Short Stories Elicit Reactions

Art should elicit a reaction out of you.  Even if you hate a movie or painting or book, it's still a memorable experience in its own way.  The worst possible thing an artist can be is forgettable.

One thing that really has interested me as I continue to write short stories is how people react to them.  I've received 1 star through 5 stars as a rating.  In terms of feedback I've had the scathing one sentence and I had a review that was nearly as long as the story itself outlining all of its merits.  Flattering or insulting, it doesn't bother me.  All I ever ask for is an honest opinion.  Honestly.

However, what seems to upset most people is the length.  In all the good reviews I've ever received, the reviewer tends to focus on the story itself.  The reviews that are not so positive or just plain lukewarm almost always stem from the length of the story.  On several (yes, more than once) occasions, I have received feedback saying that the story was so short it was a waste of time.

That kind of thinking... I just don't get.  But apparently the number of words is a source of animosity for some.   To the point where they can't possibly say if they did or did not actually enjoy what few words were provided. Ah well, you can't please everyone.

But there is a lesson to be learned here.  All this time that writers spend agonizing over creating the perfect revolutionary novel is a waste!  Useless effort!  All you really have to do to p*ss people off is write a piece of light fiction that's under 5,000 words.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review of "Ferryman" by Nigel Edwards

Summary: "A mythology grew up around the Ferrymen, fostered by a mystique which they wrapped around themselves. Some thought them amoral servants of a ruling elite, sanctioned to undertake work beyond legitimate resolution; others with more fanciful imaginations – or who were more devout, depending on your point of view – believed them emissaries of Evil, with a capital E." Could the Ferrymen become real in your lifetime? Should they? Read this thoughtful and disturbing near-future science fiction story and decide for yourself. Review: This was a fantastic short story.  "Well-written" doesn't even begin to describe Ferryman ; it's engrossing.  The simple, clean style perfectly highlights our precise  protagonist.  If this future Edwards presents to us does in fact become a reality, the character he describes is exactly the type of person who would become a Ferryman: highly competent with the hint of a god complex. What's  especially clever abou...
Read more

The Short Story Project

I was introduced to the short story genre in high school and simply fell in love.  It's completely different from reading a novel.  A novel is a lengthy involvement.  Character development and plot must transport you into the author's world as the story gradually unfolds. Short stories are distinct experience.  A good short story writer will make you care about the outcome of the characters even though you may not necessarily know anything about them.  It is a complete experience in one sitting; not too unlike reading a poem.  You read the short story/poem for itself and not for the hope that it will drag out for 800 pages and then maybe have a sequel. The short story genre has become a lost art.  When newspapers were at their height, a writer could make a name for himself by publishing a short piece of fiction every week.  Charles Dickens is a perfect example of this.  Since then, the literary world changed.  You have to have an age...
Read more

Interview with Author Hugh Howey

Welcome to Book Brouhaha! Why don't you start out by introducing yourself and telling us a little about "Wool." Thanks for having me, Alain! I suppose I'm just this normal guy who just wrote a little story called Wool. It's about a group of people who live underground. When their society turns on itself, it threatens all of mankind. In a way, it poses the conundrum of every revolution: How do you destroy an unjust social structure without the collateral damage being worse than the injustices were? I suppose the most interesting thing about me, personally, is that I lived on a sailboat while I was in college. This led to a career as a yacht captain, which sent me all over the Caribbean and the East Coast. I didn't start writing in earnest until my wife dragged me away from the sea and into the mountains. I've always loved the short form. I've been told that it isn't as marketable, even though science fiction has a long and glorious history of c...
Read more