Short stories

It isn't long before the writer, having poured her heart and soul into the width and depth of a novel, is craving simplicity. All it usually takes is a hiccup in the noveling progress.

I've had a severe, recurring case of the hiccups since I began this novel in October.

Perfect solution: the short story! Here, I can visualize beginning, middle, and end. There are no tricky sub-plots to work in, no minor characters coming to steal the limelight, no derailment of the major conflict. I am in love with my work: here, I can write, frenzied, and see the immediate results! All works toward a climax, building and exposing, focused and determined.

But then I am done and I'm not in love anymore. It was a tawdry affair, a one-night stand. The limits of the short story don't allow for the pull and purpose of my novel. Suddenly, my novel is more meaningful.