The growth of small and electronic presses has changed that. Micropresses and even some of the larger presses now have the flexibility to purchase independent short fiction, particularly short erotic romances, from both little and well known authors. These get published as stand alone ebooks and in collections. At many of the publishers, these stories can earn what are considered "pro rates" by such organizations as SFWA and HWA.
I'm participating in the upcoming Beyond the Veil round robin, which will consist of short (and possibly erotic!) romance stories that take place in or around a ParaExpo convention set in the fictional Dunvegas casino. As I decide what tale to spin, it has got me thinking about short fiction more than I usually do. One of the primary criticisms I see of short fiction pieces by romance authors is that they feel abbreviated. If you read a bunch of short romance fiction reviews, reviewers who otherwise enjoyed the piece have been known to add the caveat, "It felt too short" or "I wish we'd had more time in this story/world." While that seems like a "duh" comment -- I mean, it's SHORT fiction, ya big lunk! -- sometimes I agree. Short fiction can sometimes feel more like a story seed -- like a squooshed up novel that hasn't had a chance to bloom. I've noticed this about shorts in all genres, but in romance, I see this a bit more frequently.Two reasons. One, I believe short fiction is an art form that has to be learned, just like novels or poetry, and as romance writers, we've only recently had lucrative markets for our shorter tales. We haven't had a lot of short romance fiction to read or a lot of reason to write it beyond personal satisfaction.
Two, telling a whole romance from the beginning doesn't lend itself to a short format, if you tell the story of an interesting romance, that is. And glutton-for-punishment authors like the ones here have a tendency to throw in paranormal elements and mysteries and action-adventure to increase the word count and narrative demands even further!
A solution to this short fiction problem might be restricting the narration to a significant moment in the romance journey or describing a journey that's brief (but fascinating, of course). The story could cover only the meet-cute of the protagonists and leave readers with the feeling things are going to go well for those crazy kids. The story could describe the first sex, the "let's go steady" proposal, or the incident that made the protagonists realize they loved one other. Or how about the time when a certain person forgot my birthday even though we were newly married and I had to explain to him that yes, he still had to buy me gifts even though he'd snagged me as a wife after chasing me for ten years? (Not that that ever happened to me.)
As I decide what's going to happen in Dunvegas that's both romancey and hot, I hope one of these approaches will help me avoid the abbreviation effect. What can my significant moment be? How can the moment, the event, still have a narrative arc if it isn't the whole journey? What kind of romantic story can I tell that's brief, complete and satisfying to the reader?
And how can I work Elvis in there without a shoehorn? Because it's Vegas, baby.
To find out how I and the other participating authors rise to these burning short fiction challenges, check back often as we post our creations, starting October 19, I believe. At the end of the month, we're give away a free ebook full of Dunvegas goodness with the complete stories and maybe other treats. You don't even have to dress up in costume and knock on our door to get it.
Jody W.
A SPELL FOR SUSANNAH--Winter 2008, Samhain Publishing
http://www.jodywallace.com/ * http://meankittybox.blogspot.com/
7 comments:
"And how can I work Elvis in there without a shoehorn?
Yay, Elvis! In Vegas, Elvis is like Jello. There's always room for Elvis. :o)
[[always room for Elvis]] LOL! So true.
Intriguing, Specially since when I was developing as a writer in England the short story romance markets dominated the writing field. Interesting that it was different over here.
S.J.
Having cut my teeth on those big, fat epic historical romance novels, I remember the first time it occurred to me that short romantic fiction was a viable market. Who was it who tried putting those tiny little booklet novelettes on the checkout racks, right next to the Zodiac booklets? Was that Harlequin who tried that for a short time? It's been several years ago.
There's most certainly a skill to writing short fiction that those of us who think in novel form are intimidated by. It wasn't until selling my first novella to Samhain that I truly began to believe I could tell a story in less than a full novel. I fretted over all of the things I'd have to leave out and couldn't conceive of how it could turn out well.
Once I found that the short story format could work for me and in turn become an opportunity to capture all those stories I'd never have enough time to turn into novels, I was elated. I planned out others to create alongside my novels and all was well. Then someone brought up flash fiction.
My first attempt killed me and what was meant to be 900 words came out at 2000. It was the best I could do and still convey what I wanted to be seen. It apparently went over well and is a free read over at Coffee Time Romance right now. I've practiced since and was able to come to a 1000 word piece, but I don't think I'll ever thrill to ficlets no matter how much I practice. 2-3k is about as short as I can muster and still be happy, and 15-30k is just enough to feel you've seen everything I needed to share so the story ceases to plague me. LOL
I think as time goes on that abbreviated feel will disappear down to the level of other genres. And considering the popularity of romance, I think the romantic short has the opportunity to become as finally honed a skill as could be found at the height of sci-fi short fiction. We'll have that same continual flow of readers and time, to eventually wear away the rough edges still peaking out.
~X
I adore short stories, romance, sci-fi, lit-fic, mystery -- I don't care!
Yes, it's an art form. One that has to be practiced. In fact, I've never written anything over 27K words because I just don't think that hugely.
Yeah, throwing the paranormal element into the Dunvegas scenario makes for more complicated storytelling, but the focus needs to remain simple. One relationship, one problem to overcome.
I think the best thing that can be said about any short story is that it was a simple tale, well told.
If you can put more than one Elvi in I'll say "Thank yew.. thank yew verra much." *winks* LOL! I'm workin on mine too.
Post a Comment