Genre-crossing

I was helping someone with her synopsis recently. (Please don't be tempted to ask me to help you, by the way! This was a special situation. To you, I will merely say, "I wrote Write a Great Synopsis - BUY IT!" )

Anyways. During the conversation, this arose:

REJECTING THE GENRE NOT THE WRITING

A comment from a blog-reader recently needs answering. He said he'd been told during one-to-one feedback sessions (with an agent, I think), "No one can sell medical thrillers, so write something else." He went on to say that in some ways he preferred this to being told that his writing wasn't good enough and that he found it helpful because he had "a better idea of what I'm aiming at - something where they at least reject the genre rather than the writing."

Back to that in a moment.

This links to something else that happened recently. I was chatting with a senior commissioning editor at a major children's publisher and when she heard I was doing an event on how to write for children that day she said, "Tell them not to do anything with vampires. People are always sending us vampire stuff and we don't want any more."

So, obediently, I relayed this message during my talk. I thought I noticed one member of the audience blanche and when it came to Q&A she asked, "That editor who didn't want vampires - was that [name redacted]?" I replied that it was. She blanched further. She told me afterwards that she was actually seeing this same editor for a meeting later that day, AND it was a vampire story she was pitching. Anyway, when I saw her again later, she was beaming. "She's asked to see the whole thing," she said. "She's interested!" Yep, the editor who said she didn't want any more vampires was interested in a vampire story.

Which just goes to show a very important truth: publishers (and therefore agents) do not reject a genre, unless of course it's actually a genre they specifically don't handle. They reject the book or the writing. Almost always. You can overcome any amount of tiredness or disillusion with great, sparkling writing, a wonderful voice, a new take on an old theme. And the easiest way for an agent or publisher to reject a story they don't think has those elements is to say, "We're not publishing vampires any more," or "No one's selling medical thrillers."

They might mean it's difficult to sell more vampires or it's difficult to sell medical thrillers and that therefore the writing has to be even better, but if you get it right someone will buy it.

However, having your writing rejected does NOT necessarily mean that you're not a good enough writer, only that you didn't get it right this time.

It's all in the story.

SHORT STORY MAGIC from TOM VOWLER

There's a writer I know who lives all tucked away in Devon where no one can properly see him. He's just got engaged, so obviously someone saw him, but I know many more people are going to see him one day because his first book, The Method, a collection of short stories, is blow-away magic. I cried on a train. I have cried on trains before but that was with frustration. This was proper. And The Method won the inaugural Scott Prize so it's not just me.

Tom writes and edits fiction. He’s just finished a novel and has recovered sufficiently to consider another. This is one seriously talented writer, and I say that as one who doesn't really do short stories. But these have really stuck with me. I sure as hell hope Tom's novel will be published SOON because I want to read it.

Here is Tom's blog. And his Facebook page. Here is The Method on Book Depository. And here is the page on Salt's website. And here is Tom's interview.

NM: So, Tom, what is this book? (Published tomorrow, by the way.)

The Method is an award-winning collection of short stories. Its characters are all good at losing things: lovers, children, hope, the plot. The past tends to theme heavily, with its inexorable grip on the present. As does revenge. There is humour, tenderness and tragedy in equal measure.

NM: Why short stories? What's in them for you?

I love the form’s immediacy and intensity, its potential to dazzle, to startle, all in a few thousand words. Whilst it can hold a mirror up to reality, to the nuances of our complex, beautiful and flawed lives, it can also transcend it, capturing the more visceral aspects of what it is to be human. As someone once said: ‘Each of us has a thousand lives, but a novel gives a character just one.’

NM: With a novel, we find ourselves drawn into one complex story. What's different about the ideas for shorts, do you think?

They usually come from the big masquerading as the small. A condemning look between lovers. A barely noticed news item. A throwaway remark. An aside in a waiting room. An anecdote in the pub. Snatched moments, glimpsed, where I ask myself ‘What if…?’ before weaving them into a narrative. I almost never start with character or place, but with something abstract: a concept, a dilemma.

NM: In practical terms, what’s the journey from this initial spark to the final version?

It’s often a longer one than people imagine. Working on a novel, I might write a thousand words a day, two thousand on a good one. But a story seems to require more precision, more consideration, even at this early stage. Once the ideas are all in place and I have some sense of where I’m going, it’s as if that’s the block of ice or marble, and now the careful sculpting can begin. So the bones of a story might take a week or so to compose, but I can be months tweaking it, leaving it to mature between drafts, returning with a scalpel, ruthless. And then some way through this I’ll start to read it aloud, listening for awkward phrases, repetitions, getting a feel for the piece’s rhythm. I check I’ve taken care not to force feed the story to the reader. Finally, I ask whether it would suffer if I took something out, whether a sentence is working as hard as it should be, if there’s sufficient dramatic tension, emotional intensity, conflict.

NM: How much of this process is inspiration, how much technique and craft?

Good question. I’m reminded of a writer saying that they couldn’t write unless they were inspired, and that they made sure inspiration flowed every morning at nine o’clock. If you only wrote when you felt inspired, your output would be rather meagre. So you need technique, craft and habit to fall back on. Inspiration comes in mercurial bursts, for me usually when I’m walking and have forgotten my notebook. Or at 4am. Or standing at first slip waiting for the cricket ball. But writers, as they say, write. Whatever the mood. Discipline and tenacity will always dwarf the wonderful eureka moments.

NM: Some of your stories have formal structures - do you plan that in advance or does the structure come by chance?

Certain subjects lend themselves to different narrative structures. I might have what I believe is a fantastic story with a powerful voice, yet for some reason it doesn’t quite work. And rather than discard it wholly, this is when it’s time to experiment with the piece’s architecture. Perhaps the linear chronology would be more effective were it fragmented. Maybe the story’s arc takes little risk as it is. Is the wrong person telling the story? You have to be flexible, murdering not just your darlings, but sometimes the entire nature of what you’ve written. Break some of the rules. Take a risk or two.

NM: You came to fiction (both as a reader and writer) relatively late; can you tell us a little about how you found books, or how they found you.

Yes, to my shame, with the exception of a compulsory text or two at school, I didn’t read a novel until my mid-twenties, which seems extraordinary now. An acupuncturist started giving me reading lists as part of the treatment. The first was Kafka’s The Trial, which, as first books go, chucks you in the deep end, I suppose. But it was an extended bout of illness that saw me write anything myself. Stuck on a sofa for weeks, months at a time: what else was there to do? I think a brief career as a journalist helped my sense of timing, but it was a creative writing MA that really focused my attentions. For all their criticisms, the course was the first time I took myself seriously as a writer.

NM: So, if you didn't have as many years practising as most writers - all those years of rubbish experimentation - how did you get to this point so quickly and so surely? Teacher? Inspirer? MASSES of reading?

I suppose I have had to catch up, yes. As an editor of short fiction I found myself reading a thousand of so stories a year - good, bad and indifferent. And I rarely stray from reading work removed from what I write - though I certainly intend to - so focused, yes. I'm not a great believer in innate ability; if you put the hours (years) in, it's a fairly even playing field.

[Major disagreement alert. I think Tom absolutely displays innate ability, honed by fantastically focused practice. You just don't get to be this good without innate ability. I've seen the MSS of aspiring writers who've been writing all their lives and are nowhere near as good. So, shut up, please, and behave.]

NM: Which short story writers do you read, and why?

I see, sneaking two questions into one. The first part is easy, and for the most part is reflective of what I like to write. Glancing up, a section of my shelf reads: Updike, Proulx, William Trevor (x4), James Salter, Carver, Ali Smith, Mike McCormack, Jane Gardam, Kevin Barry, Clare Wigfall. Andrew Flintoff (how did he get there?). Whilst it would be hard to pinpoint an obvious connection in style or theme between all of them, they are all great storytellers. I read them for their brilliant timing, the subtle slipping in of a phrase, a moment, that might hit you like a train, or stun you with its resonance and wonder. You almost see it coming, but of course you don’t. Perhaps the perfect example of this is the story ‘Last Night’ by James Salter, which, for me, contains one of the most powerful, albeit subtle, scenes in short fiction. Another would be Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery’, a story that, I imagine, stays with you a lifetime. But William Trevor is the master at this. I dare say he could kill you with a sentence if he wished.

_________________________

Maybe, but I think Tom's prose is deathless. And that's better.

And he's jealous of me because I once went to tea with William Trevor in his (WT's) house, and there are not many people who can say that.

Tom, thank you and good luck. Everyone, I do wholly recommend this book. Go read.

IN FACT... there's a chance for one lucky reader in the UK to win a signed copy of The Method. All you have to do is say in a comment below why you'd love to win it, and Tom will pick one lucky winner. He might do it by a random method or it might be that your words will woo him, but you can be sure that there will be his method in it...

INTERVIEW WITH IAN RANKIN

The "needs no introduction" cliché was never more true, but it's very rude not to introduce someone, so I will. Ian Rankin is the UK's No 1 best-selling crime author, creator of the lugubrious detective, Rebus, and general all-round star of the Scottish writing scene. (And much further afield, too, of course, but we like to claim him for ourselves.) I used to live round the corner from him, until I moved to the better side of town. Considering his huge busyness, I was hesitant about asking him to come on this blog as an interviewee, but I'm glad I did and very pleased indeed to welcome him here. I'm also glad to say that Mr Rankin revealed himself to be as ill-disciplined as the rest of us when he said he was answering my questions as a displacement activity when he was supposed to writing something else.

There was a particular reason why I wanted to talk to Ian. I'd seen him interviewed in the Guardian, which was partly quoting something in the Word, in which he had said something about how his language had changed between his first novel and more recent ones. Since I'd been thinking a lot about whether writing and reading styles are changing, I wanted to unpick this a bit. Is it really true that we all have to write more snappily than writers did a generation ago?

As an aside, I've always been grateful to Ian for choosing the title Fleshmarket Close for his novel that came out shortly after my Fleshmarket. This means that when people hear I'm a writer and ask me what I've written, I say Fleshmarket, and their eyes light up as they say, "OOH, Fleshmarket! I've heard of that!" Now, I know it's usually Fleshmarket Close they've heard of but they're happy and I'm happy and anyone in earshot thinks I must be famous, so why would I care?

ALSO, when my Fleshmarket had just come out, I was in a branch of Borders and saw a chalk board with the notice, "Ian Rankin will be signing copies of Fleshmarket here tomorrow." I contemplated adding, "by NICOLA MORGAN" to the board but opted for asking the manager why Ian Rankin was going to be signing copies of my book when I had definitely not given him permission. The cheek of it.

Anyway, you're waiting to hear from our guest. So, here we go:

NM: You were a PhD student when you were writing The Flood. And you are quoted in The Word as saying, "Jesus, it's like the writing of a PhD student." How much of that style do you think came from your academic environment, how much from the idealism of youth and how much because the style of writing in those days just was different? Do you remember what you thought about what type of novelist you were or wanted to be?

IR: That interview I did for The Word... I'm misquoted slightly (always happens). The book I was referring to was not my first novel (The Flood) but the first Rebus novel (Knots and Crosses). I do feel K and C is overwritten. There's a phrase in it – 'the manumission of dreams' – I have no idea these days what that means. At the time, I probably just wanted to use the word manumission. In other words, I was showing off. There's a lot of literary game-playing in that book, as befits a PhD student whose head was full of deconstruction and structuralism.  Oddly, there's not nearly as much of that kind of thing in The Flood, which was trying to be Scottish Literature (in the Neil Gunn/Robin Jenkins mould).  Plenty of overt symbolism in The Flood, but not so heavy on the 'jouissance'. [NM returns from consulting the dictionary and now knows what manumission means.]

What type of novelist did I want to be?  Literary. Revered. The usual. But also without the embarrassment of going cap in hand to the Scottish Arts Council for money to live on. I was hoping to be commercial. Hence the crime novel. After which I tried a spy novel (Watchman) and a high-tech thriller (Westwind). Even had plans to write a horror novel. My early goal was to write a novel in every genre, but luckily that never happened.

NM: Naturally, our reading tastes change as we get older, but do you sense your reading tastes changing in other ways? Have you ever gone back to something you loved as a teenager and wondered how on earth you had the patience for it? I recently returned to one of my favourite novels from my youth, Dumas' The Black Tulip, and found it way too dense for my 21st century brain. And I recently read Candia McWilliams' memoir - you maybe have, too - and at first I was delighted to spend time with her incredibly convoluted but perfect sentences, sentences which you simply cannot read quickly, and I felt my brain being re-trained to read properly - but after a while, I found myself thinking of all the urgent things I had to do, and I missed out whole chunks. Do you think we're all so rushed these days that we're unable/unwilling to sit with something slow? What's going on??!

IR: My feeling is that we are not unlearning how to read long, complex novels. Indeed, there are more of them around than ever. Wolf Hall is hardly emaciated.  Ditto A S Byatt's The Children's Book.  Ditto And the Land Lay Still by James Robertson.  Ditto Freedom by Jonathan Franzen.  These are books I've read during the past few months; not one clocks in at under 500 pages of dense prose.  We may live in fast-paced times with an immediacy to news and commentary, but we seem still to enjoy immersing ourselves in laconically-paced fictional worlds. [I wonder if the same applies for debut writers, though, writers where the publisher is taking more of a risk? I think debut writers have to have an eye to the market more than established, proven writers, and a very lengthy novel is a risk, in the eyes of publishers, and therefore a risk for the writer who really wants to be published.]

NM: Regarding your writing / genre now, you say, "Writers like me are part of the entertainment industry....In thrillers there's little room for purple prose" and "The style has got to be invisible. If something jars, or if a phrase is too flowery, suddenly the reader is aware that someone is writing a book,"  Do you think that writers now, at least in genres such as crime, thriller or YA writing, are and must be much more self-disciplined about the tightness of their prose than 30 years ago? 

IR: I don't think crime fiction has changed that much.  There was very little fat to be found in sentences penned by Raymond Chandler. I still enjoy crisp, speedy crime novels, but it's nice that there's also room for the occasional 'brick' (Larsson; Ellroy). Back in the 90s, I was told by someone in publishing that a crime novel of under 250 pages was only ever regarded by the trade as a crime novel, whereas one of 350 pages or over might be trying to say something about the world. In other words, might be veering towards literature.  Dunno about this, but my own novels did start to get a lot longer....

As for genres outside crime, look at the success of those very lengthy Harry Potter books. Some might say there was some fat there to be trimmed by a ruthless editor, but the excess didn't seem to do sales any harm. [NM: Note to other writers: lesser mortals can't often get away with this. Publishers have both eyes to costs these days and many won't contemplate something too long. And the JKR exception is just that, an exception. And exceptions don't prove rules. Just saying.]

NM: I often bang on about the importance of writing for readers, more than for ourselves as writers. Though of course we have to enjoy it, too, otherwise it's cynical and will show. How consciously and at what stages do you think of readers, if you do? Do you, like Stephen King, have an "Ideal Reader" in mind?

IR: I write first and foremost to entertain myself, and maybe to try to answer some question that's been bugging me about the state of the world.  This goes way back to when I first started writing short stories.  Whether anyone was ever going to read them or not, there was a real pleasure in crafting something that had never existed until you thought and wrote it into existence.  It was suddenly there, and very real.  You had brought it into the world.  At some point maybe the market comes into it, depending on your goals as a writer.  If you want financial success, it's easier if you know there's a public out there hungry for the kind of book you're writing. If you're writing experimental fiction, that audience may be harder to find than if you're penning crime stories.  It's a conversation you need to have with yourself: write with one eye on cold hard commercial reality, or stick to those early ideals and hope for the best. [NM: Very true, that bit about knowing what sort of book you're writing and why. Another thing I bang on about.]

NM: Can you give your top three pieces of advice for aspiring crime writers?

IR: I was asked this by the Guardian a while back.  I think I offered ten pieces of advice, at least three of which were 'get lucky'.  Luck is an important ingredient and there's nothing we can do about it.  (I took my 8-month old son to a book festival in the USA... a woman stopped to tell me how cute he was.. she introduced me to her publisher husband... he ended up reading my books and offering me a six-book deal.) But you also need to be persistent, toughened to criticism and rejection, you need to have read widely, and you need to have a story you feel no one before you has told. [NM: My bold and red because this is SO right.]

HOW WAS IT FOR YOU? (I ask published writers some quick questions about their route to publication.)
 
NM: How long did it take you from beginning to approach publishers / agents to being taken on?

IR: I was lucky in that I had a poem published at the age of 17 and short stories published in my early-20s, so I had a CV of sorts when I approached publishers. But my first ever novel (Summer Rites) was turned down by every publisher I showed it to. The Flood was eventually published in tiny numbers (200 hardbacks; 600 paperbacks) by a small publisher in Edinburgh.  Knots and Crosses was turned down by the first five publishers it went to. And for a long time after that, I was always on the verge of being dropped...  Success was a long time coming!

NM: Any rejections? Roughly how many? Any particularly memorable rejection letters?

I remember my rejection letter for Summer Rites from Gollancz.  They said the first two-thirds was fine but the last third needed a lot of work.  I just snorted. As far as I was concerned, it was perfect and I wasn't going to change a thing.  (The manuscript is still in my bottom drawer.)

NM: What do you think stopped you being published earlier?

IR: I almost wish I'd been published later.  Some of those early books are not very good.  And in Knots and Crosses I really had no idea what I was doing with the character of Rebus.  It as only later that I began to know him.

NM: It's well known that you had many books published before you became very successful - what was different about the book that changed it all? Was it the book, the publisher or something in the air?

IR: I think my 'breakthrough' was due to a number of factors.  One, I'd written a good book, a much better book than my previous efforts.  Two, it won a prize for the best crime novel of the year.  Three, my publisher had found a terrific fresh look for the jacket and the typography.  The book stood out from the crowd.  Four, I had returned to Edinburgh after 10 years away, six of them in rural France.  So I was available to talk at libraries and schools, do interviews, etc.  But although Black and Blue sold four times as many copies as my previous novels, it still didn't make the UK bestseller lists. I had to wait another 2 or 3 books to reach number one.  By then I had published about 15 books. A lengthy apprenticeship....

Ian, thank you so much. I think your answers show so many of the elements of hard work, perseverance, talent, and luck that have been involved in your success. It all sounds as logical as this business can ever be, very right, and very well-deserved.

To those of you struggling to get the breakthrough to publication and wondering why you're being rejected at the moment, take note of Ian's first reason for his eventual new success: "I'd written a good book, a much better book than my previous efforts." That's what we all have to do, whether in breaking through to publication or to a new level of success after publication.

Remember: publication is not the destination, but a stopping off point on the way.

YOU CAN WRITE? SO, YOU CAN SCREEN-WRITE

Recently, Adrian Mead did a guest post for me, talking about making a business of your writing, including the important aspect of diversifying. And he promised he'd come back and talk about one particular way in which a fiction writer can diversify: write for the screen. Here he is. I'm very grateful to him for giving up his time.

ADRIAN MEAD ON HOW TO GET INTO SCREEN-WRITING
Screenwriting is a huge subject, so I'm going to narrow it down and focus on some practical strategies and resources that can help you to decide if it is an area you wish to pursue.

Basically, it's adapt or die time.  If you hope to have a career as a professional writer you are going to have to diversify.  Top of your list should be getting work as a screenwriter. Why?  Well, for starters it pays considerably better than all other forms of writing.  Don't believe me? Take a look at the rates listed here -

http://www.writersguild.org.uk/public/005_WritersGuil/index.htmlhttp://www.writersguild.org.uk/public/005_WritersGuil/index.html

Oh, by the way, those are the basic rates before negotiations - you would expect to get a lot more once you have some level of experience.

Later I'll give you some links where you can download free screenplays and look at the formatting.  The first thing you will notice is masses of white space on the page and a maximum length of 120 pages.  You get paid a lot more per word than you do for writing a novel and in far less time! You would also expect to be writing a number of scripts at the same time. Do the sums.

With the huge growth of internet channels, the need for multi platform content and the likes of Sky and Channel 4 expanding their homegrown drama and comedy output the opportunities for screenwriters are multiplying - if you know where to look.  However, when you get your break you must be able to hit the ground running and work like a professional from day one.

I regularly get asked to mentor novelists and playwrights who wish to break into screenwriting. Many have now gained work in the TV and film industry. In every case the ones that succeeded had talent, but more importantly they also recognized the need to think of themselves as a one person business.  They became pro active, set goals and worked on their self belief.  Perhaps most importantly they made sure they were passionate about their writing, this meant they became 100% committed to their goal of becoming a professional screenwriter. 

How committed are you?  If you wish to be able write as an enjoyable hobby and maybe earn a little from it, screenwriting is definitely not for you. It pays well because you have to work to tight deadlines and the only feasible excuse for delivering late is your sudden and unexpected death.

However, if you love films and TV and are passionate about your work, then come join me in this fascinating and all consuming area of the writing world.  It still thrills me to watch the opening credits in a darkened cinema or with a room full of friends and family as your name comes up on screen and people bring your words to life.  Of course it's egotistical!  But you've earned it and in some cases your work reaches millions of people on the same night.

But how do you get to indulge in your Premier moment?  Well, there are literally thousands of books, internet sites, videos on you tube and writers groups dedicated to the craft of screenwriting.  I will attempt to boil it all down for you to four sources.

BOOK - Teach Yourself Screenwriting  - Raymond G. Frensham
Yes, it is part of that "Teach Yourself..." series.  However, I've spent hundreds of pounds on screenwriting books and this skinny little volume is the best and still gets great reviews on Amazon.  I have no idea who Mister Frensham is but every professional screenwriter I know agrees with me.

Don't be put off by the "rules' or diagrams. My advice would be to have a go at writing a script, then consult this book.  It is like a manual for fixing your car.

CAREER GUIDE - e book  Making It As A Screenwriter - Adrian Mead
Oh yes!  Why do I think I know best?  I don't, but masses of industry professionals think this is exactly what you should read. (see testimonials on my website www.meadkerr.com) ; It is on the reading list of numerous Screenwriting MA and Creative Writing courses and best of all your money goes to Childline.   Download it and get everything you need to plan your career strategy.

Download from www.meadkerr.com

WEBSITES
Millions of these out there but there's an awful lot of variation in quality.  The following have lots of great material.

www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom
Should be a first call for you. You download scripts from here and there is masses of useful information.  They accept and read work from new writers.

www.shootingpeople.org
You need to pay to join this site but it gives you access to lots of info and thousands of other filmmakers looking to find scripts, collaborate and make films.

PODCASTS - Making It As A Screenwriter - Adrian Mead
Is there no end to this man's ego? Well, actually the reason I've included this one is three fold. Folk have found this free series of 6x3 min videos very useful and hopefully so will you.

They are on the Scottish Book Trust website, which is a veritable treasure chest of information.  Here you will also find information about their mentoring scheme and their Screen Lab project.  Both schemes offer opportunities for writers wishing to cross disciplines into screenwriting or other areas of writing. It's only open to Scottish base writers and the envy of lots of other organizations - if you are not based in Scotland see if your local organization could put together something similar.

http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/writers-and-publishers/resources-and-information/making-it-as-a-screenwriter

SUMMING UP
Of course the most important step you can take to build your career is to WRITE SOMETHING!  Perhaps you have a short story or a poem that would work well as a short film?  Write the script, you only need to come up with 1-30 pages, lots of white space, go on give it a go.  There are lots of great examples of short films to inspire you at www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork

So to sum up, you need  -

    * Sample scripts.

    * Practical, bang up to date advice from people working in the industry right now.

    * An understanding of the key people you will work with and their roles. 

    * Knowledge of how to build and maintain those relationships, so they recommend you or hire you again.

    * Insider information about forthcoming opportunities for new writers.

    * A clear, simple and dynamic career building strategy.

Of course the best way to learn is to talk with people who are already working in the business and benefit from their experience. But where do you get to meet them?

Luckily for you we have put together a course to provide you with all this and much more.

If you would like to learn from successful Writers, Script Editors and Producers about how they got their break and what happens when you get hired to work in film and TV you need to grab your place now. This will be a fun, friendly and info packed day and will benefit writers of all levels who are interested in exploring a career as a screenwriter or script editor.

COURSE DETAILS
VENUE: St Columba's-by-the-castle
14 Johnston Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2PW

FEE: £85.00 (includes lunch and refreshments)

DATE: Saturday Oct 2nd 2010, 10am - 5.30pm

Book your place now at http://rewrite.eventbrite.com and get the insider knowledge you need to build your career.

_____________________________________

Thanks, Adrian - crystal clear and very, very interesting.

Any questions, anyone? (I'm away, but Catherine Hughes is keeping an eye on things for me.)

NIK PERRING ON WRITING

Yesterday on the Wasted blog, the lovely Nik Perring announced the results of my Flash Fiction competition, which he had very kindly judged. Today, I have asked him to come back and talk about his own experience of publication, focusing on the things he's learnt along the way. Whenever I interview people on this blog, I do so in order for you to take useful messages for your own situations. This is no exception.

In case you don't know him (and I know many of you do), Nik is a writer, and occasional teacher of writing, from the north west of England. His acclaimed short stories have been published widely in places including SmokeLong Quarterly, 3:AM and Word Riot. They’ve also been read at events and on radio, printed on fliers and used as part of a high school distance learning course in the US.

Nik’s debut collection of short stories, Not So Perfect is published by Roast Books, is out now, and is just so perfect). He blogs here and his website is here.

This isn't a proper interview because if it were I'd be asking questions. This time I just gave Nik some topics and asked him to busk about them. I knew he'd come up with the goods.

So, once again, over to Nik.

For the Fabulous Nicola Morgan (obvs, I had to leave that bit in...NM)
Nik’s thoughts on...

Things that might surprise an aspiring writer about being published

I remember an author friend of mine saying, a few years ago now, something like ‘having a book published doesn’t make everything all right’ and it’s true. I think before we’re published we have this idea that once we’ve a book in print it’ll wash away all the worries and stresses we have in our lives. It doesn’t. Though it is cool to have a book out there.

It is really, really, really hard work. And exhausting. I mean, writing the thing’s difficult enough (and that’s after all that time spent learning how to write well, after all those stories we’ve given up on) and then the submitting, the editing. But once you’ve signed that contract it’s as though, to a point, you’re starting from the beginning again. You have to work hard to promote your book. Your publisher will do what they can but, really, the hard work’s down to you. And that’s as it should be because it’s YOUR book and you should want to get out there and show it off. Books don’t sell themselves, and that’s especially true if you’re an author that few people have heard of. Which is most of us!

Don’t expect any favours. From friends or from reviewers. Of course some are lovely and only too pleased to have a look at your book and tell their readers what they think of it – but when you consider just how many books there are out there and how much time a reviewer has to read (or can choose to read and then choose to review), you should be truly grateful for any publicity. (I should mention that I’ve been incredibly fortunate that Not So Perfect has been really well received and has had lots and lots of positive reviews – thanks so much to those who’ve taken the time to do them.)

Something I’ve only realised recently is how efficient a "friend-filter" having this book come out has been. I’ve heard from people I’d not heard from in years and years and, in contrast, some of the people I’d have thought would have been the most pleased for me have shown little or no interest at all. And, I suppose, why should they? Which brings me back to the previous point and leads efficiently on to the next... as a writer, published or none, you’re not owed anything. If you’re doing it for the money or for the recognition or for the fame (ha!) you’ll most likely be pretty disappointed. You should, I think, do it for the love of it and consider yourself privileged if you’re able to do it as a job. (I should also add that ‘doing it as a job’ means writing and being able to give talks, run workshops etc etc...!)

My Relationship With Writing

It’s generally a good one I think. Because I write short stories I’m not in the intense and close relationship or marriage a novelist has with their book. Mine’s something different. My stories could be lovers or affairs just as easily as they could be half-controllable pets or children.

A friend of mine, the brilliant novelist Caroline Smailes, calls me the Willy Wonka of short stories and that seems to be the most accurate – not everything I try comes out as I’d have hoped it would.

But I love it. It’s an honour and a privilege.

My Route To Publication

My route to publication was a surprisingly smooth one, on the surface: I wrote some stories, got in touch with a publisher, the publisher read them, asked for more, then offered me a contract.

But underneath all of that, it was rather different.

My point (and worry), and I make this every time I teach, is that an awful lot of good and serious aspiring writers are too concerned with Being Published. And my message to them is: DON’T BE! Don’t give it too much thought.

What you should be concentrating on is writing the best book you can. That’s essential. If you write a good book then there’s a very good chance it’ll be published.

Which leads me on to...

My Advice To Aspiring Writers

Believe it or not you CAN write the book you want to write. Here’s the secret: publishers like good books. In fact they don’t just like them, they WANT them. Because people buy good books and publishers, being a business, like that. That’s why they’re there.

So, yes, publishers like good books. So, in theory, all you have to do is write one – just don’t be surprised if that takes a few attempts.

Be hopeful but be self-critical. It’s a high standard you have to reach and make no mistake, you ARE competing with the best in the business. And what makes it harder is that they’re known – by readers who buy their books and by publishers who know they’ll sell the books. But they were unpublished writers too once, you know! And they got to be where they are now by working very hard and by not giving up. And probably, by trying and failing a few times too. Remember: nothing’s lost.

My last piece of advice though, is this: enjoy your writing. It won’t be fun all the time, but you should do it because you enjoy it. It should be, mostly (even if it’s well hidden) - fun.

***

Thanks so much, Nik! (I told you he was good and nice, didn't I?)

Now, any of you who love a beautifully crafted story, especially when wrapped between gorgeous covers, and / or who want to see how to write beautiful short stories, do buy Not So Perfect. I did and I'm tantalising myself by only allowing myself one story a night. I don't know why he called it Not So Perfect. It is perfect.

SHORT STORIES - HELP, PLEASE

In a rare turning of the tables - and arguably a dereliction of duty - I am asking you for help. Or at least the short story writers among you.

As you know, I'm writing a book based on this blog. I've just got to the section about short story-writing. Now, I don't need you to tell me how to write short stories, but about the market for short stories, both in the UK printed market and on-line (world-wide), and how you have managed to achieve some success in this form.

I do have my own answers to most of the questions below, but my knowledge of aspects of this market is a little out-of-date, especially in terms of women's magazines and also internet opportunities. So, I'd like to pick your brains.

Please note:

• I am only looking for people who write for what we might call the "commercial" or "light reading" market, rather than the more "literary" end. (Sorry about these terms.) I already have several experts to talk about the literary market. So, if you write for coffee-break magazines, and focus on light fiction, I want to hear from you.
• I also do NOT need to know any more about flash fiction - I have masses of stuff on that.
• I need you to be quite serious about short story writing, whether it's your main type of writing or a side-line to something else. You'll see that some questions relate to paid writing and others to free online forums - both are relevant.
• If I quote from you, I will acknowledge you. If I need to cut your words, I will contact you to agree the wording. 
• It will not be possible for me to use all of your contributions and some of you will probably duplicate each other. I will try my very best to give credit to everyone who has helped.
• Please DO pass this post on to anyone you know who writes short stories seriously.
• Please only answer the question(s) that really apply to you. It would be much more helpful if you just made one or two points than try to answer everything.
• Please indicate briefly in your comment what level of success you've had / in what type of magazines / how important this income / outlet is to you.

OK. Here are some questions I'm considering. Please take your pick.

RE having short stories published for publication's sake - ie without payment and probably on-line:-

• If you do this, how often and what benefits do you see to it? Can you identify good results?
• Can you name some good forums for on-line publication - preferably ones that aren't about to disappear into the ether?
• Tips / risks?

Re writing for profit / payment:- 

• Do you manage to place stories for paid publication reasonably successfully? Is your success rate erratic or have you developed a good system / found your niche?
• What are the markets outside women's magazines?
• Is the market for short stories in magazines healthy? Growing or decreasing?
• How important is it in terms of income, or is it mainly for your writing CV and satisfaction?
• How systematic were / are you in identifying the right magazines? Tips about this?

Anthologies:-

• Do you have any short stories in published anthologies (printed or on-line)? How did this come about? Were you paid?

Other:-

• Anything else worth saying about the outlets / markets for short story writing?
• Do you ever give up copyright or have you ever been asked to? Do you feel you know your rights adequately?
• Have you used your proven success in short writing to gain a publishing deal for a full-length work?

Thanks, all!!

HOW RISKY IS YOUR WRITING?

I won't lay down rules about what risks you should or shouldn't take in your writing - it's something you need to work out. I do believe taking risks is essential in both life and writing but I also believe that every risk should be weighed up and taken only as an informed decision.

In writing, the risks you can get away with, and the risks you need to take, depend on a few things:

1. how good you actually are
2. whether you're a debut writer or not
3. the genre you are writing in and what the market is demanding in that genre at that time

In a nutshell, if you are a seriously talented writer, and you are either an established writer OR a new one with a majorly high-concept idea, and if the genre allows it, you can take a risk equivalent to tight-roping across a ravine. The less those conditions apply, the less risky the risks you will be able to get away with.

But remember what these risks entail. If the risk doesn't work in your favour, you will either remain unpublished or, if published, your book may bomb. Or at least die with a whimper.

What do I mean by taking risks in writing? What are the risky practices that you might be tempted to try, rightly or wrongly? Please note that when I say "risky", I do so as someone who approves of risk-taking, so I'm not saying you should avoid it. I'm saying you should understand the risks and possible downsides.

RISKY PRACTICES IN WRITING include:

1. Extreme originality that may be inaccessible to enough buyers - for example, a unique voice, a strange structure, something very arty (because many people, when they come across arty, think weird). The tricky thing is that publishers and agents do want your writing to be original - but the degree of desired originality does depend on the genre, your aim and your talent. Publishers and agents ALSO want books that readers will feel comfortable with. So, my advice is don't try to be original if you're not: go for a tried and tested style / voice with a great idea, unless your writing really can carry off a truly original voice.
2. Breaking the rules of your genre - yes, rules are, in many ways, there to be broken. But only when you know why you're doing it and when you've worked out exactly how this is going to sell and where it's going to sit on shelves. When rules are broken without reason, you look ignorant or unskilled, I'm afraid.
3. Genre-crossing without due diligence - of course, very many books are a combination of two genres and this can work brilliantly and be a really interesting read on every level. Crossing genres is not, per se, something risky, but quite normal. However, there are some things to be aware of and wary about. For example, taking it to extremes is risky - a paranormal sci-fi romantic comedy will be hard to pull off for a novice. You must also think carefully about how you're going to pitch it because everyone at each stage of the selling process needs to know where to shelve it and how to sell it. Over-complicating their job is not a wise move.
4. Writing a niche book - nothing wrong with that but be aware that a publisher has to be able to sell it. Make sure you really do know your market if you're going to write a book that has an avowedly small audience.
5. Moving away from the genre from which you're known, if you're already published, can be risky. I'd hate to suggst that writers should allow themselves to be pigeon-holed but refusing to sit in your box is still risky. I am a prime example of someone who would be more commercially successful (ie, frankly, richer) if I'd sat happily in one genre so that my readers knew what to expect each time. A pseudonym is an option if you want to differentiate between two types of book, but this wouldn't have worked for me as almost all my books are different from each other. I would soon have forgotten who I was supposed to be!
6. Not writing the right debut book. A debut book launches your career and has to make its mark. If you're unpublished, ask yourself whether your current WIP is really a strong enough concept to launch a career.

There's a reason I'm talking about risk at this time. My new YA novel, Wasted, was a risk and I knew it from the start.

1. Its voice is very unusual and if I'd got it slightly wrong it could have grated. An unusual voice is hard to sustain and could have easily slipped or become boring.
2. It has some radical POV shifts and juggles an omniscient multi-POV. Third person present tense is also probably the riskiest voice to attempt.
3. It contains difficult abstract concepts and asks the reader to embrace complex aspects of science and several types of philosophy. (So far, everyone seems to have found this easy.)
4. It is a book that I had to write - but a book that the writer feels compelled to write is not necessarily a book that readers will feel compelled to read. I knew this, but I had to do it. Just had to.

Fortunately, the early signs at the time of writing this post are that my risk-taking has paid off. But my fingers are still hugely crossed and I'm very far from relaxed. But, so far, I have had the most extraordinary response, from adults and teenagers. I am not stupid: I know that there'll be people who don't like it and who will decide to say so, perhaps vehemently - and it's often the case that the more glowing one's best reviews, the more biting the worst ones, so I know it's going to be sore when the negative comments come. But what I do know is that I've done what I set out to do: to get my intended readers by the throat, shake them up, make them talk, keep them awake at nights, and at the end for them actually to say they enjoyed it.

So, to all of you, whatever stage you're at in this crazy business: take risks, yes, but take them in the full knowledge of what those risks are, why you are taking them and how to make sure that your seat-belt is as securely fastened as possible.

NO WASTED WORDS: FLASH FICTION COMP

There's a flash fiction competition announced today over on my new blog for Wasted - see here.

That's all! I thought you'd like to be involved - you are all writers, after all. I had a Flash Fiction comp on this blog a while back and you seemed to have a good time and produce some great results, so I thought I'd re-run it and kill two birds with one pebble.

Did I ever write a shorter post? 

My point exactly.

CRIMINAL INTENT

(NB: this is an April Fool-Free zone, I promise. I'm not in the mood today, and you may guess why later on in the post, if you don't already know. And crikey, I've talked about it enough...)

So, crime fiction post, here we go.

Crime fiction is a hugely popular genre and includes many different sub-genres. It's changed a lot over the years, too, so what used to work and what you remember working may no longer do so. As ever, you have to read in genre and focus on what's being published now if you want to attract a publisher.

I'm not an expert in the subject, from a writer's viewpoint. Yes, I did write a YA thriller, Deathwatch, which would fit the category. In fact, I feel driven to point out that bookseller, Vanessa Robertson, wrote on her blog: "Something that did strike me at the end was that Nicola is clearly a talented crime writer and it would be interesting to see her write a crime novel aimed at a grown up readership…" Oooh, now there's a thought! And yes, I do enjoy reading crime, especially the psychological types, such as Barbara Vine's deep and nasty ones, but I haven't kept pace with the huge leaps forward in recent years and don't feel qualified to enlighten you very specifically.

But I know a woman who is! My good friend and highly successful crime writer, Aline Templeton, has agreed to answer some questions. In return, I am delighted to push you over Aline's way if you haven't yet read her books, though I know many of you will have. She has many fans.

Aline has come a long way since, at the age of six, she wrote her first book, The Adventure of Mr Wiz and Mrs Woz. No cover available... I am terribly sad never to have the chance to read this doubtless thrilling oeuvre. After reading English at Cambridge, and then spending some years teaching, bringing up a family, and doing journalism and radio / TV work, she (Aline, not Mrs Woz) had her first novel published. Following that came a number of stand-alone novels - Shades of Death was the first one I read and I loved it, though it did nothing for my claustrophobia - before the launch of her current highly successful series, featuring the formidable DI Marjory Fleming, or Big Marge as she is called behind her back. Big Marge is a hugely engaging character, as she remains professional and yet caring while dealing with domestic dramas and the sometimes wayward behaviour of her Rabbie Burns-loving side-kick, Tam MacNee.

The most recent and hugely recommended one in the series is Dead in the Water, of which the Daily Record said, "A scalpel-sharp plot... Takes Fleming from strength to strength."

Before I ask for Aline's advice to you, I will copy a paragraph from her website, because it echoes what I often say: first be a reader in your genre, before you write in it.

"Why crime? Sometimes it seems strange to dwell on the darker, bleaker side of life, when my personal pleasures come from laughter and the love of family and friends. But it seemed natural to write what I enjoyed reading, and still when I'm writing a book to some extent I'm telling the story to myself as well."

I recommend that you read Aline's website, because there's a lot of useful stuff about how and why to create a series character, and many other aspects of crime writing, though Aline does not set out to preach or teach.

By the way, if you ever meet her, it's "short A as in apple" followed by "leen". Get it right - many don't!

Here we go. Oh, and by the way, I decided, for good reason, to schedule this blog post for April 1st, the day of entry to our new flat, sans furniture. The good reason: my husband and I will be having supper at Aline and her husband, Ian's house that day, no doubt with guffaws of laughter, as they are very valiantly rescuing us from our boxes and paint brushes. So, we will raise a glass to you as you read this and hope to see some comments or questions.

NM: I'm always cautioning writers to read current work in their genre. What changes do you see between crime writing years ago and now?  

AT: "From what is known as the 'Golden Age' of crime fiction - Sayers, Allingham, Christie, Campion, Dickson Carr and a dozen others - the crime scene has changed so much as to be almost unrecognisable.

It has always been a broad church, and never more so than now: cat detectives and the English village at one extreme, the pornography of violence at the other.Undoubtedly, the most successful novels now tend to be fast-paced, gritty and dark, but there's a strong following for the psychological thriller type too. The classic ingenious Agatha Christie solution has definitely fallen out of favour.

The crime novel has certainly moved closer in style to what might be characterised as literary fiction, using the device of murder to work through serious issues."

NM: What do you think are the ingredients of a good crime novel?

AT: "An absorbing plot which arises out of the nature of compelling characters. When you reach the end of the book you should be able to see that the outcome was inevitable - but you shouldn't have been able to guess what it would be!"

NM: Why crime? What draws you to it?

AT: "I enjoy feeling that as I write my readers are in the room with me. I constantly think of their reaction as the plot unfolds. I want to keep them guessing, but I don't cheat so if there's something I need to disclose I rewrite the scene, and rewrite it again - and again, if necessary - until I'm sure that while the information is there, it won't be recognised. Pulling off the conjurer's trick of misdirection is a particular pleasure.

"Of course, the most addictive part of crime-writing - and any writing, I suppose - is when the characters develop a life of their own and you find you are writing faster and faster, being drawn on by the story to see what happens next."

NM: What about gore and gruesomeness? How far do you like to go and how far is it necessary to go?

AT: "Where you stand on the scale of gruesomeness is a matter of personal taste. I don't like to read books with very graphic descriptions so I don't write them, and I have reservations anyway. In the first place, there's the problem that once you have done maggots and intestines, what do you do for an encore? In the second, with a hint, the imagination can construct horror much more effectively than any words you could write could. The Monkey's Paw by WW Jacobs doesn't give any detail, yet by the end you are in thrall to a nameless terror which I've never felt reading books where it's all spelled out.[NM: Oh gosh, I SO agree with you! I haven't read that since I was about 12 and I still remember the horror of that understated idea.]

"In fact, I sometimes think there should be a 'Bad Violence' prize like the 'Bad Sex' one; I have a regrettable sense of humour, and reading a book by one of the most successful horror writers left me in fits of helpless laughter!" [Yes, Aline, you do have a regrettable sense of humour but I'm delighted you do. She does, everyone - I have regularly been shocked.]

I'm going to quote something else from Aline's website, which goes to the motivation and craft of the crime-writer.

"The other great joy about writing crime is that we're in this together.  ... When I've written a crucial scene, I ask myself, 'What will the reader take out of this?' because you're a clever lot and you will guess there's a clue in there somewhere.  So then I rewrite it again, and again, until I reckon that the clue you pick up won't be the one you need to crack the mystery – though it's there, I promise! I don't cheat."

"What will the reader take out of this?" Exactly! How many times do I say that we're doing this for the reader, not for ourselves (even though we must enjoy it, too)?

Aline also talks about "constructing the puzzle", and this is another crucial thing about a crime novel - it must be well constructed and must incorporate puzzles and red herrings. Actually, even though I know that I never know the outcome of my own books in advance, I do wonder if real crime writers perhaps need more of a clue, so I asked Aline.

"Do I know in advance? I think I know, but I'm not always right. As the plot and characters develop, sometimes a balance changes, and another solution emerges. There was one occasion when I was nearly at the end and reading through the book I suddenly realised that the person I had thought had done it, hadn't! There was a much clearer and stronger solution, with an additional twist. So I wrote the new ending, then went back to make the mechanics work and to my astonishment, everything was in place. Apart from giving the real murderer a little more prominence, for the sake of fairness, I had nothing else to do.- a clear case of the unconscious mind and the conscious one not communicating.

"Mostly, though, I know where I want to start and I have a pretty good idea of what someone once called 'the clever bit at the end' and work towards it, but in between I really don't know what's going to happen.  When I have that middle-book panic, when I think it's just not going to work at all, I tell myself, 'Trust the story' - and so far it hasn't let me down." [NM: I know that middle-book panic and I tell myself exactly the same.]

Fascinating stuff, and it certainly resonates with me.

I then had a word with Allan Guthrie, another Scottish crime writer, who is also an agent with the Jenny Brown Agency. His Noir Originals website has a whole load of links that you'll find useful. I asked him about resources for crime writers. 



He said,

"There are a lot more online resources these days. For crime writers,  http://www.crimespot.net/ is a must. It's an aggregator of most of the best crime fiction blogs. CrimeSpace, a social networking site with close to 3000 members, is well worth checking out too - http://crimespace.ning.com/. I'd also recommend the networking opportunities provided by crime writing festivals such as Crimefest http://www.crimefest.com/ and the Theakston's Crime Festival in Harrogate http://www.harrogate-festival.org.uk/crime/"

If you'd like to buy any of Aline or Allan's books, do go to Amazon through this link, and you'll send a few pennies my way. I would then get down on my knees and gather every last one up and put them to very good use. I'd find a way, somehow.

So, there you have it - wise words and great resources. even so, nothing beats reading and reading analytically to work out what works and why a publisher said yes to these authors and might say yes to you.

ROMANCE-ANGELS-NETWORK

I always hope to be polite, despite being the Crabbit Old Bat, so I was very embarrassed when I discovered that I'd forgotten to tell you that the video about the End of Publishing was sent to me by Christine Carmichael, who follows this blog and regularly comments sensibly using the name mindmap1.

Anyway, to make up for my rudeness, I thought I'd tell you about Christine's on-line group of romance writers.

It's the Romance-angels-network, a networking group for romance writers. You need to be a member to access it but Christine says it's very easy to join for any aspiring romantic author. She says "We're a diverse, international and welcoming group with many lurkers, around 43 at the last count and thirty plus members.  We've been up and running since 19th December 2009." If you're interested, click on this link.

And now, I'm off to pack some more boxes. Nearly there!

SHORT CIRCUIT COMPETITION WINNER

Recently I talked about short story and flash fiction writing and you may remember that Vanessa Gebbie kindly offered a copy of Short Circuit to the winner of a competition.

Well, we have a winner!

Vanessa asked you to give, in no more than 50 words, "most creative/engaging way" of telling her why you wanted "to write a short story that is more than just a yarn." And there was such a lovely variety of entries. I do just love how the creative brain attacks the same task in such different ways.

Anyway, Vanessa judged the entries and came up with Kristy Price as the winner - well done, Kristy! Vanessa said she'd enjoyed reading them all but that this one stood out for her.

"I picked this one for several reasons.  Importantly, it says something about the power that short fiction has, to 'get to' the reader. The 'punch' that a good short story can deliver. Also, it is a story in itself and that made me smile. I thought it was done very well - a moment of change, a pivot, it has movement, a change in position. The dialogue is simple, easy, well done. No unnecessaries. Nice!!"

Kristy has given me permission to print her entry here:

“I’m just calling to say sorry.”

“Are you crying?”

“No...yes...”

“That’s not like you.”

“I just read this story and it kind of got to me. Made me think about things...”

“I'm surprised you had time for reading.”

“It was just this short thing.”

“Well...”

“Please.”

“...Okay. Come over.”

So, Kristy chose to turn her entry into a flash story - and she wasn't the only one to do so, but she captured Vanessa's attention and enjoyment, which is what we all try to do when we write.

Now, you know me: I never let a competition or incident go by without extracting a learning point... So, here goes.

There's an analogy between this competition decision and several writing-related things: the acceptance of a book by a publisher; the allocation of literary awards for published work; and the reading choices and comments of readers. The thing that connects them all is the high degree of subjectivity going on when a choice is made by any reader. It's inevitable, right and mysterious. Vanessa was the expert judge and this was her choice. A different reader might have made a different choice. Personally, I loved Kristy's entry, too, but the point is that you all entered, not knowing what the intended reader wanted. That's a very difficult and daunting task.

Getting published is easier than winning a competition IF you focus very clearly on your intended readers (assuming that there are enough of them and that you've judged them right). And you should know your reader because you should know what he or she reads and therefore likes. In other words, you should know what your own book is like and to whom it should appeal.

So, well done again to Kristy and good luck to all of us in snaring readers!

FLASH! TO CUT A SHORT STORY LONG...

For a post about flash fiction, this is going to be ironically long. But my guest has a lot to say and it's all worth hearing. So, get a coffee and put your feet up. And at the end you'll be rewarded by a stunning flash of talent from Nik Perring.

My guest expert is Tania Hershman, of the fabulous The White Road and Other Stories. I loved lots of the stories but the first one most sticks in my mind. Tania has pointed out that it's too long to be flash, but I don't care - it got right under my skin anyway.

About Tania

Tania's first book, The White Road and Other Stories, is published by Salt Modern Fiction.  Now based in Bristol, Tania is current Fiction Editor of Southword literary journal and a judge for the Bristol Short Story Prize, the Brit Writers Awards and the Sean O'Faolain short story competition. She has just started as writer-in-residence in Bristol University's Science Faculty, and hopes to be writing and encouraging others to write science-inspired flash fiction. Tania is founder and editor of The Short Review, an online journal reviewing short story collections and interview authors. She blogs at TitaniaWrites.

Tania's interview
NM: Can you define flash-fiction? There must be something more than extreme shortness?

As far as I am concerned, it is purely about length. Just as a short story can be almost anything except long (and the precise maximum is something wrangled over), for me the definition of flash fiction is a story under 1000 words, with no minimum. What is a story? Well, that's not something I am prepared to attempt to answer! However, I did mention something in a writing forum discussion about having read novels which I felt were flash-fiction-like in their intensity, their absolute economy with words. So flash fiction could be a type of writing, too, regardless of length, but I think I'm just making that up right now. I'd love to hear what other people think,

NM: What else are you trying to achieve, that may be different from a longer story?

A great short story, for me, is one where the writer requires the reader to work - not everything is simply handed over so the reader can just watch the story unfold as if it was a television program. The reader has to fill in gaps - not in a frustrating way, but in an exhilarating way that makes them feel involved in the story. This is what I like to read, anyway. And the beauty is that different readers read the same story differently, which is what I find when people want to talk to me about my stories.

So, flash fiction is this taken to an even more extreme degree. The kind of flash stories I love are those that plunge you straight in and 5 minutes later you have finished the story and it feels as though you have been punched in the gut. There is no room in 1000 words, or 100 words, for preamble, sometimes even locations, names. But this doesn't mean, as I wrote in my essay on flash fiction in Short Circuit, that it is stripped down prose. Grace Paley's two-page story, which I quote from in the book, has some beautiful descriptions.

It also doesn't mean that a flash story necessarily has to take place over a very short space of time. There are really no limits to what you can do in a limited space, and I personally find the constraints very refreshing. I was trained as a journalist and I think that's why I love the ability to say what you want to say in as few words as possible.

What I find you can do in a flash story is ask the reader to step into more surreal situations than they might be prepared to enter in longer pieces. I feel freer to play with words, to makes less obvious "sense" than in a longer story. I think it's easier for me to sustain writing that kind of oddness over a flash story too.

NM: Is all flash fiction "literary", however we define that? I mean in the same way as some novels are. Can you have genre flash fiction? Bodice-ripper flash fiction??!

It’s certainly not all literary! First, I think there is a misconception that all short stories are somehow "literary" - something perhaps hard to read, and "worthy". I quoted recently on The Short Review blog's Lit Bits from a library blog encouraging readers to borrow short story collections because "they make you look posh". Huh? Not at all. As you can see from the collections we review on The Short Review, short stories are everything and anything - comic erotica, mystery science fiction, dark feminist historical fiction... And so is flash fiction. I've read wonderful science fiction flash stories, for example. And the most recent flash collection I read and loved, Stefanie Freele's Feeding Strays, made me laugh out loud at various points, as did Sean Lovelace's How Some People Like Their Eggs.  I haven't come across bodice-ripper flashes yet, but why not? How long does it take to rip a bodice? I sense a Nicola Morgan blog competition here! (Excuse me, we'll have no bodice-ripping here. Ed.)

NM: When did it start, do you think?

Kafka and Borges wrote very very short stories, so it's not a new phenomenon invented to fit onto mobile devices, which is what people often think. It's not something dreamed up for our apparently short attention spans, because you actually need to pay more attention to a shorter story. If you skim... it's over!

NM: How did you get into it? Accidentally or on purpose?

I somehow found out about Creating Reality's 300 word short story competition about 5 years ago.  As a journalist then, I was very aware of word count and I liked the challenge. I went in for it, and got nowhere. So I tried harder. Something went right because the following year, 2006, I won! That was my second ever flash story, Plaits, my first competition win, and a cheque for £300. Certainly a great incentive! But the other vital thing that came out of that competition was the second place winner, a certain Ms Vanessa Gebbie, who decided to email and congratulate me.

We struck up a long distance friendship (I was still living in Israel then) and she was about to set up her own online writers' forum. I joined, and then participated in my first ever Flash Blastette. Sounds exciting? It was life-changingly thrilling. Over 24 hours, inspired by 24 sets of prompts - words or short phrases made up or borrowed from poems etc.. -  you write as many flash stories as you can, knowing that all the other forum members are doing the same worldwide, feeling that energy. The idea is to incorporate the words or phrases into your story. You start to write and then every time you feel you are coming to a stop, you grab another, often incongruous, prompt and put it in, letting it take you off somewhere else.

What I found was that I could write a pretty much complete flash story in about 30 minutes, and that the prompts led my writing into very quirky and surreal territory. I loved it! And, when I then found homes for many of these flash stories in various publications, I saw that this was not just some writing exercise, this is writing for its own sake. I now set myself my own prompts and do it alone, as well as with friends. Anyone can try it. 

NM: What do you like about it?

It's highly addictive. The process by which I learned to write flash is highly adrenalin-producing, and it's also almost instant gratification. 30 minutes to write something almost publishable? Who wouldn't want to? This process also enables me to go into The Zone for that 30 minutes, keeping my Inner Critic at bay, and stop before IC has cottoned on!  I love freeing the more surreal side to my writing, the way I have no real clue what I am writing about until I finish - and sometimes not even then.

Also, the other beauty of it is if you know you can write one in half an hour, then if you don't like a particular flash story you have written, you are not so wedded to it as to a longer piece you may have been sweating over for months. It is not your Most Precious Baby. 

NM: What's the market for it? Where would someone start to offer their work? On-line places? Seriously, if someone loves this idea and wants to dip a toe, where's a good place to start?

There are many online and print journals that want your flash. Some of them even pay. If you do a search on Duotrope for markets that want flash fiction, you get 1154, and looking down the list, all genres from literary to experimental, horror, fantasy, magic realism, science fiction, erotica.... Some of the excellent journals I read are Smokelong Quarterly, Wigleaf, Elimae, Dogzplot, Quick Fiction, Sleeping Fish. The Americans are definitely ahead here, but the UK market is catching up, with several new publications just launching now, such as Fractured West, Fuselit, and Flash magazine. (No, they don't all begin with F).

There are also more and more competitions where you can win a lot of money per word. Ambit magazine in the UK just ran a 200-word writing competition where the first prize is £500, the Fish One Page Short Story Prize for a 300-word short story is 1000 euros, and a very welcome addition for 2010 is the renowned Bridport Prize's new flash fiction category, with a prize of £1000 for 250 words. I say: why not try it? There are also many places to read great flash fiction, not to know "how" to do it but to get an impression of the range of what is possible. I have a list on my book's website to start with.

I am also thrilled that BBC Radio 4 will be broadcasting a week of my flash stories in the Afternoon Reading Slot in June, the first time, I believe, that this traditional short story 15 minutes will have featured very very short fiction, 3 or 4 stories each day. I am intrigued to see what the Radio 4 audience think!

NM: What about the reader's experience? How is this different (other than being shorter!)?

If you want to read something that will take you weeks to finish, clearly short stories and flash fiction won't satisfy this. But why not read everything? Read a short story while you are having a cup of tea, read a piece of flash fiction while you're on the train. Excellent short and short short stories will make you gasp. You will be astounded at the intensity and vivid imagery that can be conveyed in such a short space. You might not find it so easy to forget what you have just read. And you might just get addicted to the rush!

NM: What are you working on now? And what else would you like to point readers towards?

Half of the 27 stories in my first book, The White Road and Other Stories, are flash stories. I am just getting 70 flash stories into shape for a collection. I am also writing more of them, as well as adapting my existing short stories into various forms such as short plays and films. If I can plug something: I was the Grand Prize winner of last year's Binnacle Ultra-Short competition for 150 word short stories, and the Ultra-Short edition of the journal has just been published. They have done the most beautiful job in previous years, each tiny story printed on its own business-card-sized card, and I am sure it will be a stunning issue this year. A great place to start reading!  

NM: Oooh, I like the business card idea. I also like an idea I've just had myself: put the business cards inside bars of chocolate....

HUGE THANKS to Tania for giving up so much of her time. I know she'll answer questions from you if she can, so do ask.

Tania also recommends the book recommended on last week’s post about short stories:  Short Circuit, A Guide to the Art of the Short Story edited by Vanessa Gebbie.

Salt are offering readers of this blog an additional 10% discount on the purchase of The White Road and Other Stories. Visit the Salt page here and enter the coupon code GM18py7n when checking out. A very useful discount and if you buy through Salt you are also helping a small publisher.

I definitely think I should have a flash fiction competition soon, but not now because I’m snowed under. And I can think of several excellent judges. Just need to butter them up a bit because I'm all out of favours right now.

HOWEVER, there is still the competition that Vanessa offered in my short story post last week. To remind you, Vanessa offered a copy of Short Circuit  to the person with the "most creative/engaging way of telling me why they want to write a short story that is more than just a yarn". Hooray! Please email your entry to n@nicolamorgan.co.uk before March 12th. Please put SHORT CIRCUIT COMP in the subject line. 50 words max.

AND FINALLY ... I’m going to give a well-deserved plug to Nik Perring, short and short short fiction writer, who has a collection here.Click the link on the right which asks What's in the Fridge? He has kindly given me permission to reproduce one of his stories here. It was originally shown in Ink, Sweat and Tears, here, and there are some great comments, if you'd like to take a look.

When You’re Frightened, Honey, Think of Strawberries
by Nik Perring

She remembers now what she was told when she was small: When you’re frightened, Honey, think of strawberries.

So she does. She’s been thinking about them ever since he started talking. While his words bite her she thinks of their spidery tops. She thinks of strawberries as he explains, justifies, tells her why this isn’t working, why this must end. Strawberries: she thinks of all the shades they could be; as pink as her lips or deep, dark, like the blood when he cut his finger dicing onions yesterday. The red of his wound soothes her.

Strawberries she thinks, as he unlatches the door, and she remembers how cold their skins can be. She could think of them in a bowl, cream folded around them, but she doesn’t. She’d rather see them on their own; almost heart shaped. She pictures their seeds, like a hundred lonely eyes. And she wishes they had pits so she could spit them at him.

And because all she can think of are strawberries and pits and colours and leaves, she is unable to reply. There is nothing to say.

Reproduced here by kind permission. Copyright © Nik Perring 2009

SHORT STORY SKILLS

I am no expert on the short story form, having had little success with it myself. Having said that, a) I was short-listed for the Ian St James Awards many years ago and b) I don't actually write short stories, let alone send them off, so success is somewhat unlikely.

However, I keep hearing that the short story is on for a revival and so it should be: in this busy world, surely they are perfect reading material? And, if I don't know about it, I know people who do. So, I asked them.

Actually, first, I didn't. First I saw Nik Perring's post about short stories a while ago and asked his permission to link to it for your benefit. So, go there first. Nik is an excellent and hard-working writer, and knows of what he speaks.

Then I asked Sally Zigmond to chip in. And she did - coming up in a minute. I also asked Vanessa Gebbie and she would have loved to help except that she's frantically completing a novel. However, all is very much not lost, because Vanessa did two very useful things:

1. She pointed us all towards a book she edited, called Short Circuit - a Guide to the Art of the Short Story, which is highly recommended by many people, including Sally.
2. In a moment of madness, she offered a copy as a prize to the person with the "most creative/engaging way of telling me why they want to write a short story that is more than just a yarn". Hooray! Please email your entry to n@nicolamorgan.co.uk before March 12th. Please put SHORT CIRCUIT COMP in the subject line. 50 words max.

 So, what did Sally add to Nik's advice?

• First, she agreed with it, though would like to emphasise that actually we should think "a great deal" about the reader. I'd agree - I'm always banging on about thinking of the reader.
• Sally also thinks that Nik's video clip of Kurt Vonnegut contains superb advice.

And now, I can do no better than quote Sally directly:

"A short story is very condensed but exactly like a novel in that it needs an overall shape, narrative arc as it were, although other shapes are available. It has to have a theme and it has to have strong characterisation. Every image, every word, every phrase must match that mood and whilst I'm not advocating uniformity to the point of dullness, a short story is less tolerant than a novel of any change in mood or tone. It cannot cope with multiple plot strands and multiple themes. And each aspect must help create a story that is greater than a sum of its parts--what I call the Tardis Effect and have mentioned on my blog."

"Moment of change: To me every short story needs one and again I've blogged about this. It doesn't have to be as clunky and obvious as a bad character changing his ways, confessing his sins or a poor person suddenly becoming rich or realising that 'money isn't everything,' but something small and subtle. It can even be in the mind of the reader. The most obvious version of this is the 'twist in the tale story' which is frowned on by more literary types, slightly out of fashion now, but still popular in commercial magazines. But again it can be subtle. The reader can end up seeing another side to a character they felt they were certain about at the start.

"The reader must have experienced something when they finish reading--I call it resonance. Beautiful prose is not enough; there has to be progression of some kind to avoid that feeling that he or she has just wasted their time or, as editors call it, that SFW (so f***ing what)  reaction.

"Concentrate on one character--or no more than two.  Go for depth, not width.

"Keep the duration short, too--you can't stretch a story over years, unless you're very skilled. Concentrate on one 'moment in time'. If a novel is a full-length film, then a short story is a still photo.

"Don't go for sensation to make a story 'exciting.'  Most down-trodden wives or hen-pecked husbands don't end up putting poison in their spouse's tea or blowing up the garden shed (yes, I know it does happen but it rarely works in fiction--but still such stories turn up again and again). Stories about the minutiae of life work best in short fiction--but they must have depth of emotion and intelligence of thought. Too often minutiae ends up as dull as ditch water--which is why some writers are tempted to add sensation to 'spice things up.' They're going about it the wrong way.

"Avoid stereotypes. Obviously one should rid the text of clichés but don't have cliched characters or reactions either. Avoid the hard-bitten business women or nasty bosses out to crush the workers. Most tarts do not have hearts. Avoid the school story where the bullied eventually trounces the bullies. Too many stories are about young anorectics, self-harmers etc. All harrowing subjects but often handled in such a meaningless way they become wallpaper. All these stereotypes can work but only if handled with care.

"Learn to distinguish the differences between so-called literary and commercial fiction. Neither is 'better' -merely that the requirements of both are different. I write both but I have to wear a different head when I write each one. (I actually find writing commercial fiction much much harder.)"

Finally, as well as Short Circuit, the book about literary fiction writing, Sally recommends for commercial genres, Della Galton's How to Write and Sell Short Stories.

Next week(ish) I'll be bringing you Tania Hershman talking about very, very short stories - flash fiction.

Don't forget to enter Vanessa Gebbie's competition now... When you email me, remember to put SHORT CIRCUIT COMP in the subject line.

Meanwhile, it gives me the hugest pleasure to tell you, if you didn't already know, that Sally's long-awaited NOVEL, Hope Against Hope, is published on April 4th. Hooray for hoping against hope! Do go and visit the special blog that Sally has set up to tell you all the background stuff. She'll be signing books in Watersone's in Harrogate on April 9th, early afternoon - do go if you can! And here is the lovely book itself:

Edited to add: I'd also like to plug Nik Perring's forthcoming flash fiction collection. Go here and click the In the fridge link. I'll plug it again when I properly talk about flash fiction. Or, in fact, when Tania Hershman does.