Short Form Writing

Image Credit: Most images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos, some directly from Pixabay.

I hadn’t set out to become a short form writer. I hadn’t heard of flash fiction when I started writing seriously for publication. The writing journey can be an odd one, taking you on all manner of twists and turns. Some turn out to be useful.

My first thought on knowing I wanted to write was to write novels. Now this does seem like I was trying to run before I could walk, but many people do this, they love the long form of writing and stay there.

My unpublished novel had near misses with an agent and did end up long-listed in a Debut Novel competition so there was promise here. I hope to return to this book and see if I can improve it and get it out there. I know what I’ve learned writing flash fiction and short stories has helped improve my writing overall and I’m sure the novel can benefit from this. Here it is a question of finding the time but this is on my To Do list.

The Advantages of Writing the Short Forms of Fiction

Naturally I am biased here, but there are many advantages to writing in the short form.

Shorter forms of fiction help you focus on what matters to your character and plot. There is no room for waffle, especially in flash.
Due to the above, you never fear editing again!

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Learning to write to a specific and low word count could be useful practice for writing your blurb and synopsis. How many novelists, having written 100,000 words of fabulous prose, then get brain freeze at the thought of having to summarize their book in 500 words or less? Anyone?!
Practicing writing flash fiction especially can help you get into the discipline of writing only what is needed to be known and I am sure can have a knock-on positive effect here too. It is worth a go – you’ve nothing to lose and you may well get something else into print – flash fiction stories!

There is a wide range of markets (online and in print) for short stories and flash fiction.
There is a wide range of competitions (online and in print) for short stories and flash fiction.
Due to the above, it is a good way of building up a track record of publication credits. When you’re ready to approach an agent or publisher, you can show them who else thought you were worth publishing. It also shows commitment to your craft.
A novel takes a long time to write and re-write and rightly so too. With short stories and flash fiction, you still have to put the work into creating and editing them and following submission guidelines properly (you’d be amazed how many people don’t), but you still get the payback quicker.
There is nothing to stop you working on shorter forms of writing while you are resting your novel so you can come back to that and look at it with fresh eyes when the time is right. Nobody says you only have to have one string to your writing bow after all.

With the short forms, you have to invent characters and situations a lot. I love that, especially inventing characters. It’s creative. It’s fun. But all of this stands a writer in good stead whether they write longer works as well or hope to do so in the future.
What you’re after here is the regular practice of producing characters and stories. It will boost your confidence. You will know you can do it. You have done it. You have done this repeatedly too. Given most writers have to fight Imposter Syndrome, something like this will remind you that you are a writer, you have the track record and you are building on it.
Getting into print via the short story and flash fiction markets is a valid way of becoming a published writer. Indeed the independent presses, which focus on the short forms, welcome new writers. You don’t usually need to have an agent either.

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The Disadvantages of Writing the Shorter Forms of Fiction

I will be scrupulously fair here. There are disadvantages.

There will always be those who prefer the longer fiction forms and may see the shorter form as the poor relation. The big book prizes will always garner media attention. It is harder for the short story competitions to do this unless there is big money on offer for the prize. Not every short story competition can do that!
With a novel, you can have sub-plots (note the plural) and can go into far more depth with your characterisation. Now this is an aspect of novels I love which is why I enjoy reading them. I do love the sharper focus of the short form though. I do believe in less is more but then I am kind of bound to do so!

It is easier (note I don’t say easy) to have a series of novels based on certain character(s). Crime is the obvious genre for this. You can have linked short stories and flash fiction. I’ve written some of the latter and plan to do more but I know these will end up in the same book eventually so the link is obvious to the reader.
You can’t really have a linked story featuring Character A appearing in Magazine A and another one involving Character A appearing in Magazine B. Doesn’t work (and nor do you want to upset the publishers of the magazines here either!).
People have heard of the big book publishers! That can’t always be said for the short story and flash markets, though this is improving. Flash is more popular now and that will raise the profile of the independent presses publishing it and the competitions for it.

You need to give significant amounts of time for writing novels obviously. You need to give enough time for short stories and flash pieces. Every writer wanting to do both will have to work out how best to balance the competing demands.
With series novels, your readers can see how your characters develop over the course of them. The best example of this for me is Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels featuring Sam Vimes. That character’s development over several books is a joy to read.

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Working Out Which is Best for You

The only way is to try both the long and short forms. If you’re not sure where to start, I’d advise beginning with the short stories and build up a number of them. Naturally if you have this novel you are just itching to write, good luck and have fun writing it!

I’d still recommend trying the short form while you are resting your novel. Every writer needs a break from their work to be able to come back to it and spot and correct the flaws. There always are flaws. You may well find trying a different form to your main one proves refreshing.

I like having more than one thing to work on at a time which is why blogging as well as short form fiction writing works well for me. If I’m stuck on a piece, I’m not stuck on everything. Usually if I’m working on a blog, an idea for resolving a problem on my short story will occur and I just note it down and come back to it later.

The brain does just work this way which is why it is always a good idea to have a notebook and pen to hand to jot down those ideas occurring at awkward moments.

Confession time: I don’t follow the advice to keep a notebook by my bed in case I wake up with a good story idea. Why? Because my head hits the pillow and I’m asleep! No chance of getting to write anything down here.

Conclusion

It matters most of all to enjoy your writing, to accept there will be ups and downs, and you need to accept being in this for the long haul. Writing in one form does not necessarily preclude the other and it can freshen up your creativity writing something different.

Good luck!

Ideas don’t come easily but reading widely helps a lot! Image created in Book Brush using Pixabay picture.