WRITING ADVICE: Writing LONGER Short Stories

First of all, sorry for the delay in posting! Semester I Finals (writing, grading and entering into the computer) took precedence as did my son studying for and passing both his National Registry Emergency Medical Technician exam (I was the "study buddy") and his driver's licence test (practice partner).

So, my flash of information or insight on short stories?

These are what I have the most experience writing. Literally hundreds of the things live on hard drives, as hard copy in folders and on old-fashioned disks. And what have I learned? Reflecting on that in church yesterday while letting my mind wander before the worship began, I realized that the short stories of mine that have gotten published have always Said Something in a quiet and subtle way.

This led to the sudden terrifying thought that there might be NO way to intentionally craft a story! I KNOW that the stories I've written in which I've TRIED to Say Something come across as heavy-handed polemics. What if the only way I can write publishable fiction is if I DON'T try to Say Something? What if I can only write good fiction when I'm not trying?

Gah!

I'll take a lesson here from my favourite writer, C.S. Lewis. In the essay, "Christian Apologetics" in GOD IN THE DOCK, he says, "What we want is not more little books about Christianity, but more books by Christians on other subjects with their Christianity latent." I AM a Christian, my faith should be latent in every story. I understand that and let the Holy Spirit work through me.

But applying this paradigm more broadly, I might say that when I try to Say Something, I should instead allow it to say itself; to be hidden; to be LATENT.

Looking at my published work, I find that the pieces I've had published were stories where I didn't force the issue.

In the matrix of PLAIN GOOD STORYTELLING, I have to let the message speak softly for itself.