Short Stories and Novels
Short stories are not something I’d choose to read instead of novels – I always have at least one of those on the go – but they are something I like to read alongside novels because the two narrative forms offer such different pleasures. When reading a novel I often want to become engrossed, to lose myself – in other words to indulge in a form of escapism – but when reading a short story, I want not so much to escape from life as to engage with it.
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Looks like you’re not the only one thinking about the short story. I’ve heard a lot about it as of late, even a recent commentary by Stephen King on the matter. Perhaps this is the beginning of a resurgence of the art, signified by an increasing social consciousness of the matter? (Selfishly, I hope so: I’ve been starting to write a lot of short stories as of late. Once upon a time, selling them would have been easier. For now, they only live in my blog, something I’m OK with, for the most part.)
jb says: Yeah, Gnorb, they’re not a commercial proposition, I’m afraid, except for one or two masters of the genre. A little like poetry, I suppose; and often I think a good short-story is at least as difficult to write as a good poem. I don’t find the the form easy to write, myself, though I like to read short stories. The novel remains as the passion in my life.