While I have nothing against short fiction, the reason I’m not drawn to it is that I want to get to know the characters. That takes time.
My sweet spot tends to be a long stand-alone novel or a duology/trilogy.
When you go longer than that, into some epic series, I’m skeptical. By default I view it as someone writing for a career rather than to tell their optimal story, with *very* limited exceptions.
Every good story have an ending.
Lyra Belacqua ♡
Lyn, are you for or against IP laws in general as well as in the publishing industry? Would you be OK if huge powerful publishers were able to take your upcoming novel immesiately upon release and repackage it and market it way better than you ever could and make tons of money off of your efforts? Asking for a friend LOL 😂😂
I love fiction but I have a limit of about 350-400 pages. If you can’t tell a story in that then you’re not trying hard enough
I feel the same about movies vs TV. While TV shows can have the opposite problem and get dragged on too long, you can get ways more nuance in characters and plot over a season or two of TV than you can get in a movie.
I'm also trying my hand at writing, and it feels neat to bring something up as a plot point, then 30-50k words later and a few mentions it becomes a more major plot point. Something like that just feels way better than "oh this happened and the characters were blindsided"
Have you ever gotten around to reading Dune? I remember you were commenting on the movie when it came out.
It’s harder to write a good short story than a novel. On top of that all the good short story magazines are gone.
George RR Martin’s short stories and novellas are brilliant. Dreamsongs is his collected works and the audiobook it like 50 hours! So many greats.
Maybe only Asimov's short sci-fi stories are great enough to enjoy without knowing too much about the characters.
I have nothing against tiktok videos, but they don't ever tell a whole story.
TV shows with a 4 season pre-planned arc are my go-to.
Most TV shows lose critical popularity after 4-5 seasons, with **very** few exceptions.
I like GOOD short stories... characters can just become personified macguffins... to help move the story along, a plot mechanism... a good story teller can capture interest in a paragraph and tell a story in just a few chapters.
the horrorbabble YT channel is my current go-to...
Check out Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin series. 20.3 books. Like Jane Austen with guns. Trust works readers reread over and over.
Who's a character you love
Definitely an understandable take. However, I think Asimov hasany examples of how to do this well-ish. Granted it was for his career but I still feel he stands out. Oddly I find much of his character understanding comes from the main plot of the short story being unfolded as a mystery. We discover both the plot and the character at the same time which makes it feel deeper.
Thanks bro
Honestly I love it all. When it comes to science fiction and fantasy I can't get enough.
I was thrilled to see Light Speed on Fountain. Now I can earn sats while indulging my craving for science fiction.
Any other Bitcoiners heading to the Nebula Conference?
Stephen King is the master of the short story. But I agree, in general I prefer longer formats with character development.
What did you think of The Mandibles?
books often begin with a few promising chapters followed by long drawn out slop. I guess that is because of bad economic incentives. Short stories fix that.
⚡️
I hear that. I don’t do these sci fi shorts but can’t be dealing with these never ending sagas
One feature of short fiction is it cuts right to the chase. Characters grab an audience but in some cases the idea itself is paramount. Thinking of Borges, for example or even the sci-fi writer Ted Chiang.
The scale of a universe that Borges can create in 5-15 pages is amazing. Was just reading Ficciones this morning.
Exception: Song of Ice & Fire series (Game of Thrones)
Like a TV series the third in thee series normally already rehashes some ideas and the fourth onward is “show me the money”
Lyn - I’d be curious of your take on ‘The Employees’ by Olga Ravn. It’s a sci-fi esque novella. The world building is phenomenal given the short form, and the general formal presentation is very cool. If you have not read, I highly recommend.
