Me And Short Fiction

I have a weird relationship with short genre fiction.

In some ways, it was my introduction to the coolest of speculative fiction way back in the day. I cut my teeth on the classics by devouring Asimov’s Hugo Winners anthologies, and there is really some fantastically awesome stuff in there. But, when I started writing, I was far more interested in novels. I felt like all the ideas in my head wanted to get out, breathe, and walk around a bit. Short stuff never felt like enough room to explore, always seemed to worship at the altar of conciseness.

I’ve always admired the form, but always had a hard time finding an idea that fit. And honestly, despite my one modest foray, it’s still pretty much that way. I have one story in circulation, and another that’s fixin’ to be dropped in the bottom of a deep drawer, and maybe two others that could stand to be tidied up and launched into the world.

Which is why, to me, the fate of science fiction magazines, to me, is somewhat academic. Or, I should say, I don’t have a lot of bias when it comes to them. Not particularly beholden to them, no particular animosity toward them (other than, of course, that cliched sort of frustrated rage at not being able to sell to them–look at me, my fury burns so hot, I’m increasing entropy! Rawr!) And it occurs to me that the move to the web not only seems inevitable, but could actually be constructive.

Like Jason Stoddard, I think the world has already changed away from print magazines and print fiction. Short of an incipient electronic paper revolution (which seems to me to be best poised as that holy grail of effective e-book readers, not the sort of disposable/collectible unique copies that magazines and newspapers are today), I don’t see them surviving in their current form. But, you know, I find the web much more conducive to reading the short stuff.

It’s too pat to say that the web is a realm of the short attention span, a haven for the ADD generation, but this is the kind of place where briefer and punchier art can find a home. And it seems like a lot of markets and authors are heading in that direction. I certainly think it makes such authors and stories easier to find, and exposure is probably the only thing that will save short fiction and short fiction markets. Breaking down the barriers to that kind of thing seems to be the only sensible vector for survival. I know, as little as I do read short fiction, I’m ten million times more likely to do so on-line than in a magazine I don’t subscribe to, or can’t find on the newsstand… not that I buy that much of my reading in brick-and-mortar shops as it is.

ETA 12:00AM: Jeremy Tolbert has an outsanding discussion going regarding the problems of short genre fiction, from the standpoint of appeal. I might write something up on this tomorrow, but right now I’m just following all the smart, smart things some smart, smart folks are saying over there.