5 Ways Short Fiction Has Helped My Novel Writing
In which I think about short fiction, subtext, rejections, and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas (2000).
What’s up, buttercups? Welcome to another thought™.
There are many benefits to writing short fiction, as you may have guessed from the title of this wonderful, wonderful substack. While I don’t necessarily agree with the advice that tells writers to begin with short fiction before diving into longer projects, I did start out writing short fiction, and I do believe that it has been immensely helpful to my novel writing process.
1. Writing more concisely
A fun fact about me is that I am an over-writer. I work best when I dump a whole heap of words and over-explanations on the page and then pare them back during edits. That being said, I’ve noticed that the more short stories I write and the more short stories I sell and have published, the better I am at not writing quite so many words that will only end up getting cut out later.
2. Crafting more effective prose
In short fiction, you have a smaller amount of time and space to establish details, which necessitates being sparser and crafting more effective sentences. Where I might spend a paragraph talking about a character in a novel, in a flash fiction, that’s brought down to a sentence or two. And those two sentences need to be Absolute Bangers™.
I’ve seen the way this has helped me establish characterization very quickly and effectively. Oftentimes it’s about creating subtext and prompting inferences—saying something that implies another thing. Less words, more understanding. Who’d have thunk.
3. Subtext
Yep, I mentioned it before, but it’s true! By writing stories that require me to say and do more with less, I’ve noticed that I’m getting pretty good at adding layers of subtext to my stories.
See what I did there?
4. Understanding story structures, forms, and arcs
Are you wearing a seatbelt? Buckle up.
I’m not a super big proponent of “story structure” because I think there are infinite types and forms, and the ones that are often referenced when people mention “story structure” are the same old tired ones. I am a certified Hero’s Journey Hater (which will be hilarious if I accidentally write a story that fits that structure, won’t it?) and I don’t care for it.
By writing short fiction, I have come to learn and understand story structures and forms and styles and arcs—at least in the sense of my own personal tastes. I think studying structures and trying to fit a story into those templates can work for some, but I find that they limit my creativity.
5. Rejection couldn’t touch me “with a 39-and-a-half-foot pole” (How The Grinch Stole Christmas, 2000)
Writing and submitting short stories has made me impervious to rejection. I’m the best at rejection. I wake up and I open my e-mails to rejections, and then I go poop rainbows.
Jokes. But I do think it’s given me a better capacity and a thicker skin. Submitting your writing can be a vulnerable thing, and receiving a “We liked it but no thanks” can feel disheartening, especially since you’re likely going to get more rejections than acceptances. But at the end of the day, I think it’s been good for me.
I don’t self-reject anymore. I simply pat my stories on their little heads and say "Go. You're their problem now". The idea that people must read them to reject them is like a silly little petty game to me, one in which I am always the winner.
I’m like the Grinch, but instead of stealing Christmas, I’m leaving my stories under people’s trees and climbing back up the chimney.
How does this relate to novel writing? I like to think that the day I start querying a book, my resolve will withstand the blows of rejection after rejection. Catch me sobbing into a can of Who Hash in 2 years.
So there are my Thoughts on how writing short fiction has helped my novel writing. Can any of you relate? Do you disagree, or have you had different experiences? I’d love to hear from you!
Are you also a Hero’s Journey Hater? Don’t worry, you’re safe here. Maybe I’ll write a substack about it.