Short Stories: Advice and a Market

Thought for the Week: If you want to be successful, it's just this simple: Know what you're doing. Love what you're doing. And believe in what you're doing. ~ Will Rogers

Novel vs Short Story

Tom Grimes, author of five novels and director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Texas State University, gave his perspective on the difference between novels and stories in issue 52 of Glimmer Train’s Writers Ask. “Novels are built around characters, short stories are built around emotions.” In his workshops, he often asks students to name their favorite literary characters. They always name characters from novels.

Grimes points out that a novel’s main character must be complex, unique, and involved with a large cast of characters. If your main character deals with his or her own singular problem that will be resolved through "interiority" that character belongs in a short story.

I tested myself and found the same result. When recalling short stories I have read, I remember the stories but not the characters’ names. Long after I’ve read a novel that impressed me, I usually remember the main character’s name. However, I don’t agree with Grimes 100%. The exception for me is thrillers, a genre that is more plot than character driven. Think of The Da Vinci Code. I remember the two main characters, but how much depth did the author give them? I remember little about them as people, but I recall a number of twists and turns in the plot.

If you write short stories, you should know Glimmer Train. Glimmer Train Stories, published quarterly, is a respected short-story journal. Most of the stories they accept come to them directly from the writer. They pay $700 for their no fee “standard” submissions accepted during January, April, July, and October, or up to $2,000 for winners of the various competitions open every month and supported by submission fees. On their web site, you can sign up for free monthly bulletins with essays on craft and perspective.

You can also purchase a subscription to Writers Ask, which contains advice from respected writers and teachers. Sample excerpts are on the web site.