Short Stories vs. Long Stories

by Gayle Bartos-Pool

Here’s the long and the short of both…

Writers have a story to tell. Sometimes they want to produce a saga that covers decades in the lives of their many characters. Sometimes the story covers a shorter time period but lots of things happen during those days. There might be tons of details about the people, the places where the action happens, and deep diving looks into the who, what and why of the tale. This all takes pages and pages of description and dialogue that fill up a 250 or 300 or even a 400 page book.

Then there are the shorter stories that can be told in 20 to 50 pages. There will be just enough description to let the reader know a little bit about the few characters who appear in the tale. The long descriptive passages are reduced to a paragraph or maybe just a sentence. Just enough detail is left so the reader gets a rough idea about the characters, the location and the meaning of the story. As for the writer, he’s gearing these short stories to a reader who has enough imagination to fill in the gaps.

This is not to say that the reader of a long novel has no imagination. Far from it. The people who read novels want to experience every detail…basically get lost in the description and even find themselves walking down the streets of the old town mentioned in the story or watching the sunrise in some exotic locale where the main characters are talking. The description is so detailed that the reader can almost see the place for himself.

But readers have their preferences, too. Sometimes the reader has the time and the desire to get lost in a long novel. Other folks might not have the time, so they opt for several shorter stories whenever they find a few minutes to grab a cup of coffee and read.

Then there’s the other problem…

Too often people just don’t read. (Expletive deleted!) They wouldn’t think of picking up a 300-page novel, but they aren’t interested in the short story, either. What to do? What to do?

Sometimes just mentioning a book you recently read or even one you read years earlier that you really liked might pique the interest of a friend or acquaintance. If you’re trying to get a kid to finally read a book…try bribing them. Maybe $5.00 a book, but they have to tell you all about that book, not just the Editorial Review version on Amazon.

You could always start a Book Club in your neighborhood. Try including a classic book along with newer titles in the selection process. Since some of the latest books aren’t exactly Gone with the Wind, read a few and see if they capture your imagination.

Or…and here’s a challenge: Ask folks to try writing their own short story for the readers’ group and see what happens. They can read each other’s work. That will stimulate their imagination. One of my Christmas novels, Every Castle Needs a Dragon, is about a young dragon who works with Santa Claus and does just that: Lights the fire of imagination of kids so they read. Don’t we need to do that for kids and grown-ups alike?

So, try stimulating the reading urge in folks and even yourself. That’s how we learn stuff and enjoy the journey while we’re doing it.

Read and Write On!