In Warren's Words

Celebrating the Short Story

I have always been a great fan of the short story, both as a writer and a reader. Although the form has been with us, one might say from the beginning of time, it has for many years declined in popularity. Thanks to the internet it is coming back in vogue stronger than ever. It is a trend I want to encourage, hence our contests.

Writing short stories has always been a great challenge to the imaginative writer. Unlike a novel, which can be more leisurely in its unfolding, a short story must compress its narrative into a tighter framework. It must be created as an entity unto itself with a beginning, middle and end.

Short stories present a slice of life, often a single incident, the individual moment.

Essentially, it presents a slice of life, often a single incident, the individual moment. Most masters of the genre have commented that it is wise to conceive of an ending, a climactic goal before beginning so that all narrative energy is focused on bringing the story to the preconceived conclusion. I tend to agree with that idea, although it is always difficult for a creative writer to think in terms of a formula.

While one can trace the origins of the short story from its presentation in oral form to the very beginnings of the written word, the modern short story appears to emerge as a form in the nineteenth century. One can cite Grimm's Fairy Tales, Hawthorne's Twice Told Tales, Poe's Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque and Hardy's Wessex Tales as major forerunners.

The short story proliferated in the last quarter of the twentieth century with the explosion of magazines and journals. There was an enormous market demand and many a fiction writer made a good living writing for these markets. But with the rise of movies, radio and television and the slow demise of demand for written short fiction, the short story began a steady decline in popularity.

Following the law of unexpected consequences, the internet brought back the form big time. Today, if one has the patience to search, there are thousands of short stories available to the reader on the internet. Of course, they are not of equal quality and many of them do not have the elegance of good narrative skills to engage one's time and interest. Nevertheless one can find enough outstanding offerings to make the search worthwhile.

Indeed, the competition for eyeballs and connection on the internet is fierce. But a good story, one that engages the reader, provides insight and inspiration, offers wisdom and, of course, entertainment, is always welcome. Our contest is meant to encourage serious creative input into this form of imaginative fiction writing. 

The short story offers a quick respite from the hurly-burly of living and engages the mind in a brief narrative adventure.

What we have learned in a long career is that vast numbers of people yearn to express themselves, to tell their stories, and to share with others the fruits of their creative endeavors.  The short story is the perfect vehicle to satisfy this urge.

As for why a reader is attracted to imaginative story telling, the best answer I can come up with is that there is a deep human need to know "what happens next" and perhaps to learn how others might react to life's random vicissitudes and complications. Reading a story, if it engages one's interest, is like an emersion in another life, another situation, another possibility, another conclusion. The human comedy provides endless fascination.  

In a time, when the average attention span is often as brief as watching a shooting star and the business of living in a frenetic and complicated world keeps one spinning from moment to moment without reflection, the short story offers a quick respite from the hurly-burly of living and engages the mind in a brief narrative adventure that can provide meaning and wise engagement for a thinking person.

Everyone who reads has his or her favorite short stories. I have mine as well. Among them are Ernest Hemingway's, especially my three favorites Up In Michigan, The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber and The Snows of Kilimanjaro. Others are A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner and The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe.  I was also very fond of the stories of John O'Hara,  F. Scott Fitzgerald and many, many others.

I will never be able to fully express my gratitude to these writers and others who have inspired me to take up my pen for a lifetime of joy and fulfillment in a long and happy career as a creative writer. In my parochial and probably narrow view, there is no better calling.

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