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Author Topic: Short Story as Proof of Concept
Osiris
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I am curious to see what others think about the idea that one writes a short story upon which a novel will be based as a test of the concept(s) in the novel. Is there anything that would suggest it is bad practice to write and attempt to publish a story as a sort of test for a novel concept that you may also write and try to publish?
Writing a novel is a big commitment, and I would personally like to get a general reaction to the story idea before committing many years to a novel project. How do folks here, especially those who are unpublished and may not have access to a professional editor to give feedback, decide an idea merits years of work as a novel?

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Merlion-Emrys
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Well, first I'd say most people don't expect a novel to take years. They can, certainly, but lots of folks here have written novels in less than a year.

Now personally, I'm not primarily a novelist. I write mostly short stories. I do eventually plan to do one or more novels. In fact, I've been writing a number of short stories, lately, in a world I plan to eventually write one or more novels in.

I believe that even someone who sees themselves mainly as a novelist benefits from writing short stories, related to their novels or not, as well.

The one novella I wrote grew from a short story. While working on a short story yesterday, a character suddenly upgraded itself and I realized I had a subplot for the future novel project on my hands.

I think especially if your talking high fantasy or any story type/genre with a lot of worldbuilding, writing short stories in that world beforehand would be a useful tool.

As far as publication...I know "Something Wicked This Way Comes" was based on a published short story. I don't think its too big a issue, but it isn't my area of expertise.


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TamesonYip
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Ender's Game was originally a short story wasn't it?


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Merlion-Emrys
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Ohh and 2001: A Space Oddessy was a short story, and a movie, then a novel.

Edited to add: Yip, yip!

[This message has been edited by Merlion-Emrys (edited July 27, 2010).]


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genevive42
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At Boot Camp, OSC said that you have to do almost the same amount of work to develop a short story as a novel. The difference is the speed at which you tell the story and how much you show.

Several people at Boot Camp are turning the short story they wrote there into novels and I may do the same with mine. So I think it's fine to do some exploring with short stories. ME is doing a lot of great stories in his world and I suspect that will be good support for what has to be a series of novels.

You might want to simply write one short and request feedback here on the forum in the Fragments and Feedback section. That will get you a fair bit of opinion. Or join the WotF critique group over in Hatrack Groups. Then you're pretty much guaranteed several viewpoints. I don't know if you have to get it published to see how people respond to the concept.


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Merlion-Emrys
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Oh another piece of general advice. Always listen to genevive and Meredith, also known as my Lovely Assistants.

Don't let the bunny and cat suits fool you. They know of what they spaketh.


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Meredith
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I'm currently working on a novel that grew out of a (still unpublished) short story. I didn't do the short story as a proof of concept. More like the story just continued to grow.

I've also done a short story in the same world as my first (still unpublished) novel.

If you manage to get the short story published, I think it can only help your chances of selling the novel eventually.

Oh, and YEARS to write a novel. I wrote the first draft of BLOOD WILL TELL in three and a half weeks last August. And it wasn't even NANO. And yes, come to think of it, I have spent almost as much time on some short stories. I've got to get back to that last one . . .


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Rhaythe
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Every agent I've spoken to has told me that they want to talk to you only when you have a finished and edited novel that you believe is ready to be sold. That means it has been painstakingly reviewed and edited, and is in a true "final draft" form. Doesn't mean that they won't pass it by their own editors along the way if they choose to represent you, but it does mean that they don't even want to talk to you unless the work is already done.

Just my two cents.


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MAP
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I think it is a great idea to write a short story about your novel length idea if the short story is a satisfying read on its own. I read somewhere that a lot of short stories are rejected because they read like the first chapter of a novel.

I am just not sure about writing a short story for a proof of concept. If the short story is well received, then you will invest the time into it to make it a novel? If not, you scrap it?

What if the novel idea just doesn't lend itself well to a short story? You could potentially be tossing aside an awesome idea just because the short story didn't work.

I just don't think there are any short cuts to publishing. And thinking about wasting a year on writing a novel is thinking about this whole writing thing the wrong way. No writing is a waste of time even if what you have at the end is unpublishable because you learn from it. People spend years writing short stories and trying to get them published. Is that time wasted?

There are many ways to break into the publishing world. Some start out with short stories, some go straight to novels. I think everyone should write what they are truly passionate about. That is the best way to get published IMO.


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Brad R Torgersen
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My novelette -- basically a great big 'short' story -- that I sold to Analog, came back with an acceptance from Dr. Schmidt telling me I should develop it into a novel, later, when I've upped my writing game another level or two.

Something similar happened to our esteemed Mr. Card and his novelette for Ender's Game. (evil grin)

I agree absolutely that the effort that goes into conceptualizing a short piece can be equivalent to that of a novel, and that shorter pieces often can tell the same general story as a novel, just contracted and/or faster.

Also, most short work tells only one person's side of the story. Novels often tell multiple sides of the same story, making them richer and more complex.


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Owasm
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I've written about seven or eight short stories about a heroic fantasy character. Sold one of them... the most outrageous of the bunch. It all started with a 11,000 word story.

The novel is just about outlined, but it's not at the top of my wip. I wrote two and a half novels last year (they all go into my hope chest.

So it can be done. I think sometimes, writing the short story gives your creative muse a chance to develop some things about your character or about your plot that you might not come with just cogitating.

[This message has been edited by Owasm (edited July 27, 2010).]


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