Accomplished Novelist & Short Story Author Shows How Those Feed One Another

Today’s post is from Earl Staggs He is an accomplishedStaggs novelist and short story author.  He has earned a long list of Five Star reviews for his novels Memory Of A Murder and Justified ActionOn the short story side, he has twice received a Derringer Award for Best Short Story of the Year.  He served as Managing Editor of Futures Mystery Magazine, as President of the Short Mystery Fiction
Society, is a contributing blog member of Murderous Musings and Make Mine Mystery and a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars.  So, listen up; this man knows what he’s talking about.

THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT

 I know several writers who write both novels and short stories.  I know others who only write novels and say they simply cannot write short.  I do both and I think everyone can once they understand the difference.  What is the difference?  I’ll get back to that in a few minutes.

Maybe I can do both because of how I got started in writing.  (Here comes a flashback.)

When I moved from Maryland to Florida, I decided to do something I’d always dreamed of. I’d always had this crazy desire to be a writer.  Wanting to do something, however, is only the beginning.  You have to learn how to do it.  My first step was to sign up for a mystery writing class at the local community college.  I really didn’t know what to expect.

I certainly didn’t expect the teacher of the class to announce, “By the end of this class, you will each have written a short mystery story.”

Gulp.

I thought the teacher would begin by teaching us the basics of writing, then gently guiding us slowly to the point of actually writing something.  No, that would not be the way it would go.  The teacher’s philosophy was simple:  You learn to write by writing.

Well, I reasoned, the teacher is an English professor and should know what she’s doing. As luck would have it, I’d always enjoyed reading short stories.  I’d read many by Hemingway,  O’Henry,  and others. Even though I’d read many of them, I soon learned I knew next to nothing about writing one.

And so we began.

We would read our offerings in class and critique each other.  Little by little, our stories took shape, and by the end of the class, each of us had written a short mystery story.  Some of them were good and some were bad.  Mine was the best mystery story ever written.  I was so proud of it, in fact, I submitted it to a magazine, then sat back and waited for the check to arrive.  Instead, a rejection letter came.  Undaunted, I sent it off to another magazine.  Then another.  And another. Finally, with a collection of rejections letters, I put that story away and tried to forget about it.

But I was hooked on writing by then and continued writing short stories.  Eventually, acceptance letters began to arrive instead of rejections, and after a couple of years, I had built up a respectable number of published stories.

Then one day, I pulled out that first story and looked it over.  Good grief!  I could see why it had been rejected.  The teacher was right.   You learn to write by writing. I rewrostaggs-Mem Coverte the story and made major revisions using what I’d learned and it was finally published.

Response to the story was very encouraging and I decided to use the same character in a novel.  It took a couple of years, but my first novel, MEMORY OF A MURDER, was finally published.  I’d been able to go from writing short stories to writing a novel because I understood the difference.  (More on that in a minute.)

Just this year, I did the opposite.  My novel JUSTIFIED ACTION came oustaggs-JustifiedActiont in March of 2013 and did well.  Recently, I decided to use the same character in a short story.  The result was RESCUE, published in October.

So this time, I went the other way.  I wrote a novel, then took the same character into a short story.  It’s not difficult when you understand the difference.

What is the difference between a novel and a short story?  Whenever someone asks me that question, my response is always the same.  “One’s bigger than the other.”

That usually brings on a chuckle or a smile.

But I don’t mean bigger in number of words and pages.  I mean bigger in the amount of story being told.  In a short story, you have one main character who is fully developed  and maybe two or three secondary characters who are developed very little if at all. In a novel, in addition to the main character. you may have five or six fully developed  secondary characters.  A short story will have one main plot line and, perhaps, one minor subplot.  In a novel, you might have a number of subplots running along with the main one.  A novel also usually takes place over a longer period of time than a short story.

So, you see, a novel is simply a bigger story.  Once you understand that, it’s not hard at all to write both.

As for the actual writing, there is really no difference between them.  Whether writing long or short, you keep the story moving forward at a steady pace and make every word count.

Thanks for reading all the way to here.  You’re now invited to visit my home site at http://earlwstaggs.wordpress.com where you can:

Read Chapter 1 of MEMORY OF A MURDER

Read Chapter 1 of JUSTIFIED ACTION

Read a short story called “The Day I Almost Became a Great Writer.”  Some say it’s the funniest story I’ve ever written.

Read “White Hats and Happy Trails,” about the day I spent with my boyhood idol, Roy Rogers.  There’s a picture of Roy and me together to prove it’s all true.

And thank you, Jim, for inviting me to visit here today.

Thank you, Earl.  I enjoyed this, and I hope you get lots of feedback on it.

Email: earlstaggs@sbcglobal.net
Website: http://earlwstaggs.wordpress.com

31 thoughts on “Accomplished Novelist & Short Story Author Shows How Those Feed One Another

  1. It was great to read about Earl Staggs — his background, his work and his ideas — and I thank you, Jim, for hosting him on your site this week. What Earl says about the difference between a novel and short story is very succinct and well put. I may share a bit of this with my writing students.

  2. Thanks, Jacqueline. And you are so right: acceptance is much sweeter after having been rejected. For the great, great majority of writers, many rejection slips have piled up. As Jan said above, persistence is a key quality for writers. Even J. K. Rowling got her share.

  3. Thanks, Jim for featuring Earl and his books. I’ve had the privilege of hearing him speak…twice and I’ve read his first book. He’s a fine speaker and I loved Memory of a Murder.

    Earl,
    You always have something interesting to say. I started out writing a short story, but when I got 25,000 words in, and wasn’t near a finish, I decided it should probably be a novel!! I’m just too wordy…but eventually learned to write short stories and I agree, writing both is beneficial. Thanks for sharing your talent.

    Pattie Ball writing as Ann Everett

  4. Excellent interview. I enjoy my re-writes as much or more as the original work. I write every day in some fashion and it seems to set me at ease. I’m flirting with short stories, so Earl’s input was greatly appreciated. Thanks.

    • Interesting, Chris, to say writing sets you at ease. Me, too. When I’m writing, I’m completely involved with it, and that pushes aside any personal problems I might have been wrestling with. In that sense, writing is good therapy. And a whole lot cheaper than an analyst.

    • Amen to both you and Earl. Writing can be excellent therapy. In fact, I know of an instance where it was used by a hospital, and with great success. Thanks for the comment, Chris.

  5. Earl, You make it sound so simple. Unfortunately, some of us “talk” too much to write a short story. Although, now that I think about it, maybe that’s kind of what our blog posts are; short stories. Excellent post!

    • Speaking of blog posts, Marja, yours are as good and as interesting as any I know of. I look forward to them. And you make a good point. In a blog post, you narrow your thoughts to a particular topic and focus on that. That’s similar to a short mystery story. The focus is on one crime and the solution to it. Keep that in mind and give it a go, girl.

  6. Fine post, Earl. I think the short story is a superb art form, for its focus and for the amount of imagination that is packed into 5,000 words (more or less). I look forward to sampling your wares.

    • I appreciate your stopping by, John, and I agree with you. A good short story is an art form for sure. The author must pull in the readers, fully engross and entertain them for a short time, then let them go on their way satisfied and content. Doing that within a limited word count isn’t always easy, but it sure is sweet when we get it right.

    • “Sweet” is well put. I am a dessert junkie. But an excellent short story can be as sweet and satisfying as any dessert. And, you can go back to it without feeling guilty. Thanks for pointing this out.

    • Hi, Jan, you and I have supported each other through the best and worst of it, haven’t we? Funny how a pile of rejections pales in the shadow of an acceptance. That’s why we keep doing it, right? It’s not just for the big bucks. 😉

  7. Thanks for the succinct definition of the difference between novels and short stories! I have made a lot of money using the method of turning long into short and short into long!
    Super interview writers of all genres should read.

    • Hey, John, you’re not so bad at stringing words together yourself. One of the great things about the writing community is the willingness to share and encourage each other. I’ve learned a lot just by hanging out with you and a number of others.

  8. Earl, I’ve been lucky enough to have one of the best writers I know as my mentor. He’s given me years of one on one writing classes and it’s with his knowledge, encouragement and patience that I published my first novel. He is the best. And his name might be familiar to you. His name is Earl Staggs. I love the guy to the moon and back.

    • Kaye, Darlin’, taking part in the birth of your terrific novel, WHIMSEY, will always be a treasure to me.. Sharing my experiences and lessons learned may have helped, but it was the natural charm and talent of Kaye Barley that made it so good. I’ll be waiting along with a lot of others for the sequel. Please make it soon. Muchluv, my friend.

    • Thanks for stopping by, Kaye. And also for your glowing remarks on Earl. Well deserved. Congratulations on your novel, Whimsey. I wasn’t familiar with it, but with Earl’s recommendation, I’ll get it on my TBR list.

  9. Earl, I’ve always been told “practice makes perfect” and that’s as true in writing as in anything else. I studied writing and wrote a ton of short stories before I attempted to write a novel. It took me years to get over being intimidated by the sheer length of a novel. After starting (but not finishing) two other books, I finally wrote my first novel, “Mixed Messages.” Like life, writing is a journey. Great post!

    • Pat, you’re so right. I’m sure you’ve heard the old joke about an aspiring violinist asking a famous one, “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?” The veteran replied, “Practice,practice, practice.” It’s the same with writing. You have to pay your dues. Like anything else worthwhile, it’s hard work and takes a long time.

    • And now you have the sequel to Mixed Messages out. Thanks for the comment, Pat. It just reinforces what many of us know (and many newbies don’t – yet), the best way to learn to write is to write.

  10. Hi, Earl,

    I took a creative writing course as an undergrad English major and eventually ended up teaching creative writing to high school and college students. Like you, I believe the best way to become a professional writer is by writing consistently. I also believe being an avid reader helps. I believe it’s important to be persistent and not let rejection slips discourage us. I certainly collected my fair share, and continue to do so. It makes every acceptance that much more satisfying. Again like you, I write both short fiction and novels. I’ve read your novels and enjoy them very much.

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