Simon Wood

Posts Tagged: the frame maker

SHELF LIFE: 2014 In Review

It’s the end of the year, so I’m being a reflecty. I won’t say it’s been my best year ever but it’s been pretty good all things considered.
It’s been a pretty good writing year.  I didn’t have a new book out this year but I did have two re-issues in the form of DID NOT FINISH & HOT SEAT.  I also had two books translated into German and it was a lot of fun working with editors and translators tailoring a story to a foreign culture.  I was happy to see some new short fiction out in the form of THE FRAME MAKER & PATHFINDER and CRESTFALLEN.  I finished THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY and I think it’s turned out well.  And book sales have been pretty good.  A couple of titles are still waiting to be discovered though.  Readers really do need to get on that.
Bouchercon was a highlight although a scary one.  It was a great honor to be the toastmaster at this year’s World Mystery Convention.  Public speaking is something I do because I have to and not something I enjoy, so it’s hard to say I had fun, but I was more than happy to have done it.  I was touched by some of the remarks made by some of my favorite authors.  As scary, touching, exciting and tiring as it all was, I would do it again.    
This year has been a year where people have wanted me for my mind and not just my words.  I seem to be building a reputation for my industry knowledge.  I did put on several seminars for writers and a publisher hired me as a consultant to help with a book launch.  I want to keep building in this direction as it’s good to have an additional string to my bow.
Away from the keyboard there’ve been some good things too.  I’ve continued to improve cycling prowess.  My times were better across all events although I’ve yet to crack a 100k in 3hrs.  For me, cycling is where I do all my story thinking.
On the home front, things came together albeit with a little elbow grease.  After last year’s debacle with our mortgage lender who nearly financially ruined us with their incompetence, we’ve paid off the mortgage, replaced the windows, installed solar and gone with a tankless water system.  We’re now lean and green, but more importantly, we’re self supporting.  Being a writer means being an independent contractor, so by keeping overheads low, I can weather any writing storms that should come my way.  
There have been a couple of disappointments along the way.  A TV pilot deal fell by the wayside along with a few other things.  August proved particularly hard on the soul where three publishing deals fell through.  Naturally, these things happen and as a writer, you just roll with the punches and move on to the next opportunity.

Overall 2014 has been solid.  It’s been another good foundation year where I’ve continued to solidify my position as a full time writer.  I’m quite excited about next year.  There are some good things planned for THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY.  I’m hoping to seal the deal on some new things.  All in all, I hope it’s going to be a big year.

That’s me, but what about you?  How’s your year been?

Categories: shelf life

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SHELF LIFE: The Long And Short Of It

I like short stories—both writing them and reading them.  Some of the most memorable fiction I’ve read has been in the form of short stories.  The power of a short story is its brevity.  It can sometimes get the point over better than a novel.  Take Ernest Hemmingway’s six-word masterpiece:
Those six words carry so much potency because we, the reader, are forced to speculate as to what has happened. Hemmingway could have fleshed out the story.  We could have seen a couple write the want ad for the newspaper or have an expectant couple respond to the want ad for the baby shoes.  We could have had the drama and emotion of a much longer tale.  But y’know what?  It wasn’t necessary.  Six words were all that needed to convey the same.  That’s what’s so fantastic about short stories.  They can be a few thousand words or a handful of pages but if the story is well written and the reader brings their imagination to the plate, everyone goes on a much longer journey.

I advocate for the short story because I am always surprised that so many people dislike them.  This post is inspired by some recent reviews I’ve received where some people said they hated short stories and one person complained that they were a cheat on the reading public.  Naturally, people are entitled to their opinion but this opinion surprises me in this day and age.  We consume information at faster and faster rates.  We need everything now and condensed.  Hell, we have a billion dollar company that is founded on communication in 140 characters or less.  It should be a golden age for short stories.  But it isn’t.

When people say they don’t like short stories or don’t read them that’s not strictly true.  If you watch TV drama, you’re watching a short story.  A script for an hour long show is less than fifty pages.  A half hour comedy will top out at twenty five pages at the very, very most.  So don’t tell me you don’t like short stories.  J
So (putting my car salesman hat on) what do I have to do to put you in a short story today?  Beg?  I will if you ask nicely.  Make you dinner?  I can cook.  Babysit your kids?  Let’s not get carried away.  Look, I dare you to read a short story and not enjoy it.  I just ask that you come to it with an open mind and an open heart.  If you want to read one of mine, I have plenty to suggest (just scroll to the bottom of this post).  Want other author recommendations, I’m happy to oblige.  Because I’m going to keep on making the case for them and I’m going to keep on writing them so you just need to give in and do as I say.  It’s for the best.

Look, I’m willing to meet you halfway.  For years I’ve been trying to come up with a six word story as good as Hemmingway’s, but I have developed a taste for the novella in recent years.  I want to write some short stories in the ten to twenty thousand word range (aka 50-100 pages).  Something with plenty of depth that’ll occupy your time on your commute to and from work or during a lunch hour.  Sounds tempting, doesn’t it?  Admit it.  You know it does.
But while I think about it, I can still see the short story stigma being a problem.  It’s a packaging and branding problem.  The short story needs a 21stcentury makeover.  Let’s not call them short stories anymore.  Let’s call them the “Blip Novels.”  Yeah, I like it.  Now they’ll take off.

 

 

Categories: shelf life

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