THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF IT

by Gina Sestak

Regular readers know by now that we Working Stiffs have declared February to be the month of short fiction.  It is, after all, the shortest month.

I have mixed feelings about short fiction myself.  In earlier times, writers were often paid by the word, so maybe things did get a bit out of hand.  I mean, why write "sunset" when you could cover an entire page with descriptions of the blazing glory of vermilion skies and even the elusive green flash?  Writers have to make a living.

We may be going too far in the other directions, though.  According to the Arcade Dictionary of Word Origins, "short" derives from the Indo-European root "*sker-", meaning to "cut off," which is also the source of our word "shear."  The trick to writing short seems to be the ability to pare away unnecessary verbiage without cutting off so much that the story is left short, flat and meaningless.

It's easy to write, "Jacob fell," but readers are left wondering why he fell, where he fell, whether he fell from a tree or from grace, etc.  We need to keep enough detail to convey not only that information but to set a mood and make us care enough to want to read about Jacob in the first place.  Otherwise, fiction becomes just as incomprehensible as real life.

So what do you think?

[By the way, you know the longest word in the English language, right?  It's "smiles" because there's a mile between the first and last letter. :-)]

Flash Fiction Contest

We moved this post to the top to encourage more entries to our contest. Two readers have posted their stories in the comments and both are awesome! Please read below and enter your own stories. (Note that the first contest to guess the Working Stiff is over.)



We Working Stiffs have a little surprise for you in February. We're calling this month February Shorts, or Flash Fiction February if you prefer alliteration. Either way, we think it'll be lots of fun!

In addition to fantastic guest bloggers Hank Phillippi Ryan on Thursday, February 4th, and Nancy Martin on Thursday, February 18th, we'll be blogging about shorts. No, not the ones you wear! (Although knowing this gang, that's not entirely out of the realm of possibility.) Since February is the shortest month, we thought we'd have some short story themed posts throughout the month.

And that's not all.

We have not one, but TWO contests. Jennie Bentley and Wilfred Bereswill have generously offered to donate a book to the winner. One winner will get Jennie's book, the other will get Will's.

The first contest will be on Friday February 5th. On Jennie's post that day, there will be 200 word stories that begin, "If you have to die, February is the best month for it." The catch? The stories will be anonymous. You won't know who wrote them! Your job will be to figure out which Stiff wrote what story. The reader who gets the most right, wins a book! In case of a tie, Jennie will pick the winner at random from those who tied.

We also have a second contest. Using the same opening sentence, "If you have to die, February is the best month for it," post your own 200 word story in the Comments. (Stories may be less than 200 words, but any that are over will be disqualified.) We'll gather them throughout the month, and Working Stiffs will pick a winner.

POST YOUR 200 WORD STORY IN THE COMMENT SECTION OF THIS POST.

Every Story Paints a Picture

by Joyce

I'm going to be away from my computer today, and probably most of the weekend, so I thought I'd try something different today.

We're all going to write a short story!

Here's how it works: I'll write the first section, then each person who comments adds a little more to the story. Make it as long or as short as you like--just remember it's a short and not a novel. And hopefully, the last person to comment this evening will kindly put an end to it. Be sure to check back often to read all the additions to the story. Feel free to add to it as many times as you'd like.

Okay, here goes.

A long honk of a car horn made Angie slam on her brakes.

"You stupid bitch! Watch where you're going!"

Angie pulled to the side of the road and turned off the engine. She gripped the steering wheel tighter to make her hands stop shaking. She needed to get it together. If she got caught running a red light, it would be all over. Everything she worked so hard to put into motion would be gone in an instant. She breathed deeply and told herself there was nothing to worry about. That everything would be all right. Nothing was going to go wrong.

As soon as her heart rate returned to normal, Angie started up the car again and pulled back onto the road. I'm not going to let him win, she thought. Not this time.

Okay--your turn guys. Don't disappoint me!

SHORT STORY CONTEST!

This arrived in my Facebook inbox today, and I thought I'd share, since I know some of you out there write short stories. I can't do it myself - can't seem to think small enough - but every time one of these crosses my field of vision I try to convince myself to try again:

Your Chance To Have a Mystery/Crime Story Published

We are accepting entries for a short story contest in the mystery/crime genre.

Create a new story, rewrite an old one, or include a chapter from your novel. (5000 words maximum)

Deadline for entries is July 1, 2009 (midnight et)

Second Wind Management will choose the top three entries, which will be posted on the website (on or around July 7th) so readers can vote for their favorite.

The winner will be published in the upcoming mystery/crime anthology from Second Wind Publishing. The winner will also be awarded three free copies of the book.

Here's the link for more information:

http://secondwindpublishing.com/murderisonthewind.html

Let the writing begin!

Getting Away With It

by Joyce Tremel

I wrote a flash fiction piece a few weeks ago in which the girl gets away with her crime. It had a nice twist in it, but it got me wondering whether it was the right thing to do. People who work in law enforcement don't like it much when the bad guy triumphs.

I know it happens on occasion, but we wish it didn't. I think that most people want the good guy to win. (Well, except for one guy I saw at Busch Gardens wearing a shirt that said "Warner Brothers--if you see a cop, warn a brother." My husband wouldn't let me say anything to the guy. I had to settle for The Look.)

In real life, there's no way the girl in my story would have gotten away with her crime, but in 1000 words you can get away with a lot. Not enough time for any investigation, forensics or what not. In real life, there would have been some evidence of her wrongdoing. A real detective would have seen right through the story of a teenager who hated her parents. If I had written a longer story, I think that's exactly what would have happened.

So, what do you guys think? Is it okay for the bad guy to win in fiction? Does the story length really have something to do with the outcome? Would you read a novel where the villain triumphs?

Short & Sweet

By Jennie Bentley

“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

That is what a true master of economy and understatement of writing, the great Ernest Hemingway himself, is said to have called his best work. You may agree or disagree – Hemingway wrote some stellar stuff in his day – but there’s no arguing that those six words pack a wallop.

According to Wikipedia, the classic definition of a short story is that it should be able to be read in one sitting. That seems a subjective definition at best, since some people read faster, and can sit still with a book longer, than other people. My husband, for instance, suffers from some sort of narcolepsy when it comes to reading. Five minutes, and he’s out cold. Me, I can read a whole book in one sitting. You won’t find me getting up before the story is over, unless the house is on fire or one of the kids has fallen down the stairs.

Here are a couple of things I’ve learned over the past few days, as pertaining to writing short fiction:

1. Effective short stories get off to a fast start, as close to the conclusion as possible.
2. They usually take place over a short period of time.
3. There can’t be too many characters, scenes, or details.
4. The theme – what the story is really about – has to be extremely focused.
5. You have to convey more than you say (see Hemingway’s ‘short story’, above).
6. Every word has to count.

That last one’s the killer for me. My usual style tends to be chatty, with lots of interjections and loose association, much like talking. Paring down to only the necessary words is difficult, because I love my darlings, and I hate to kill them. It’s something that would probably serve me well if I could master it, but it goes against the grain.

The reason for all of this, of course, is that I’m trying to write a short story. ‘Trying’ being the operative word. I’m not succeeding, at least not yet. I’m at eight-hundred-and-some words, currently. My maximum word count is 5,000 – the usual length of one of my chapters. That’s the time it normally takes me to establish the setting, introduce the protagonist and maybe a secondary character or two, and get things in motion for the first murder. This time, because I’m writing a thriller, not only do I have to do all those things, but I have to save the world, too. And that’s a lot to expect, in fifteen pages.

So what about you? Have you ever tried to write a short story? Ever finished one? How did it go? Do you have any tips for how I may be able to finish mine? And if someone asked you to write a story in six words, like Hemingway, could you do it?

D-day

By Annette Dashofy

At the risk of running afoul of our Working Stiffs therapist, I’ve been obsessing a lot lately. My cat has cancer, so I watch her every move and question whether or not that behavior is something new—some sign of the cancer progressing. Yesterday, she slept all day and I freaked out. Maybe she’s getting worse!

Or maybe she’s a cat. Cats sleep. A lot. Today, she’s fine.

All last week I obsessed over the new neighbors. I’m not used to new neighbors. I’ve had family living in the houses around me all my life. Until last week when STRANGERS moved in. Honestly though, I don’t know if I’d call it obsessing. More like curiosity. Okay, RABID curiosity. But the window in my home office looks out at their house. Just because I turn my head (and crane my neck…and squint through the new foliage on the trees—damned leaves) to see what’s going on over there every time I hear a door slam, doesn’t mean I’m obsessing.

Well, maybe a little. But I’m better now. The novelty has worn off. Besides, I’m too busy watching my cat to see if she’s drooling to bother with the folks next door.

And now it’s D-day. The day the Short Mystery Fiction Society names the 2007 winners of the Derringer Awards. Actually, YESTERDAY was supposed to be D-day according to the website. I waited patiently (all right, NOT so patiently) all day for the announcement. Then I learned that it wouldn’t happen until today.

You see, I’m a finalist.

You know how those TV and movie stars on the Oscars and Emmys red carpets always proclaim that it’s an honor just to be a nominee? It’s true. When I heard that my story “A Signature in Blood” had made the short list, I was beyond ecstatic. It is an honor. One that completely blindsided me. I didn’t know that my story had been nominated (along with 170 other stories) until it had survived the judging panel to be one of five finalists in my category. What a rush!

And that was enough for me. I’ve been telling everyone that I don’t expect to win and don’t care either way. I’m a finalist. That’s huge.

Yesterday, I realized I’ve been lying to myself. I do care. I mean, how cool would it be to be able to list 2007 Derringer Award Winner on every query letter, every cover letter, every bio I ever write again in my entire life? Very cool.

Do I expect it to happen? No way. Not considering the competition. But then again, I never expected to be on that list of five, either. I’ve already made it through the judges’ panel. My story has already survived this far. Who knows?

And so I wait. And wait. And chew my nails. And, yes, I obsess.

But it is definitely an honor just to be nominated.