Short, shorts and other formats
Unless you’ve been in a hole or outer space over the last few days, you surely noticed that Black Library (my publisher that is) is a hale and hearty 15 years old, and to celebrate they’re publishing 15 really short, short stories over the course of 15 days (see what they did there… nice).
Woot! Cake for everyone.
If you most over to the Black Library site now, you’ll be able to find the stories on the front page. Here’s a link to mine btw… it’s called Only Ash Remains.
Quicky then, it takes place after Nocturne and sort of (unofficially) kicks off the Circle of Fire sequence. It’s only 1,000 words long, so don’t expect massive swathes of story but I reckon there’ll be plenty of juicy little teases in there for fans of the series. Go check it out, and while you’re at it check out the other fantastic 1,000 word stories by my lovely colleagues and fellow writers.
You’ll also be able to find a bunch of stuff on the Black Library Facebook and Twitter feed (oh, and the website itself) where each writer comments on the process of writing a short, short story. Plus there’s some commentary from the other contributing writers on the other stories. Shazam!
Regardless of how long or short a story happens to be, there is definitely a different discipline and skill set required for varying length (oo-err, madam). I know some writers that baulk at having to write a short story and the idea of writing a 1,000 word piece would probably keel them over. Others grow pale at the thought of a novel or just can’t seem to get write that middling length, the novella.
I’ve had a go at pretty much everything. I like the short story format, especially audio (I think it’s the fact it forces me to be so immediate, have lots of dialogue and engage on a more cinematic level), but there’s something satisfying about writing a novella too. Novels tire me out, plain and simple. I am bloody shattered during and after writing a novel (especially a beast like The Great Betrayal which I’m working on now) but you can do so much more in terms of character and plot development. It’s also my bread and better, so I’m not stopping any time soon.
In running terms (as it’s an analogy I understand pretty well), a short, short (let’s say 1-5,000 words) is like a sprint, energised, rapid, urgent; a short story (about 10,000 words) is like a 5k run, you know you’re doing it and can’t fly off like a lunatic but it’s not so long that it takes much out of you; a novella (25-30,000 words) is a 10k race, you need to train a bit, figure out your route, keep a steady pace and push at the end; whereas (and, yes, you’ve guessed it…) a novel is a marathon (or even half marathon), it takes a long time, requires loads of work being put in beforehand and leaves you exhausted but satisfied at the end.
Nick Kyme is an editor and author who originally hails from Grimsby, a small town on the east coast of England.
March 25th, 2012 at 2:48 pm
Even my own fanfic is longer than 1000 words… I think there is absolute no point even to start so short story if it isn’t postmodernic-story.
March 25th, 2012 at 6:04 pm
Can’t say I agree with your there, Remos. It’s possible to tell a story in a 1,000 words. Look at haiku for instance – that’s even less. And I don’t think it’s anything to do with postmodernism, either.
March 25th, 2012 at 6:58 pm
Thanks for the replying to my question nick, not the answer i was hoping for. But knowing that there is an answer and that its coming, is good enough.
March 26th, 2012 at 5:35 am
In my opinion , the short story format is a good one for people who start to write .You learn how to make a situation , a dialogue … already in the action , you have to go to the essential . You don’t have to stress your brain with a machiavelic structure , to make your novel a good one .
Personnaly when I started to wrote novellas ( around 20 or 30 pages ) I done this way : I had some ideas of situations , actions , dialogues … So I wrote short scenes . And then I try to mix them , to make them joining in one story .
I think its a good way of writing for people who like writing but who don’t havve the time to , because they have not the time to …
March 26th, 2012 at 9:27 am
I loved your short short story
. Totally called the revelation at the end, though, but it made me squeee with delight nonetheless.
A little question though, Zartath reminded me a lot of Wolverine here, was that your intention?
“I’m the best at what I do, and what I do aint nice…”
March 26th, 2012 at 11:10 am
I agree with liliedhe, I loved it. Even though it’s shortness was short I totally visualised this story in my head, tool my time with it and… also I’ll admit I also squee’d a little to
I’ve also decided this week even though I have a hectic schedule selling Video Games for a living I’m going to attempt to write a short story (10,000 words). It’s been a while since I’ve used that side of my brain!
March 26th, 2012 at 11:11 am
Just seen the neil roberts cover for your new hh novel, looks awesome is this what you were hinting at?
March 26th, 2012 at 12:46 pm
This artwork is totally awesome ! Is it the Vulkan’s helmet on it ?! I already dream of this short story/ novella/ novel / whatever it is !
March 26th, 2012 at 2:42 pm
circle of fire? is this your new salamanders trilogy? sick!
March 26th, 2012 at 4:36 pm
think its scorched earth that nick mention in a previous entry “Scorched Earth is next up. This is a Horus Heresy novella that won’t be limited edition but will be a forerunner to a later novel I have in the works. It’s set in the aftermath of Isstvan V and features two Salamander characters searching for Vulkan’s body amongst the ruins and devastation. Expect a cameo from one of the Iron Hands in ‘Feat of Iron’ too… Oh, and the cover by Neil Roberts is absolutely stunning. Very moody and something rather different for the Horus Heresy, not really seen before.”
March 27th, 2012 at 8:34 am
Remos
Have to say I totally agree with Nick (but then I’m a writer too and back in the day wrote short pieces of colour text for GW Army books and Codexes).
Have you heard of the Six Word Stories? My favourite was this one my Alan Moore:
Machine. Unexpectedly, I’d invented a time
You can read more here: http://www.sixwordstories.net/
April 25th, 2012 at 1:21 pm
I would like to ask you a new question Sir : Can you talk about working with other author in a collection (Horus Heresy). What sort of compromise you must do ?
In the same way can you talk about the feeling of other autors who use the character of other author in there book . For example how do you feel if one of the character that you created (for exa
April 25th, 2012 at 1:22 pm
….. oups !!! Sorry
…that you created (for example the primarch Vulkan ) is used by other author in a way that you don’t like ?
September 19th, 2012 at 2:19 am
Away, ye, from the twitter and facebook, and back to the blog!