What's your favourite length?
Sun, 2001-08-26 10:26
#1
What's your favourite length?
Now I've got your interest.. this is a perfectly serious query. If the subject has been aired before, forgive me, but I've been wondering what it is that ABC writers actually produce. I don't mean on-site, I can look at that - I mean, what do people write for their own pleasure?
Assuming that most of us - and this is directed at the prose writers rather than the poets, because few poems are too long to post - were writing before we discovered ABC, what did we actually turn out? Novels? Novellas? Magazine-type articles? Or possibly "short" stories that are far too long to post?
I started wondering when I mentioned to another member that the first thing I wrote was a novel, which turned into a cycle of four following the same characters - he seemed to think that this was odd, whereas I'd never written anything short enough to be posted on ABC until I explored the site and discovered that my first (soon-to-be-discarded) offering was roughly three times too long to post. Only then, six months ago, did I have a stab at writing a REALLY short 1500-word twist-type tale.
Of course, some people who'd not previously bothered may have been inspired to write by success on the site. Maybe some of these are now writing longer works?
I'b be genuinely interested to discover what other busy amateurs like myself are actually writing out there. All the best,
Roy.
andrew pack
Prior to abc I was usually writing book-length stuff - because although it is almost impossible to get a book accepted, it is slighly less impossible than to get a book of short stories accepted.
But I actually prefer to write short fiction, and at the moment, the shorter the better. Imposing a limit of less than 2,000 words has, I think, had some benefits on my work, as editing it down means I have to think about what is essential to the story and what is just window-dressing.
Mark Yelland-Brown
Great thread Roy. Also I'm glad of Andrew's contribution, 2 of my favourite writers on the site!
Confession time. I consider myself firstly a poet and then a short story writer. I honestly believe I have talent but have over the years realised that my motives for writing poetry and short stories are more to do with my attention span than some deep artistic reason. Oh I do believe there is integrity there in my artistic efforts, but I can rarely go back to a work unless it's for editing and grammar etc. I desperately hope that this self-knowledge will result in change and more effort.
I do believe there is more work in me of a longer length, I hope so!
Andrea
Well, I started off writing the most abysmal poetry in school which, for some strange and hitherto unexplained reason, was fairly frequently published in the school rag.
I found, however, that I much preferred (and was much better at) writing short fiction (and articles) which, oddly enough, always seem to be 'completed' (bar editing, etc) at around the 1500 word mark.
Absolutely nothing to do with the fact that most mags prefer this length, of course...
Honestly.
Andrea
And now, without further ado, on to the supremely important topic regarding my favourite length...
Roy
Well?? I'm all ears here! You didn't think I had anything but impure motives for starting this discussion, did you?
Andrea
Certainly not! Perish the thought!
Shame, though...
Gawd, where is that Fish when you need her...?
mississippi
Sorely tempted! Sorely tempted!
Andrea
Oh, go fer it, MS, why not?
*retrieves ear-trumpet from dusty recesses of cupboard where it has languished...er...dustily... for 20 years*
kinmwest
"Ear Trumpet - devise for blowing one's own trumpet"
He closed the old dictionary and sighed
"Ah that's what it's for"
His wife entered
Liana
surprising him from behind.....
jennifer
I think I shall watch this and see what unfolds
Roy
Whatever, or whoever, unfolds, I reckon we've got off the point - and, strangely enough, I actually wanted to know what everyone else is writing off-site. I know, it's partly my fault for yet another juvenile rudery. Sorry.
Thanks, Andrew and Fecky - at least I know that other people out there are having a bash at something longer than very short stories. I was beginning to think that it was a perversion. Sure, it's next to impossible getting anyone interested, but at least on this site we can commiserate with each other!
kimwest
"I'm publishing my short novel a chapter a week on ABCtales, because I can't be arsed to spend anymore time duplicating, wrapping, providing covering letters, grovelling, selecting, holding my breath, fainting with joy when the letters come back and reverting to melacholia when they are rejections"
........said the old man's wife as she pressed her point. not for the first time.
Roy
I wonder if there's a case for having a separate section somewhere for longer material posted in parts? The idea seems to be popular elsewhere, from what I'm told. Kimwest, what's the response been like? Do readers get hooked and wait for the next chapter with bated breath?
Andrea
Dear Roy,
But writing short stories is (also) for my own pleasure!
And I, too, am 'having a bash' at a novel although, on reflection, I'm afraid it's the most awful load of old crap.
Also, to be fair, It Is Said, by Those (hopefully) In The Know, that the short story is one of the most, if not the most, difficult forms to write sucessfully.
Yours,
Deeply Offended.
ps. A great idea, by the way, having a seperate section for longer material...
pps. I can then bore you all to death with chapters of my...er...'novel'.
iFB
2,300 words ... the right length for Radio 4 short story ... tho i think my things are getting shorter ...
kimwest
Roy,
"I've got the prelude and 2 chapters on so far and it's a miniscule response! the last chapetr got cherry picked...so maybe it'll build..but I don't really care...it's just a sort of home for my stories.
I just get bombarded by ideas and can't write enough 'cos I work full time...it's probably good because forget half what I could have written ...hopefully that's the total rubbish...short stories are much more fun..writing a novel was crazy with full time work ...it took 4 years and then about 6 re-writes and now I don't think it's only mediocre..i have got some longer short stories though about thrid of a novel size...
I love the short short story..the one page wonder that's more like a poem...."
said the old woman's blind dog.........
meremortal
I started writing things in the they hope would turn into novels but i found myself getting bored with them. I then switched to short stories but these were normally over 5000 words. Since i've joined i've been shortening what i write and found it useful for editing. I've learnt to cut out the crap in my stories (this being on average 90%) and found it's left me with something that almost reaches that wonderful standard of mediocre. But seriously i think that being a member of this commmunity has helped me find ways to sort through the mess of stories. I do agree that having a section for longer or serial works would be quite interesting. Personally i prefer stories which are longer than most the ones on this site. I prefer to become engrossed in a story and i don't find the shorter ones allow me to do that.