What is, or should be, the model short story?
What should be the form's goals? What objective are necessary to reach the goals?
I love classic stories. Contemporary stories are inferior. They're either too solipsistic, or weighed down by the perceived need to "write well" from a literary standpoint.
The short story is not about the writer, but the reader.
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FYI: A draft of my latest story is up at the Happy Writing blog-- though the final version won't be officially released until the New Year, at the Detroit blog.
Delirium what that
Somewhat ironically, I think the short story has to be more plot driven, among other things, than the novel. The short story is, as Kurt Vonnegut said, a little buddhist catnap. It should absorb you, you know?
The novel has more room for navel gazing and pomo silliness. People have come to expect it and it's a very loose form. The short story has to be tight. It's got to go somewhere and you gotta know when you're done.
Agreed.
I'll be discussing the subject more, elsewhere.
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