In Defense of Short Stories

by Courtney R. Hall

Photo by Hyoung-Won Park on Flickr

​As a lifelong reader, avid writer, and recent graduate student pursuing a MA in Writing degree ('24), I have a confession to make: I cannot recall reading a short story for my own pleasure prior to attending graduate school. I, of course, had to study short stories throughout primary and high school, but they always seemed to be one-off stories in a textbook rather than part of a cohesive and meticulously curated collection. Craving an escape, my younger self epitomized the stereotypical book-obsessed-child, and this yearning has profoundly shaped my literary journey. It predominantly drew me toward novels and longer works of fiction and nonfiction—a literary habit I didn’t know I possessed until recently.

---

In a recent meeting with a colleague, we were discussing feeling like oddballs in our respective graduate program cohorts. I told her how I felt like the boring one in my group because what I like to write and read is commonly referred to as “sad girl lit” while everyone else seems to be writing beautiful and insightful poetry collections, or high fantasy novels with carefully crafted worlds and exciting characters. She told me she was the only person writing short stories, and that it felt like everyone else was interested in writing novels or full length memoirs. At the time of this conversation, I was reading a short story collection I found available through Libby, because I decided that if I have time to flick through Reddit on my phone and read posts with titles like “AITA for telling my sister to stop saying I have pretty privilege and it’s her fault she looks ugly” (real title), then I have the time to read something that will not instantly put me in a foul mood, or leave my mind as quickly as it scrolled in.

​This, of course, led to me doing a deep dive into the history of short stories. While the earliest appearance of short stories can be traced back to before humans could write, our focus is on modern short stories. They simultaneously popped up in Germany, the United States, France, and Russia, and their definition was argued for years—the argument being do short stories need to be a true tale, or can they be impressionistic, such as the ones written and still celebrated today by Edgar Allen Poe? Like most things that have seemingly existed since the dawn of time, the origin of short stories can be attributed to several countries, languages, and authors, but it would be hard to deny that Poe molded the American short story. His stories first appeared in weekly periodicals, and the success of one in particular landed him a prize and a position as an associate editor. Imagine if it were that easy today.

​The decline and eventual end of this practice can be attributed to many things, but it’s a tale as old as time in American history: money.

Outside of Poe, it wasn’t uncommon to find short stories, or serial fiction, in periodicals and newspapers in the late 19th century all the way to the 1970s. Even beloved Sherlock Holmes gained his popularity from being featured in a series of short stories in the Strand Magazine from 1891. The decline and eventual end of this practice can be attributed to many things, but it’s a tale as old as time in American history: money. Why dedicate a page to a short story when you can fill it up with four different ad placements instead? It’s a shame, because if this practice had continued into the 21st century, reading and writing short stories would likely be a greater part of our culture, perhaps on par with the novel.

Photo via Canva

​What makes novels so great is that there is time to build worlds and complex characters with dynamic relationships. It’s the same reason why I have always preferred television to movies, and why my favorite television series have seasons close to or in the double digits. But there’s a certain quality in short stories that can’t be replicated in any other medium. A short story grants you the opportunity to dance in and out of a specific moment or time in a character’s life. Novels lend themselves to covering months, years, and sometimes even decades in the imaginary lives of others, skating over the smaller moments in life to create a bigger picture. Short stories serve as a literary reminder that life is made up of small, weird, and intimate moments. However, there are many that treat the short story as if it were a stepping stone to writing long form.

Photo by Unseen Studio on Unsplash

​Many writers that want to write long form stories are instructed to start with short stories. It makes sense if you don’t think about it for too long; if you want to learn how to run a 5k, you start by running a mile. Similarly, writers and graduate students who have their stargazed eyes set on being published one day may start by writing and submitting short stories to literary journals as a way to get their feet wet.  

But this line of thinking underestimates the mile run, or in our case, the short story. It creates an air of limbo the short story exists in; it’s often seen as a starting point to something else, something deemed as greater, rather than a medium of its own. By regarding short stories as a means to an end rather than stand alone works of art, their narrative impact is lost, and the level of precision put into each word is undervalued. A lot of work goes into weaving together complex characters, themes, and arcs in a limited format, and audiences don’t typically think about all of the words written and tossed aside to find just the right ones that make the cut.

​Perhaps one of the reasons that short stories have fallen to the wayside in the literary zeitgeist is that there is a perception that they are not as profitable as novels. When was the last time you heard of a short story writer topping The New York Times Best Sellers List, or scoring a deal with Reese Witherspoon’s media company Hello Sunshine? Like any skill or hobby, there are always people that are in it for the art themselves, and others pursuing it with dollar signs in their eyes. While there are plenty of people that post their writing online for free, it is typically done by poets rather than short story or novel writers. Those that take the time to write a story do not want to post their work online for free, especially because it can forfeit the piece’s ability to be published in a literary magazine or collection. Living in a capitalist society, coupled with the American emphasis on perpetual productivity, means that people often seek or anticipate a financial return on the substantial time they invest. Given the frequent promotion of new success stories featuring writers who transition from rags to riches, it's unsurprising that novels appear to many as a more promising and worthwhile endeavor for a writer.

Short stories serve as a literary reminder that life is made up of small, weird, and intimate moments.

Maybe it is none of these reasons at all that short stories have lost their sparkle. Writing a short story requires great skill as a writer: it necessitates the word choice of a poet, the characterization of a novelist, and the scene painting of an artist. Point blank: it is not an easy feat. The writer needs to be so in tune with the material that they know when exactly things need to be written and explained, and, in turn, know when certain things can be said without words or left for the reader to decide. It is a balancing act, and the reader’s attention is at stake. It is much easier to quit reading a short story compared to a novel. 

I myself struggle to stop reading a novel when I am not enjoying it due to the investment of time. But this writer is also making it a point to add more short stories into her everyday life, whether it is by flipping through lit mags or reading short story collections on my phone while waiting for a doctor’s appointment. Not only do I see it beneficial to myself as a writer and a storyteller, but it makes me feel like I am being a good and proper literary citizen. I encourage you to venture into the realm of short stories yourself, and marvel at the artistry of new and emerging writers. Now, more than ever, we could all use refreshingly crafted stories written with intention and nuance.