Looking Ahead

At the moment, the manuscript is out with my three beta readers. I've given them until the 20th of the month to read and comment.

Soliciting feedback beyond copy edits can be tricky. I'm not asking if my manuscript has technical errors. I want to know if the story works. I've seen all sorts of approaches to getting feedback from beta readers, such as questionnaires, discussion groups, and other structured formats.

Did you like this character?
Was this scene fun to read?
Where did you get lost?
Where did you put the book down?

All great questions, but I feel like they are leading the reader to specific types of feedback. There is a risk here to miss a reader's thoughts because I didn't think to ask the questions.

Instead, I took a page from the TSA and simply said to my readers, "If you see something, say something." It's a little risky, but I know my beta readers and the type of feedback they are capable of providing. I want them to comment on what they felt and thought while reading the story. If I only ask them to comment on specific things, I might miss some valuable feedback.

As I mentioned in my last newsletter, my next project will be a collection of short stories. I'm not saying I'm done with novels, but I think novellas and short stories are a better fit for my writing style. So while I wait for the edits to come back on my manuscript, I'm doing what every good writer should do. I'm reading. A lot.

When I see discussions of writing in online forums, I often see young writers ask, How do I do this? or How do I handle that? The best answer to all of those questions, no matter what they are, is "How did the author do these things in the last three books you read?" I'm always gobsmacked at how many writers can't answer that question. Worse still is how many justify their lack of reading out of a fear that their own writing will be somehow tainted by what they read. They completely miss that this is the point of reading as a writer. What you read is supposed to color what you write.

As the adage goes, you are what you eat. Or, in this case, you write what you read.

I'm reading a lot of short stories right now, and I'd forgotten just how much I love the form.

Short stories don't take long to consume, but a good one will stick with you for a while and give you pause to consider what you read. They ask a lot of both the writer and the reader. Because there isn't room for lots of backstory and setup, they ask the reader to take things on faith as the story plays out. In turn, it's the job of the writer to justify that faith. Novels don't ask that nearly as much because they don't have to. The writer can stretch out their legs and take the reader for a longer walk around the garden. Short stories show you the flower and expect you to imagine the garden that surrounds it.

I assembled a list of short stories that I'm reading (or rereading) in preparation for 2027. There's no reason to keep that list to myself, so I've included it below. I've tried to provide links where I can. Some are free. Some are part of a collection that you'll need to purchase.

I'm sure you've read some of these already. Classics like "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and "The Lottery" are almost universally required reading in English classes. But they're worth revisiting. This list isn't exhaustive or heavily curated, other than to say I've kept most of the Russians off it. They are great short story writers, but a little on the depressing side.

Let me know in the comments if you've got other short stories to recommend, or if you found something new on this list you enjoyed.