Skip to content

The Writers in Residence

We are a group of published writers who come here weekly to entertain, inform, and encourage you in your writing and your reading journey. Grab a cup of coffee, get comfortable, and join us.

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
The Writers in Residence

Category: Pitching your story

Why Short Stories?

by Travis Richardson *

I love short stories. I love to both write and read them. Since 2012 I’ve had over 40 short stories published. I’ve been asked before why I like it and I’ve had answers, but the best one I had came at Left Coast Crime in Vancouver in an Author Speed Dating event.

Travis Richardson postLet me explain what Author Speed Dating is first. In two hours, two authors pitch their works to approximately 144 readers at 18 tables seating 8 people. Each author has 2 minutes to pitch their book/project and then the next author pitches their book for 2 minutes. I partnered with Ann Parker, author of the Silver Rush series.  We had recently had stories published in the anthology Low Down Dirty Vote.

We decided ahead of time to try to get our pitches down to a minute so that we could have time for questions. I pitched my short story collection Bloodshot and Bruised. The pitch went something like this: I have a collection of crime stories that take place in the south and the western areas of the United States. The title represents the political and geographic divide of the country as Bloodshot is for the red states and Bruised is the blue. The stories include Anthony, Macavity, and Derringer finalists.

Travis and Ann ParketAfter that point I ceded my time to Ann who spoke about her protagonist Inez Stanner traveling from Leadville to San Francisco in the 19th century and then a quick pitch for her friend Priscilla Royal who couldn’t make it.

With a minute and a few seconds left we asked the audience if they had any questions. They often did and we had seconds to respond before moving on to the next table. So when I was asked, why do you write short stories instead of novels, I didn’t have  time to come up with a long-winded answer. What came to my mind was one word. Perfection.

As a reader I love short stories because the great ones are intense emotional journeys that keeps focus on the characters or plot all the way through to the end. They often have an impact that resonates as strong if not stronger than a 300-page novel. In great short stories, the author took extra effort to make sure every word counted. Eliminating everything and every word that is not necessary. When I write a short story, I can edit it several times over, making sure the pacing is pitch perfect. That the character reaches an emotional arch, that the plot has a twist or an intense resolution that will resonate.

This is something I can’t seem to do with a novel (yet). Time is an element that we don’t have much of and between a full time job and a four year old, I have even less. With a short story I can read every word in a single sitting, making sure the flow moves right and the tone shifts or stays consistent.  In short, you can make sure the story is as close to perfection as it can possibly get and the more words you add the less likely that will be.

 

Bloodshot and Bruised

 

Travis Richardson is originally from Oklahoma and lives in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter. He has been a finalist and nominee for the Macavity, Anthony, and Derringer short story awards. He has two novellas and his short story collection, BLOODSHOT AND BRUISED, came out in late 2018. He reviewed Anton Chekhov short stories in the public domain at www.chekhovshorts.com.  Find more at www.tsrichardson.com

 

******
* NOTE: This article was posted for Travis Richardson by The Writers In Residence member, Jackie Houchin
Author photojaqPosted on June 12, 2019June 6, 2019Categories Author Speed Dating, fiction writing, Pitching your story, Presentations, short fiction, short stories, short story author, writing, writing contestsTags Ann Parker, Anthony Short Story winner, Author Speed Dating, Bloodshot and Bruised, Derringer Short Story winner, Left Coast Crime Conference, Low Down Dirty Vote, Macavity award winner, short stories, Travis Richardson, Vancouver7 Comments on Why Short Stories?

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 331 other followers

Follow The Writers in Residence on WordPress.com

M.M. Gornell

Jackie Houchin

Linda O. Johnston

Miko Johnston

Jill Amadio

Rosemary Lord

G.B. Pool

G.B. Pool

Cynthia Naden

Cynthia Naden
Cynthia Naden (Claire Naden)

Bonnie Schroeder

Jacqueline Vick

  • RSS - Posts

Recent Posts

  • Where Do I Go From Here or Do I Blame Covid?
  • The Fun and Frustration of Ideas
  • THIS YEAR IT WILL BE DIFFERENT…
  • We Wish Our Readers A…
  • We Wish You All….

Archives

  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • September 2014
  • May 2014
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • January 2009
  • November 2008
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
The Writers in Residence Blog at WordPress.com.
Cancel