An incredible group of authors discuss why they chose to go long.
It happens all the time: A writer publishes a wonderful collection of short stories and then moves into the heady world of the novel. But why did he or she decide to go long? Was there pressure to take on a novel? Did the new story dictate a higher word count? Did the writer simply feel inspired to shift focus?
I spoke with 18 authors — already successful in working small — about their decision to write a novel. Some are just now first-time novelists (or will have their first novels published soon), while others made the transition early in their careers. With each, I asked this one question: What made you take the leap from short fiction/essays to the novel?
Maya Lang
Maya Lang was a finalist for Glimmer Train’s Short Story Award for New Writers and was awarded the 2012 Bread Loaf-Rona Jaffe Foundation Scholarship in Fiction. Her debut novel, The Sixteenth of June, longlisted for the 2014 Flaherty-Dunnan Prize, is out now from Scribner.
When the idea for my novel first came to me, I made the foolish assumption that I should wet my feet by writing a few short stories first. In hindsight, this is like deciding to ski jump because you’re daunted by the thought of some afternoon snowshoeing. Did I learn lessons while trying my hand at the short form? Absolutely. But I’ve come to feel that stories are much harder than novels. The very quality that makes the story seem less intimidating is what makes it so difficult: its compactness. There’s a leisurely quality to working on a novel, a meandering sense of room that’s quite freeing. You can work with your characters over time, get to know them, arrive at your destination in your own way. If I have learned anything, it is to write what is in your heart, what tugs at your thoughts, not what you think you “should.”
Renata Steiner / Via mayalang.com
Courtney Maum
Courtney Maum is the voice behind the “Celebrity Book Review” humor column over at Electric Literature and also writes an advice column for Tin House. Her debut novel, I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You, was released in June from Touchstone.
Quite simply, because I’m not very good at short stories. While I manage to write compact work for the web, I lack the elegance and precision it takes to be a dynamite short story writer. It’s the same for me in the kitchen — I love to cook unwieldy, savory dishes — adding a little bit of this, a little bit of that, repurposing leftovers I’ve had in the fridge for days — but you don’t want me near the sweet stuff. Baking requires the same kind of exactitude that short story writing does, and I am too impatient and mercurial to bake.
Via pages.simonandschuster.com
