I think you can make the same argument with flash fiction. I went back to writing flash fiction again (while revisiting those I've stored away in my hard drive) and it's amazing how crisp your writing can be when you are forced to keep it under 1,000 words.
Good post, Frank. I couldn't agree more that short fiction is a great form. That said, in long fiction the writer should also make use of every bit of space. Writing a longer, more complicated story is no excuse for writing loosely or sloppily. I've found the only major difference between the short story and the novel is the focus. The short story is about One Event, whereas the novel is about more than one event that are interconnected. Everything else—hooks, grounding the reader in setting, pacing, cliffhangers, etc.—remains the same.
I think you can make the same argument with flash fiction. I went back to writing flash fiction again (while revisiting those I've stored away in my hard drive) and it's amazing how crisp your writing can be when you are forced to keep it under 1,000 words.
Oh yes, we've probably all seen novels that were padded out. Disgusting.
Good post, Frank. I couldn't agree more that short fiction is a great form. That said, in long fiction the writer should also make use of every bit of space. Writing a longer, more complicated story is no excuse for writing loosely or sloppily. I've found the only major difference between the short story and the novel is the focus. The short story is about One Event, whereas the novel is about more than one event that are interconnected. Everything else—hooks, grounding the reader in setting, pacing, cliffhangers, etc.—remains the same.
Great post. Short fiction can be lucrative, too!