A Novel Approach (To Me)

I’m a fan of short fiction.  At any point in time, I am reading at least one novel (fiction), one book on writing (non-fiction), and one anthology of short fiction.  There is method to my madness.  This allows me to read based on my moods. Novels allow me to escape when I need to wind down and get away from the stress of work and life.  There are other times when I am in the mood to learn something and find that non-fiction is quite satisfying.  However, most often I’m incredibly time starved and that’s where short fiction comes in.  A short story gives the satisfaction of a story arc without the time investment of a novel.

The reality is that the two–short stories and novels–fill different reading needs. There is a time and place for both. In fact, there is more of a market for short stories than most people think.  They are being published–sometimes as anthologies of multiple authors work on a single theme, other times they may be a group of stories by a single established author.  You can also find short fiction published in many literary magazines.

Even so, most people when given the choice will purchase a novel rather than a collection of short stories. There is a wonderful quote in “Too Much Happiness” by Alice Munro that sums up a perception that exists about short fiction:

“A collection of short stories, not a novel.  This in itself is a disappointment.  It seems to diminish the book’s authority, making the author seem like somebody who is just hanging on to the gates of Literature, rather than safely settled inside.”

There is a myth or perception that short fiction somehow does not hold the same authority or weight as a novel.  I would argue that both are extremely valid forms of writing and that they both serve different purposes.

I stumbled onto an interesting blog that is dedicated to the subject of short fiction and thought I would share it with you.  You can have a look here.

The Toronto Library is up to something!  They are releasing 99 journals into local neighborhoods in the hopes that residents of Toronto will use them to write comments and thoughts about their favorite books. The journals will be left in public places to be picked up and passed on from person to person. The journals will then (hopefully) make their way back to the library by April 20th to become part of the Library’s permanent collection. It’s a stunt they hope will go viral in order to bring attention to the “Keep Toronto Reading” festival that takes place in April.  I think it’s brilliant and I’ll definitely be on the look out for one of the red covered journals!

If you don’t happen to find one of the journals, you can still participate. You can create a 30 to 60 second book review video and post it to You Tube with the tag Keep Toronto Reading for a chance to have your video added to the library’s You Tube Channel.  Check the video above for an example of a celebrity review–or look here for some great examples posted already by people just like you.  Now where did I leave my flip camera??

“Thomas Listen. Listen. There are times when life calls out for a change. A transition. Like the seasons. Our spring was wonderful, but summer is over now and we missed out on autumn. And now all of a sudden, it’s cold, so cold that everything is freezing over. Our love fell asleep, and the snow took it by surprise. But if you fall asleep in the snow, you don’t feel death coming.” Francine from the movie Paris Je T’Aime

Ok, I agree. That quote is a bit over the top, but that’s why I like it.  The mystique of Paris is one of extremes and exaggeration, both in romance and in reputation. Some day I will experience it for myself.

I’m a hopeless dreamer, it’s true. I want to write fulltime, I want to travel fulltime, I want to have enough cash to do both. As a result, I work very hard and I occassionally buy lottery tickets.  If I ever get the chance I will visit Paris. I have a vision of sitting in a cafe in Paris people-watching and making notes. (Doesn’t everyone?)

In the meantime, I can visit Paris online here. You can too. It’s my favorite web link from this week. Thanks to @DavySunshine on twitter-he gets the credit for this find.