I know I don't come here often but I have a fairly serious question....

[WCGreen]

I love writing short stories, which, of course, is not the question.

The question I have is about an observation. Over the past ten years or so, I have seen a drift away from story telling in it's natural form and find that most of the stories that get published and honored seem to be more about style instead of substance, more about quirky situations, more about finding the most unique way to describe the mundane and worst of all, a decided move away from any hint of humor.

Short stories, for me at least, have become a place for a writer to say look at me.

(if I hear Hardscrabble one more time...)

Is this because of the MFA programs?

It use to be that someone could learn their craft through trial and error, submissions to the hundreds of magazines that published short stories. But now that an over whelming number of those stories published are put into print by the same universities that churn out the MFA's.

Is that a good climate for creativity?

I guess what I am really asking is is the telling a good story in an entertaining way no longer part of the criteria for getting a story published?

[SheilaT]

1. There used to be a time

when there were many many markets for short stories. There were a lot of magazines that were published every month and each one published several short stories. Magazines like Cosmopolitan. Magazines that no longer exist.

Now, there are very few places to publish short stories, and to be perfectly honest, if you're not already an established writer, you can pretty much forget about getting published in many of those markets. Science fiction still has three monthly magazines, and they're quite open to new writers, although the competition is stiff, and if you're not an s-f writer, then that's no help.

My personal advice, for what it's worth, is to tell you to keep on writing, knowing that your short stories may well not be able to be published until after you've had a successful novel or two. Sucks, but there it is.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. They are not as open as you think

and you almost need to be a well established writer, with a novel in the oven for oh Asimov to take a look at you.

This is actually a problem that those in the industry know will hit the field in at most ten years. The mags used to be the place where new writers developed, these days no longer.

So the market for Sci fi has moved from those three to web based mags. Oh and places like Narrative are just at the top tier of those.

I have given up on the print magazines... and know that they will not give me the time of day until the novel is in the oven... alas the novel needs short fiction credits, so looking at both online and foreign markets any longer.

[sybylla]

2. Unfortunately, it's what the "market" is perceived as dictating.

I'm not going to defend it. Like you, I think it's an awful trend.

But, in this era of constant distraction and shallow pockets, I can understand that the market has gotten so competitive that, at least for the moment, the focus is on telling that has immediate appeal through some plot or voice gimmick.

On the other hand, it seems to me that short stories are finding a home in the e-publishing markets (Kindle, Nook, etc.) I know e-publishing shorts is a growing trend in several genres, if not literary fiction. E-publishers have a lot less up-front expense. Word from my trade magazine is that they also generate more income for the writer as well.

Whether that makes them more open to try gimmick-free, solid story telling, you'll have to write it and try.

[yellerpup]

3. Most of the new writers I know who have recently been

published started out with collections of short stories then followed up with novels. Try bundling your short stories together and when you have enough to make a, say, a 250 page book, you will have a better chances of an agent taking a look at your work. If you get a meeting with a publisher, be sure and have a strong pitch on your next project ready (and polished) to go. Good luck!

[WCGreen]

5. That's great advice....

Thanks!