Over the recent decades, many literary forms have shortened. Print magazines slimmed, Instagram blurbs summarized news articles, and texting replaced epistolary correspondences. Do these shifts signal waning attention spans and disinterest in reading? Or is being articulate an art?
This Third Thursday, three authors explained the strengths of short form writing. Carrie R. Moore, author of the forthcoming short story collection Make Your Way Home, Jose Hernandez Diaz, author of the poetry collection Portrait of the Artist as a Brown Man, and Tucker Leighty-Phillips, author of the short story collection Maybe This is What I Deserve, discuss three short styles: poetry, flash fiction, and short story.
Each author arrived at short form writing via a different route. While attending workshops at the Michener Center, short stories seduced Moore. By learning the rules and patterns that structure short stories, Moore felt capable of breaking them intentionally. Leighty-Phillips discovered flash fiction while working at a bar. The short segments could be read while Leighty-Phillips committed “time theft” between tasks. He dubs this style the “working class form” since it could be squeezed in between other responsibilities. Diaz began by writing linear verse poetry about the experience of growing up as a first generation Mexican American in California. Attracted by a book cover featuring Dali, Diaz discovered James Tate’s prose poetry. Inspired, he began to blend his cultural imagery with absurdism and surrealism.
From a craft perspective, the authors strategize how to write short fiction. Leighty-Phillips sets up his flash fiction with the structure of a joke; however, the punchline doesn’t necessarily deliver humor. Instead, it might provide an emotional punch. To prevent repetitiveness and avoid trope territory, Leighty-Phillips moves the setups to different scenes and experiments with changing the emotional register that concludes the piece. Moore marries past and present in her short stories. She appreciates this form’s focus on compressed, transformative moments. In order to show how the past influences the present, Moore often feels like she’s telling dual narratives. When considering craft, Jose enjoys providing discovery for readers through spontaneity and surprise. He discards rote formulas in favor of adapting while writing. Whereas other absurdist authors skew universalist, Diaz’s incorporation of Mexican and Mexican American imagery grounds his work in culture specific moments.
The boundary between flash and short stories often blurs. Leighty-Phillips admits that he doesn’t differentiate between the two genres. Usually, he delineates based off of the time needed to read a story. Moore agrees with Leighty-Phillips that genres can be limiting; however, she explains that the short story engages readers in different ways. In flash fiction, the author can take more risks because of the condensed form. In contrast, short stories spend more time establishing rules and expectations, which makes readers reluctant to trust the author if those rules are broken later on in the story. Diaz specifies that prose poems and flash fiction feel more disorienting than short stories. Because there’s not room to explain everything, authors can make experimental gestures and are excused from explaining everything.
Since short forms are often published in collections, authors must consider how to group their work. Each author approaches shaping their collections in different ways. Moore began with an idea for her collection, and then she filled in the frame with individual stories. In order to create a comprehensive love letter to the black south, she engages different types of characters and geography in each short story. Additionally, she purposefully writes stories that argue with one another, showing the diversity and contradictions of different characters. Moore knows she’s finished a collection when her stories address a topic from each side. In contrast Leighty-Phillips begins with stories and then recognizes thematic throughlines. At that point, he crafts a title and works towards supporting that title. As the title evolves, he continues to shape the narrative towards the new title. Diaz marks his readiness with page numbers—about 70. He approaches poems individually and then creates a map. He often creates series, such as series of man in the Pink Floyd Shirt.
The precision of short forms demands rigorous revision. In her initial drafts, Moore overwrites because she wants to ensure that she communicates all of her ideas, then she carves down the word count. She attempts to make sure that each repeated word acquires meaning over the course of the story; removing unnecessarily repeated words compresses the story. She also remains aware of her anxiety to over explain and cuts extra details. If she tries too hard to convince the reader through overwhelming detail, the reader will sense a lie and struggle to suspend disbelief. Diaz revises by removing bulkiness and awkwardness in order to create a direct style. Although he wants to write publishable work on the first draft, he knows that adding and removing details enhances fluidity. In order to edit, he constantly reads his work aloud until it sounds right. For Leighty-Phillips revision is a holistic process: occurring while walking or showering. He considers whether his piece strikes an emotional chord or causes readers to cringe. After hammering out the structure, he fills in the arc. He often asks himself: “is this a story or is this the description of a story?” If he answers the latter, then he uses action and dialogue to transform the piece from summary to story.
Despite the common misconception, short fiction and poetry can succeed in the publishing world. Moore and Leighty-Phillips appreciate the dedication of small presses to crafting and promoting their books. Leighty-Phillips selected his publisher, Split Lip Press, based on reading and enjoying their previous titles. Moore affirms that Tin House believes in story collections. Leighty-Phillips promoted his book by crafting readings and event series in places that usually lack literary events. He also put his readings in conversation with different mediums of art to create a new texture. For Diaz, the online world provided an audience and community for his work. Although his family did not appreciate his poetry, Diaz found a home for his work in online forums. He began to seek publication by submitting to contests and later by querying small presses. Moore encourages authors to consider their writing before thinking about their public platform. By loving their work, authors will tap into something human and genuine. In her early drafts, Moore listens to her work, and then she later considers how to attract an audience.
For more insight into writing and publishing, please join the Writers’ League of Texas for May Third Thursday: “Real-World Stakes in Science Fiction and Fantasy.”