgence in the need/markets for short stories!
That seems about right, Conda. And with the podcasts that are popping up now, short stories are in big demand.
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