I Read A Great Short Story Today

I’ve been studying the art of the short story again. I’m meeting with a few other writers each month for discussions about selected works from the book The Best American Short Stories of the Century, edited by John Updike. We are reading for pleasure, then re-reading for craft knowledge. We are hunting for the “why” behind the question, “Did I enjoy this story?”

We’ve got a wide variety of favorite reading topics between these fellow writers and I, but none of us had given the short story much of a notice in the last few years. Even me, who likes writing them. I think the main reason for this is the lack of exposure to short stories. Besides literary journals and The New Yorker, it’s been hard to find a short story anywhere.

Luckily, that is changing.

Short stories are being resurrected in the digital age. Authors we know and enjoy are putting their short works out there, and I can’t get enough of them. I’ve recently read short stories on my Kindle from James Scott Bell, Dean Koontz, and Amy Tan. That enjoyment prompted me to hunt down Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and the 2011 collection called The Best American Mystery Stories (edited by Harlan Coben, who I adore). Suddenly I see short stories everywhere.

And I love it.

When a short story ends and you feel like you’ve read an entire novel–experienced every moment along with those characters–it’s magic. My favorite short story so far from Century is “My Dead Brother Comes to America” by Alexander Godin. Written in 1933, this story is a simple one, where an immigrant man comes to meet his family at Ellis Island. After several years of work and saving, his wife and children are finally able to join him. But that’s where the story becomes something entirely different. One of the children doesn’t make it to New York alive, and the father, who has purchased enough wool caps to keep all of his children warm in the New York winter, realizes that his wife hadn’t told him because her grief is too big to handle. He chooses to pretend it is still a joyous day, prompting the rest of the family to pretend along with him. The ending–the last wool cap–wow.

Other favorites from this month:  

Clean Slate by Lawrence Block (Warriors Magazine)

A Crime of Opportunity by Ernest J Finney (Sewanee Review magazine)

Flying Solo by Ed Gorman (Noir 13 magazine)

 

Got any favorite short stories you’d like to recommend?

Researching the Revision

I’m wandering through the town of Cave Creek again this week, taking photos as I go. This crazy little town and the mysterious legends that surround it inspired my last novel project, and I’m in the mood to retrace my steps. There was another encouraging nibble on the manuscript this month, but I still haven’t closed the deal. No agent yet. Time to reread those pages and make a decision:  should I revise this project AGAIN?

I don’t have the answer yet, but I’m open to the possibility. Just looking at this view has me dreaming up new scenes. Who knows? They might just end up in the book.

New Year, New Manuscript

Although I’ve been typing away at this new project off and on for a couple of months, I’m just now hitting my stride. The characters are in place, the setting is enticing, and I’ve got the general vibe of the book underway.

The plot however, is still elusive.

I have given myself till the end of January to type with abandon. No worrying or fussing allowed. I’m hoping to make the most of my creative process by just getting out of my own way. So far, I’m liking the result.

When the calendar flips over again, I’ll sit down and mine through what I’ve got on paper. Hopefully, I’ll like it enough to do thorough character sketches and a tentative plot outline. I plan to write the second half of draft #1 with more direction than I’ve got right now, but we’ll see how that goes. Writing the unknown everyday is more productive than I ever expected. I might just stick with it.