Hi everyone. I would like to know what kind of short stories do you prefer reading and writing. How difficult was it for you to penetrate the short story market? Thank you. Regards.
Hi everyone. I would like to know what kind of short stories do you prefer reading and writing. How difficult was it for you to penetrate the short story market? Thank you. Regards.
I love reading short stories because
1. they are short
2. they can impact you
I started with Roald Dahl and Edgar Allan Poe- And because of them (they are still my favourites) I think I've learned how to include a twist in the plot, when writing a short story.
I think the most important factor in a short story is that the reader is unable to see the climax/ the end of the story, but after reading it, realize they should've seen it coming all along
I love short stories where the characters and language really stay with you like 'All that Glistens' by Anne Donovan or 'Animals' by Alan Bissett. The latter was particularly poignant for me as reminds me of family. Fantastic characterisation. Incredible use of language.
For me, I don't have particular notions of the kind I read. Authors I love include Dahl, O'Henry and Saki, in addition to Indian writers like Manto.
Penetrating the short-story market is hard. I got several rejections saying that there is no market for short-stories. Newspapers and magazines are a little more accepting.
It took me about three years of sending proposals for my collection of stories for children, The Story-Catcher, to publishers before I was accepted by a small publisher. The Story-Catcher is available worldwide now, but because the publisher is small, its availability is restricted, so my struggle isn't nearly over!