Welcome back to another Open Book Blog Hop!

Today’s topic is: Do you ever write short stories? What do you see as the biggest difference in the writing process between a short story and a full-length book?

And remember to pay a visit to my fellow writers to see what they have come up with. You can find their works here!

This topic feels really rather timely – at present, I am working on a trilogy of short stories. I’ve also contributed one to an anthology, Connections. And there is a smattering of other assorted short stories and flash fiction pieces to be found on my website, too. So it’s safe to say I am no stranger to writing shorter-form fiction. I thoroughly enjoy taking an idea and playing with it, seeing how I can craft a story from it.

Writing a novel is almost an easier task. You have a considerably greater word count available with which to set backstory, develop characters and ultimately build worlds. You have ample time to work on all of the nuances and add in all the detail to make a world rich, textured and alive. It is a process, much like my other love – Lego – of building everything one brick at a time. The Stand, for example, is an exceptional novel. A book of incredible size. But beyond that, contained within its thousand-plus pages are some of the most incredible world-building, spectacular narratives and rich, colourful characters.

A short story is an entirely different project. What can be done in 70,000 words or more in a novel, well over 100,000 in some cases, must take place in, say, 5,000 words. Less, even. A great many less if we are talking about flash fiction. So what is different beyond the word count? Not a great deal. Let me explain. A short story does not lack any of the elements found in its much longer counterparts. There are rich characters, narratives, and living worlds. But the biggest difference is that these all must be compressed into a much smaller word count. It takes a more restrained hand to fit everything into a more compact story.

While I said at the start that novels were almost easier, that was something of a flippant statement. Yes, it is a touch easier to craft an entire world, populate it and create stories for its inhabitants in a novel, but it is by no means easy. Some will labour over their writing for long passages of time, for others, it will come more easily. But ultimately to see either piece of writing – novel or short story – to completion is a great achievement in and of itself.