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I wish I could write long, plotty stories with time for a slow build and lots of character development, I really do. But I just don't have the time. It's not just a matter of physically having time to actually get the words down, it's even more about having clear time to sit and think, develop stuff. With work, kids, husband, studying etc etc I just don't have the luxury of long periods of uninterrupted me-time very often.
So I write a lot of shorter pieces. But that's good, too, if a slightly different discipline. The challenge with a short piece is to be completely focused. You need to have a clear image or idea that you want to put across, you need to make every word count, you need to make it feel as though it's part of a bigger story/world that exists somewhere, you need to leave your readers feeling as though there's more, you need to leave them with a strong idea or image or emotion to carry away from the piece.
The real secret, of course, is in what you don't say. In what you hint at. In what you leave the reader to fill in for themselves. (Of course in fanfiction you are aided by the fact that most readers will already know something about your characters, which is - mostly - helpful.)
That's why I was pleased with how I must down to the seas came out. From the comments I've had on it, I think I succeeded in what the piece set out to do: to tell in under 500 words a story of two lives together and apart, of love and loss and longing. It's the unspoken, hinted-at backstory that makes it work.
So I write a lot of shorter pieces. But that's good, too, if a slightly different discipline. The challenge with a short piece is to be completely focused. You need to have a clear image or idea that you want to put across, you need to make every word count, you need to make it feel as though it's part of a bigger story/world that exists somewhere, you need to leave your readers feeling as though there's more, you need to leave them with a strong idea or image or emotion to carry away from the piece.
The real secret, of course, is in what you don't say. In what you hint at. In what you leave the reader to fill in for themselves. (Of course in fanfiction you are aided by the fact that most readers will already know something about your characters, which is - mostly - helpful.)
That's why I was pleased with how I must down to the seas came out. From the comments I've had on it, I think I succeeded in what the piece set out to do: to tell in under 500 words a story of two lives together and apart, of love and loss and longing. It's the unspoken, hinted-at backstory that makes it work.
