Short stories are works of art that require literary genius to construct. Some of my favorite pieces of fiction are short stories, purely due to the fact that it takes a lot of talent to tell an entire story in a few pages and oftentimes even manage to construct a well thought out twist at the end of the piece.
I consider the master of the short story to be Saki (Hector Hugo Munro). His simplistic, yet enchanting style of writing mocks the standards of Edwardian society whilst painting intricate and humorous scenes. His characterization is absolutely flawless, each character is developed just enough and is able to serve their niche in the story without having to introduce a giant backstory to clarify their personality.
My personal favorite stories of Saki would probably be "The Interlopers" and "The Open Window"
It's also very interesting to note that Saki died on my birthday... Hmmm.
Of course, I also consider Isaac Asimov to be another short story master. He's generally believed to be the father of modern science fiction and laid down the foundation for many of the modern science fiction writers of today. It's rare to find a science fiction author who doesn't cite Asimov as an inspiration. His short story "The Last Question" is brilliant.
- McConnell
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soooo true. It takes a unique talent to describe a full story in just a couple of pages...
ReplyDeleteStephen King said that a long novel is like a love story--and that a short story is quite different, like a kiss in the dark from a stranger.
Ah, Stephen....how I heart u.
Huh. You're right, short stories much be so much harder to write because the author has to be brief but thorough. I'm going to look into those authors, they sound interesting.
ReplyDeleteHave you every tried writing a short story of your own? I agree that there is a certain talent in writing a short story and have especially enjoyed collaborative short stories where multiple authors of longer stories writing around 200 words back and forth and come up with a short story that way. It can produce an interesting result. Have you ever read any of Jack London or Edgar Allen Poe's stories?
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