Say hello to the most paleo of yesterday's news, by Tom Gauld via DoobyBrain. The above portrays a dusty attitude of antiquity right up there with the belief you'd never see lame' leggings in daylight on anyone but a hooker making bail. Loud stretchy pants are back, and on the upside, so is the short story. The only way this is a yawner to you is if you've been reading us or along with us brevi-holics for more than a microsecond.
[Actually, digressing slightly to Laura's recent post about being a "planner" or a "pantser," I believe I've discovered I'm more of a Bermuda shorts writer. I like the reliable structure of a nice Madras with some wildly improvisational kneecap. Therefore, I'm planning out my NaNo again and starting over from GO, the good news being that I think I can finish a legit book-length first draft by year's end, and that's very exciting indeed.]
Not to be serially immodest, but at our local Sisters in Crime chapter, we have a boffo program on short stories planned for next week. From hint fiction to the tweeted, from e-zines to anthologies and fiction magazines, you know that WoM have been and are loving the shorts. And we have been talking with delight as fans and writers about the revival in the form. Well, we can all now thank the Wall Street Journal for finally sipping the now-lukewarm mug of clue!*
*So petty of me, because I do think it's great to see the trend confirmed, and an iTunes short market would be fun to test out. Now, if they'd only get the cataloguing and organizational features improved enough to really make short groupings vibrantly usable on the Kindle et al.
Happy Friday the 13th, everyone!
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10 comments:
Hi Clare,
I LOVE the graphic!!
Thanks for the link to the WSJ article. It is very interesting.
And I agree, we are going to have a boffo meeting on Thursday night. Peggy is working hard on an agenda to cover all the short story bases.
Terrie
Hi Clare,
I was struck by one line in the WSJ article:"...it remains rare for a well known writer to specialize in [short stories]."
The article fails to mention Grace Paley,who did indeed specialize in the form and whose 1994 Collected Stories was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. Paley created a very rich world in her stories, and her voice was unique and unforgettable.
Excellent point, Anita! Memories are short when there are so many people to know.
So I can hardly expect them to mention modern crossover talent and short story specialist, Kelly Link, either. She began publishing her own skilled and imaginative collections at her Small Beer Press before everyone went, like, "Hey, this stuff is really, really good!" and now she's even done some YA for Viking. Well known? Only among the awesome!
How can the Women of Mystery not love the short story, with Terrie Farley Moran and Kathy Ryan among our number? Terrie is quickly reaching the mega-published point in short stories--with entries in, for example, Murder New York Style (see our blog sidebar) and The Best American Mystery Stories (see our October 20 post). Kathy won inclusion in Robert Swartwood's upcoming Hint Fiction: An Anthology of Stories in 25 Words or Less (see our October 17 post).
Too right, Elaine!
Oops! I forgot Nan Higginson, who was up for an Agatha for her story in Murder New York Style. Sorry, Nan!
I didn't even realize it was Friday the 13th until now. I love me some short stories.
What an AWESOME cartoon!
Love that strip, Clare -- so funny!
Best wishes with your NaNo re-start - it does sound exciting -- good luck!
I'm looking forward to next week's meeting, too.
Thanks, Elaine, for your kind comment.
I'm so proud of Terrie and Nan, too!
Talking about short, short stories -- If you want a chuckle, check out my "one minute" story (the premise is to write a story in a minute) at:
http://oneminutewriter.blogspot.com/2009/11/todays-writing-prompt-police.html (mine is the 12th comment out of 14). I couldn't resist -- the prompt was an encounter with the police, or someone else who had an encounter with the police...it's a true story...after reading it, you'll understand why I never forgot it.
That comic is striking a painfully amusing chord for lots of us. I'll have to get to the Kathy's short when I next come up for a minute's air.
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