Should you Write Short Stories?

To Short or not to Short? That is the question.

Is it good to write short stories?

Is it practise for writing your novel?

Is it a good way of making money?

Or...

Is it a waste of time?

Is it a distraction?

Will it really pay?

Short stories have great reviews, and also a lot of negative ones. But which is it? Should you use them in your writing routine?

Here are the Pros and Cons of Writing Short Stories so you can decide if they're right for you.

The Pros;

1. Good Practise

Though you do not use all the techniques you would whilst writing a full novel, writing a short does allow you to practise Show Vs Tell, Description, Dialogue and various other writing techniques. Heck, it can even help with practising grammar and spelling.

2. Test Ideas

A novel is between 70,000-110,000 words. That's a lot of writing. And if you get halfway through and realise your idea sucks... That is soul destroying. Where as Short Stories are anything below 10,000 words. That's a lot less words to lose if you decide the story isn't for you.

3. Characterisation

You could use short stories to get to know your characters. Write their daily life, their likes and dislikes. See how they'd react under pressure. By practising with your character in short stories, you should be able to write a well rounded character in your novel.

4. WorldBuilding

No body wants an info dump in the novel. But, as an author, you need to know your world inside out. Can writing this all down in one place help? Yes! It helps you memorise your world and could also bring up questions as to what would be the protocol if something happened. What is their currency? Their government? What are the laws? What happens if you break these laws? What materials grow around them? What are their houses built from? Do they have houses? A few shorts could answer these questions. A lot of which you might not need in your actual novel.

5. Gain Visibility

Like AuthorTube Channels, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMil00gTD83X69OV_H-SzAw?view_as=subscriber ;)

Short Stories can be used to gain visibility as a writer. This could be by posting them on your blog or website, sending them to magazines, or entering them into competitions. Your Short Stories get your name out there before your novel is ready, thus making the route to publishing a little easier. An author who used this route was George. R. R. Martin.

6. Resume Builders

When you apply to an agent or publisher, the more work you have under your belt the better. This does not have to be full length novels. Winning short story competitions or having a short published in a magazine counts! Like any job, experience is crucial.

And now for The Cons;

1. Time

Writing Short Stories takes time, which could be better spent writing your actual book?

2. Addictive

Writing Shorts can be addictive. You can finish them quicker than a novel, get reviews faster, sometimes more people are likely to read them. This means more pats on the back for finishing something. If you get addicted to writing shorts, you will not finish your book.

3. Is it really practise?

Writing a Short Story ultimately uses very different techniques to writing a full novel. The pacing is different. It might be easy for you to keep the readers attention for 10,000 words, but can you keep it for 80,000?

4. Distraction

Every second you're writing something else is a second you're not writing your novel. Simple.

But what's your opinion? Ultimately it is your choice.

I personally like to write shorts, but I limit myself to one short every 3 months. I use this in my blog to advertise my writing, to practise my word-building and get to know my characters. But I am aware of their downfalls and try not to spend too much time on them. If I were to enter a competition, I would spend longer on that piece of work. But there's time for that yet ;)

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