Like many authors, my mystery writing publishing journey began with the publication of a short story. That was 2014, and since that time I’ve written and published seven full-length novels, edited and produced three multi-author short story anthologies of mystery and suspense, and written a handful of short crime fiction, six of which have been published, with one under consideration, and one in desperate need of revision.
Now, some people will tell you that writing short is easier than writing long, but in my opinion, long is much, much easier that short.
Part of that could be because I’m a pantser. I always start with a basic premise, but beyond that I haven’t a clue. I just pants my way merrily along finding out whodunit, why-they-dunit, and any other dunits, chapter by chapter, surprising myself until I get close to the end and it’s time to wrap things up. I figure if I’m surprised, the reader will be too.
That sort of approach might work for novels, but in my experience short stories offer no such luxury. Simply put, you need to get in and get out without a lot of dipsy doodling, and while some short story authors may well be pantsers, I expect most fall firmly into the plotter’s camp, or at least into the “I’m pretty sure I know where this is going” camp.
For a comparison of long vs. short, using my soon-to-be released Before There Were Skeletons, hop on over to the Short Fiction Mystery Society, where I cite a few examples. And should you be interested in short crime fiction, there’s no better place to hang out, listen, and learn. Even better, membership is free.
Shameless Self Promotion: Before There Were Skeletons. book 4 in the Marketville Mystery series, releases Oct. 21, 2022 and is now available for pre-order in trade paperback, large print, and e-book. Find it at your favorite retailer.
Short is easier for me. With a journalism background, I was taught to cut anything that wasn’t necessary to tell the story. Embellishing with details is challenging. So, half pantser and half plotter. Is that a plotser?
M.E., I was a journalist for 15 years, but that was non-fiction — interviews — a different mindset. And I had all my facts before I started writing (I suppose that’s plotting). But yes, I’ve heard the term plotster. I think it fits you!
I’m the opposite–short is much, much easier for me. I usually do some planning, but I’ve pantsed a couple of short stories too. There’s less to keep track of, and you get the rewards of finishing so much sooner than with a novel. Then again, one of the reasons it takes me forever to finish a novel is that I keep getting distracted by shiny new short story ideas.
I have a terrible time writing short stories. For me, long is easier too.
Carol, I remember a gifted short story writer telling me to write a short story a week – that no one could write 52 bad short stories. But it takes me so long to write a short story, that I’d never get anything else done! Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment.
I agree. Writing Ephemera Detective monthly for you at The New England Antiques Journal required much more writing discipline than writing longer pieces for other publications, so it’s true whether one writes fiction or non-fiction.
So true, you put so much into those short pieces but I always loved how you could make something some might considered meaningless, meaningful, and in so few words.