It seems that multi-chapter stories get more comments.
One obvious reason for this is that there is more in the long stories about which people can comment.
I wonder if another factor may be that many people find that multi-chapter stories are more enjoyable to read than shorts?

Of course I can't speak for other writers, but personally I find it requires more effort to produce the same number of words in a short story than in a multu-chapter story. This is because in the longer story I can 'spread out' and develop themes in a more leisurely fashion, whereas in a short story I need to be more concise and precise and put in only those elements that are essential for the point of that particular story.

Anyway...
Has anyone seen my shorts?!?
Anyone got a favourite? If so, which and why?
Any other comments?

Kit

Kit,

Didn't know you had misplaced your shorts. If I find them, I will get them laundered and e-mail them to you.

I just reread The Road Not Taken. It is a very interesting take on something that might have been. We've all had a similar experience (if we are old enough), but Steve's is a double whammy, revealing what might have been not only with John, but also with his own father.

Thanks for a great short story. Please keep them coming.

I find it much the same; a short story takes a good deal more work-per-word, due the limited space and needing to make every word count.




I too just finished "The road not taken". I found it especially poignant, particularly the double whammy Steve gets at the end. He'd assumed so much, only to have it proven not quite so. The irony was palpable about John, who turned out happy and well adjusted.

The part about Steve's father was not cut and dried; with his own son he may well have been harsher on the gay issue, or perhaps not. However, Steve closed that road to himself, along with so much else. One wonders where the branching point was. My guess; the kiss, and what might have happened had it not been interrupted.
Thanks for a great story Kit, I'm looking forward to the rest in your library.

I think a lot of readers want the emotional investment that comes with reading a multi-chapter story. It is more difficult for them to gain that attachment from a short story, and hence harder for them to comment.


I wouldn't say the amount of effort required is more, but it is different. A short story requires concentration on one thing (generally), while a novel has a wider viewpoint. I remember reading about an analogy:

Imagine room.

A short story shines a light on a single thing in that room.
A novel shines a light on the entire room.
A great novel not only shines a light on the room, but also illuminates the world outside.



Illuminating a single thing is just as difficult as illuminating an entire room, because you have to avoid shining that light on things that will detract from what you are trying to highlight.

Oh, and, I'm sorry to say, I've only read one of your short stories, Timing, but I certainly enjoyed it.

Thanks for the comments, CJ!


I think that it is likely there were many possible branching points, but (as you spotted!) the interrupted kiss was probably the most important.

Steve's own closed mind and fixed assumptions were his major problems. His father was probably more of an imagined problem than a real problem.

TRNT was my first experiment with a protagonist who had a seriously flawed character, so it couldn't realistically have a very happy ending. However, at the end Steve has seen that there is something wrong with his life and if he takes steps to put it right there is potential for him to find happiness in future. I believe that realising and accepting that there is indeed a problem is the first step in solving it.

I hope you enjoy my other shorts. My own personal favourite is Just Visiting. In many ways it is the antithesis to TRNT.



Hi Graeme!

I like your illumination analogy.
Yes, I suppose there is less to comment about in a short story, as well as less emotional involvement.

Personally, though, I find that when I read a really good short story it can have more of an effect on me and be even more memorable than a multi-chapter story. To use your analogy, I think that seeing one item illuminated well can make it more impressive and more memorable than seeing it as just another object in the room.

The two formats, short and multi-chapter, serve different purposes and suit different tastes or moods. Sometimes, especially when my reading time is limited, I prefer the 'hit' of a good short story. Other times I prefer to wallow in a long and engaging novel. Just as sometimes I'm in the mood for a smoked salmon and champagne snack, but other times I want to sit down to a gourmet banquet.



Thanks!

Those who've read both Timing and Perspective might see that the the former is a lighter and less in-depth treatment of a similar basic idea that is seen in the latter.

Kit

w00t!


Kit legs!

That's what I like about the analogy, because I agree with you. When only a single item is highlighted, you tend to dwell on it more, and observe more detail than when it is only one item in a collection of items.

You don't get novel complexity in a short story (generally) and you don't get short story intensity in a novel (generally). There are, of course, always exceptions

Erm...
Thanks
(I think I should say thanks because you're a good bloke and I'm sure you meant something nice, but I've no idea what 'Kit legs' means)


Kit

I just finished "Just Visiting" and loved it!!! I'll be a bit vauge in my wording here to avoid giving any spoilers.

Very well written, and very touching. I also liked the way that doing good deeds led to a reward.

I only partially guessed the ending. I had no idea that Mary had done it to both.

Some of the situations came across as unusual (in a good way) to my American ears.. The beer for one. I very much prefer to the UK attitudes in such matters; so this made me smile.

Mary and Mr. Barns were very well done; great development in a short span.

The ending was both funny and heartwarming.

Thanks kit, for an excellent story!

I do have one question though; What does "sheltered accommodation" mean?

Thanks very much, CJ, for your comments.

I'm glad that you enjoyed Just Visiting, which I must admit is my personal favourite of my own short stories. (I hope that doesn't come over as conceited or arrogant!). It's nice to know that one of my stories can not only give me pleasure to write but can also make a reader feel good.

Anyway, at least you now know that I'm actually capable of writing a more 'traditional' happy ending!

Although I believe that doing good deeds is its own reward, I also feel that 'as you sow, so shall you reap'.

Apart from watching US TV programs and movies I don't know much about the attitude to beer in the US, but I can truthfully say that JV refelects my personal experience of UK undregraduates' attitude to beer. Don't all college and university students enjoy beer?



With sheltered accommodation there is always a warden or manager who lives on the premises or nearby. So it offers people the chance to live independently with the security of knowing that someone is on hand should an emergency arise. It can be for disabled adults who wish to live apart from their parents or for older people who no longer manage living in a larger property. For older people the units are usually small independent flats.

What is the US term for sheltered accommodation?

Thanks again for reading the story and for taking the time to comment!


Kit

I'm looking forward to the rest of your stories!

All college students do enjoy beer, but in the US only those 21 or over can legally have it, and I doubt you would ever find it at charity meetings, or church functions. I've got an odd viewpoint here; in many ways I grew up on both sides of the Atlantic, so I see things a little differently in some ways. I've always considered the European approach to alcohol far more sane and sensible. In brief, in the US we treat it as a vice and illegal until the 21st birthday, when all of a sudden it becomes totally ok. As a result, alcohol in the US is seen by teens as more alluring (due to it's adult nature) than in Europe (That's just my opinion). The US has higher rates of alcoholism and teen alchohol abuse, so this seems to fit.

To give you an idea of the different societal norms; in the UK it is fine for parents, when eating out, to give their minor child a glass of wine or a shandy. We don't have Shandy here (it's a mix of beer and 7-up, for the Americans reading this) but parents have been arrested in some cases for giving a kid little wine with a meal.



It would be "Assisted Living".

Thanks again Kit, that was great!!

Hi Kit

I just finished reading "Just visiting" and found it really sweet and entertaining. I go to a catholic chaplaincy in uni, so it was etra fun to read.

I am planing to start a rather long-term project, writing a novel about three gay men in victorian England, so it would be nice if I can get some feedback from you.

Hope to hear from you. I'll surely be reading around your other works in the future.

Cheers,
G

Hi there!

Thanks for the comments. Glad you enjoyed it!
As you may have guessed, I do have some personal experience of a uni Catholic Chaplaincy and of the SVP. However, there was (alas!) no romance involved for me.
Still, at least the beer was cheap and reasonably good!



I'd be happy to give feedback. Feel free to send me a PM about it.



If you do read my other stories, I hope you will post comments on them!

Thanks again!


Kit