Keeping it Short
Short Stories? Or full-length novels?
Both. But I'm picky when it comes to short stories (actually I'm picky when it comes to novels, too). I like short stories that aren't weird and actually have an ending I can understand. It seems to me that most short stories are written to be full of symbolism -- to point where they're completely impossible for me to understand. OTOH, I have a couple of collections I enjoy -- Anne McCaffrey's "Get Off The Unicorn" being one. These are simply short stories, mostly set in Pern (but not always) that have a (*gasp*) beginning, middle and an end! Shocking, I know. I also enjoyed, but do not own, a collection of short stuff by Stephen King. Also, Nora writes her "In Death" characters in short story collections now and then -- BUT I've found that I don't typically enjoy the other stories in those collections.
Mostly, I read novels simply because the variety of short stories -- the kind that I enjoy -- is quite limited.
And, what's your favorite source for short stories? (You know, if you read them.)
I listed a couple of them, above. BUT, thanks to The Wild Rose Press, I can now get good romance short stories whenever I want them - and at all different lengths. I have quite a collection on my hard drive and love to go back and revisit them when I need a fix. There are also a few other online eZines I enjoy. I read through all of Flash Me's stuff this quarter and enjoyed a few of them immensely (I have to admit to finding a few in the symbolically un-understandable category, but that must be me, since there are so many very popular magazines and book publishers that prefer those kinds). Anyone else care to share where they get their short story fix? I'd love to find more!
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5 comments:
Hi Marianne,
I'm with you on how some shorts are so heavy on symbolism, I got totally lost. A certain level is cool, but not too much...
Happy BTT!
I know what you mean about symbolisms. Some short stories remind me when I was back in high school and doing papers on them for Lit class. Although I enjoy some short stories, like the ones I mentioned in my blog, I still enjoy novels more. There are more time for me to get to know the characters and to enjoy their quirks and personalities.
Happy BTT!
Cool links, and I think you're right about short stories and their endings. I think that's one reason I'm not drawn to them. That, and I really like in-depth character development. My favorite kinds of books involve characters that I get to live through a large chunk of their life with, as in a series of books that follow them through the years.
Thanks for stopping by my entry earlier, and have a great day. Happy Reading :)
Hi Marianne, I agree with you that good short stories are hard to find! Oh, and thanks for the links! :)
You make some very good points about the symbolism and endings in short stories. I think it really takes a gifted writer to craft good short stories. They aren't as easy to write as they look!
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