Napoleon was actually average height for his time
On Short Stories
I’m late.
I could blame a family holiday, or things going down with the personal life, but mainly I’m lazy. No wait scratch that. I’m not lazy…It’s complicated.
Anyway, today I want to discuss the short story market. I’ve had a few conversations recently about it and I want to share my experience and learns. As an aside, I hate that word. Learns. I only encountered it at a corporate level and It’s one of those words that makes me have flashbacks to the tie-wearing days.
Firstly, I want to say that knowing and perfecting these things doesn’t guarantee success in the market. The short story market can be incredibly fickle, and you must hit the combo of the perfect story for a magazine at that time. I know people who have had successful careers writing, but never cracked the short story market.
Secondly, none of these things are universally accurate. They are my thoughts on the industry as I understand them. They don’t include being invited or otherwise approached to write a short story. I’m extrapolating these points from a workshop I ran recently on the subject.
Why write short fiction?
I write it for a couple of reasons. Mainly I write it to experiment with an idea or a world before I commit to writing something bigger. Write something and see if it all fits together, what doesn’t work etc.
My short story, Crab and Coil Guns was a n experiment in writing both the character that would turn into Hank and the world of Joy-Land. It now forms a sort of stand-alone prequel.
In that I learned that Hank needed to speak more, he needed to be hurt, so he wasn’t some sort of superhero, and more than that, starting a story with talk about food is a running thing now.
Joy-Land starts with Hank eating Jollof rice, and the space opera I’m tentatively and spitefully calling Procrastination Complex (as I’m writing it as a procrastination to finishing Joy-Land) starts with the MC eating a cone of tiny softshell crabs.
The main reason I write short fiction is to practice the craft. I’ve become a much better writer, doing so, rather than writing something big and the end being better written than the beginning. If you get better at piano by practicing scales, then writing short stories are my scales. Some will never be read, some I try for a bit to get published, some appear here on Substack.
Lastly, I write because I need to finish something. Finishing a short story makes me feel so happy and gives a boost of confidence that I can actually finish.
How?
I’ve generally found, from reading and writing, that short stories are heavier on character than they are on plot. That isn’t to say they don’t have plot, but it does take a bit of a backseat to character. If you can weave them both together then great, well done you.
My own stories have tended to be snippets or even the bare bones of a larger story, as if it’s been stripped back of everything inconsequential – including characters.
Words matter. Generally speaking, you’re aiming for 3k-6k words, so you need to edit it within an inch of its life. Brevity is king. Don’t take 6 words to say 2 words worth of info and keep it simple.
First Paragraph
Some people say start with dialogue or action, but you don’t have to. What you really must do is hook the reader in. You do that by introducing the tone, setting and either hinting at or introducing a character in that one small opening.
Here’s 2022 Nebula Award for Short Fiction Winner Samantha Mills’ story Rabbit Test’s first paragraph.
It is 2091, and Grace is staring at the rabbit in the corner of her visual overlay. It is an Angora rabbit, fluffy and white, and when Grace picked the icon out, she did not realize how much she would come to dread the sight of it. She moves, and the overlay moves with her. A reminder. A threat.
· Setting (2091, Visual Overlay)
· Character (Grace, Rabbit)
· Tone (Dread, Threat)
What now?
Ok so you’ve written the story and you’re wondering what to do with it.
You have several options.
· Journal/Magazines
· Self-Publish on Website or blog
· Collection
The easiest is to put it on your own website or blog. No submission hassle, but also a smaller (generally speaking) audience.
Or you could get a few together (10-20) and make a short story collection. Either self-pub on amazon or somewhere or send it to a publisher and see what happens. This is a good option to take if you’ve got a few ready to go.
Lastly you could submit to a few magazines. I’d suggest this option above all else when you’re starting out for one reason. You must build up a thick skin in this business. Don’t be disheartened by rejections and YOU WILL BE REJECTED. The magazine route gives you loads of rejections, and you’ll learn not to take them too seriously.
Mainly because half the time it’s not your fault. The writing might be amazing, the story great, but it’s not what the mag’s looking for right now. Whilst this makes the entire game incredibly frustrating, it also means you’re exposed to rejections early and makes that moment when you finally get one in so much better.
As for which magazines/journals to submit to? Well, you could choose any, but it does matter. I start by looking into awards for the genre you’re writing in. For me that’s the British Fantasy Awards, the Hugo’s, the Nebula’s etc. Then I look at winners and nominees of the best magazine (or similar) category for the past five years. That forms the core places I submit to.
Remember to read some of the work published in your chosen place to make sure you match up with what they generally publish.
I have not been successful using this tactic.
Yet.
There’s another hint That I have been much more successful at. Magazines generally won’t tell you a theme as they don’t have one until they read through their slush piles, and one naturally assembles itself.
That’s not great for you but some magazines and periodicals do themed calls. I have never had a rejection when I’ve submitted for a themed call. Both you and the editors are on the same page, and it makes it a lot easier to write with some guidance.
So, what are the key takeaways?
· Write to finish something, to experiment, etc
· Write with character at the forefront
· Research long and hard (lol) about where to submit to and don’t take rejections personally
· Read the guidance and other work of where you’ve chosen.
· EDIT
On that note I do offer editing services for all sizes of stories. From only £5 per thousand words. See my ko-fi for details https://ko-fi.com/stephenmcgowan