Why Short Stories Matter

Narrative fiction is seen and used― by novelists―  as the liveliest vehicle to transmit their excitement about life, having seen and felt it in all shades. These 'vehicles' could be in form of either short stories or much longer novels, but both have the same characteristics when it comes to development.

After writing a collection myself (which though, not easy), I've seen how exciting short stories could be. I've learnt a lot more after writing the collection so please allow me to me share some.

What you know too well makes you a better presenter.

Someone once said narrators are of two categories: the first is one who travels the world and gives tales of his experiences; the other is one who never leaves his home but knows it better than anyone else― Somehow, I belonged to this category, with a fervent thirst for the first.

But I think what's common to both categories is, each narrates stories from those experiences with passion!

A crafty combination of experience and passion gives a wickedly excellent content which readers can easily relate to. It makes your plot and characters true and their actions, believable.

Oh, How Effective!

The above excerpt is from the first story in the series, A Tale of Broken Peace.  The  story idea was inspired by true events and I felt the urge to narrate it in an 'all-inclusive' manner, limiting the temptation to wade too far from the conflict. The best way to do just that, I figured, is to make the whole story short.

Short stories are especially birthed from such kinds of inspirational ideas. We write stories because we have inspiring experiences― personal, imaginative and those of others― or thoughts we hope would be instructive, informative and entertaining enough if we bring them to life through writing them, and  in this case, make them short!

Inspiration? It's Everywhere

In full novels, one may romance with a book idea for a long time especially if there's need for research. Our everyday engagements, like 8-5 jobs, family demands, etc can also slow us down, make us hit blocks much often and at extremes, make us throw away our pens for good.

But it's different with short stories. You can just walk down the street or sit in waiting rooms or go shopping in the market and stumble on some scenarios played unusually by complete strangers and 'boom!' you have a story idea. And you can sit in an eatery or dining table or at the park

and write it from beginning to the end sipping coke or munching a bubble gum. That's one of the coolest thing about short stories

And they become part of us.

A great short story have the tendency of sticking for much longer in the minds of readers as their contents aren't that hard to absorb, together with the moral lessons therein. Maybe that's part of the reason why we can still remember our childhood bedtime stories and nursery rhymes.

That fact also made me think of the inspiration in a short story first before even writing it down. I think that's why my editor remarked that the book's rich content 'not only entertain, but also makes one ponder alone on how to resolve the conflict personally. It makes one want to 'own' the stories.'

Easy, Friendly.

A lot of readers think short stories are easy to read. I think so too. Short stories shouldn't be cumbersome. They should be able to give  readers satisfaction within a short time; and  because they are short, people can fix reading somewhere within their work schedules especially on break times or in a waiting room before a meeting.

Studying and observing life and the people living it happened to be the most valuable experience when writing this novel. Sharing the experience gained from the two has been very exciting; and fun. And I hope you would enjoy it.