A criticism that I’ve occasionally received concerns pacing. The short story, which today means up to about 7000 words, is a limited amount of space to establish mood. My writing partner Elizabeth was reading a Poe short story recently and commented on how long it seemed.
We’ve been accustomed, by the internet, to shorten things. Flash fiction is in. Say it in 1000 words or less. What’s the correct pacing for a 300-word story?
I’ve been editing a number of my complete, but unpublished, stories lately. I’m trying to bring the word counts down. I don’t want to be thought of as a plodding writer. At the same time, I’m no action writer. My stories are thoughtful.
Some time ago I started reading Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire. Dark, moody, and sensuous, this is a slow-paced novel. Focusing on subtleties and emotions, she paints a writerly picture of the inner life of the undead.
If I were an editor today I’d say she has pacing issues. More neck biting and less navel gazing. Of course, her novel was a bestseller. Shows what editors know.
Writers, unless they’re paid by the word (and who gets paid to write any more?) don’t waste words. We put down what we think is essential. This is to describe the character. That is to set the scene. The other is for tone. Paintings done all in white are quick to look at. They show us nothing.
Minimalism caters to a readership used to quick thrills and constant clicking. Who wants to keep scrolling anyway? Of course, the substance of the writing may be sacrificed, but it is a small price to pay to get published, no?
I wonder about my idol, Edgar Allan Poe. He once opined that a short story should be able to be read at a single sitting. In the 1800’s a single sitting might be an hour or two. Today it’s maybe 20 minutes, at most. We’ve all got other things to do.
The true horror, it seems to me, is the words we cut just to make the cut.
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