Great column by Stephen King in the New York Times at the end of Sept. on "What Ails The Short Story." Basically, from King's perspective, it's not that people can't or don't still write great short stories, it's that business concerns have driven short stories to the bottom shelf. The markets for them are failing, and that's leaving writers to "write for whatever audience is left. In too many cases, that audience happens to consist of other writers and would-be writers who are reading the various literary magazines…" Which means showy stories, from a technical perspective, but blah stories that don't go anywhere from the perspective of a reader looking for some meat and some juice.
Funny to come across this column at the same time I'm reader the advance reader's copy of 20th Century Ghosts that Joe Hill (Stephen King's son) sent to New Hampshire Magazine. For the record, it's awesome — Hill is a terrific writer and one of the first new short story writers I've been jazzed up about since Daniel Alarcón. I'll write more about the book when I finish it, but I recommend it now — unreservedly, unless you dislike horror fiction. Joe Hill's book is horror, appropriately disturbingly so.
This also makes me think about a line I read in an essay on writing recently … I can't for the life of me put my hand on the essay or the email or link that led me to it… but the writer was urging all writers to avoid the sort of no-plot story-telling that kills certain sorts of otherwise pretty writing. He said, what's different about today? If you don't know, you don't have a story. Or something along those lines. It's been a great question to ponder as I think over the writing projects I have underway.
