This Makes Me Very, Very Happy

I first ‘met’ Anne Brooke on a writing forum, many many years ago. She was helpful to me, a virtual newbie, and she was friendly and generous with her advice. And I admired her writing (still do). She’s good. She’s brave, in both what she writes and how she publishes; she’s been down the route of traditional publishers and agents and she’s one of the few people who’ve self-published successfully.

And she’s my friend. And a trusted reader.

A few months ago she sent me a story of hers to read (she was looking for feedback). I loved it. I thought it was brilliant. I made a few suggestions (the best I could) but really it was a great story and didn’t need much work at all.

It’s called How To Eat Fruit and it’s published on February 1st. Click here for the details.

Anne sent me a PDF of the story this morning.

This is how it begins:

“For Nik Perring, writer and friend: thank you.”

which is a huge, huge honour and makes me very, very happy. And proud. And humble.

Thank you, Anne.

***

ADDED: And as soon as I posted this, THIS came up on my google alerts. How timely.

Write Words

Really this is a message to my write words friends. I seem to have let my subscription lapse and probably won’t be renewing it for a while. But I wouldn’t want you thinking I’d just buggered off without saying anything.

So to all my friends there, thanks so much for your help, advice and support over the years. And all the very best with your writing.

My Thoughts On the iPad

Potentially the release of Apple’s iPad (as we now know it’s called) could have a huge impact on the way books are sold and read. That was the word on the street. So at 6pm last night I tuned in to a live stream and a live blog (- click for pics) of the launch event.

Mostly I was disappointed.

What I was hoping for was a super swanky take, by the super swanky Apple, on the eReader. Maybe that was wishful thinking. That is not what the iPad is. In fact I’m not sure I know exactly what it is. I’m not totally convinced the people at Apple do either. But what it seems to be is, err, a really big and (admittedly) very cool version of the iPod touch. A cool gadget. Excellent screen resolution (for photos and movies) all multi-touch screen and, well, everything else the touch does but bigger, faster and better.

In order to avoid a very long post, here are my problems.

Its size. The iPhone (which I own and love) is a wonderful device. It gives me really handy things from a device which fits in my pocket. I can browse the web from a device that fits in my pocket. I can email, easily and efficiently, from a device that fits in my pocket. The device that fits in my pocket I can use as a phone, play games on, text from, etc etc. And IT FITS IN MY POCKET.

The iPad will not fit in anyone’s pocket. So it’s no more portable than a laptop or netbook.

The Touch Screen. Yes, this is clever. Yes it looks cool and like something someone might have in Star Trek. But as a device you’d use to type up a story, for example, I can’t see how it would work. The keyboard’s a touch screen jobby that pops up on the tablet itself (like the iPhone). But that means that you’d be typing where the screen is rather than typing flat and looking at a screen that’s perpendicular to a keyboard. I’m thinking back problems, neck strain and, well, just not being comfortable. Apple are offering a keyboard (which is almost the same size as a laptop’s) dock but once that’s attached I can’t see how different it would be to working on a laptop or desktop or netbook. And you’d have to carry it around with you. Hmm.

That it’s not an eReader. The ace that the Kindle, Sony Reader et al have in their hand is that they use electronic ink. That means that the screen doesn’t look like a computer screen. It isn’t backlit. There’s no eye strain. You can read it in sunlight. It looks almost exactly like paper and , I must say, having seen it, it’s bloody impressive. All the other readers on the market are around about the same size as a paperback, and mostly thinner. This is good. This means I can put it in my pocket. With the iPad the screen (albeit an impressive high resolution one) IS backlit. And the device IS too big to fit in a pocket.

And the last bit’s what’s disappointed me the most. In conjunction with the iPad’s launch, Apple have also announced their new iBooks store (like iTunes but for books). Personally I think they could have made more of this and provided something more (e) reader friendly.

So there are my impressions. I’m sure it’ll sell well. I’m sure it’ll be competition for the Kindle (btw what I’d like to see is the option to buy eBooks from wherever I like and to read them on whichever device I choose) and I’m sure the fact that its 16G memory is the same as my iPod nano won’t hinder it.

I think I was just expecting more. Or something different.

The Short Story According To Nik

I am not an expert on short stories. I’m not an expert on anything to be honest. But I am a short story writer, one who’s been published in some fairly spiffing places, and one who teaches writing every so often.

It occurred to me earlier that I don’t really give any advice here, so this post should change that. It’s not comprehensive. Lots will disagree with me, I’m sure. But this is what I think. I hope it helps. And if anyone’s got any of their own I’d love to see them – so do leave a comment.

Here are my tips for anyone wanting to write a good short story or piece of flash fiction.

Start where the story starts, not before. If I was telling you about a fantastic hotel room I’d stayed in I wouldn’t start by telling you about booking the tickets to get there (unless the story was about booking the tickets and ended in the room).

Take out everything, every word, every sentence, every character that isn’t absolutely necessary.

Similarly, only use the right words. Sometimes people do just ‘sit’. Or ‘run’.

Make sure your characters are believable. What they do, or the situations they find themselves in, may be unlikely and fantastical but the way they react to them has to be something that readers will believe.

Be suspicious of anything you think is clever. The story comes first, the story’s what people should notice, not the writer.

Write for you, but spare a thought for the reader too.

Don’t overdo it. Big words are fine if they’re the right ones. Same with descriptions.

Say what you want to say in the simplest, and most effective, way possible. In other words: get to the point.

Aim to be brilliant.

Don’t expect it to be easy. Or quick. Be prepared to work hard.

Don’t be afraid of rewriting. In fact, embrace it; it will make your stories better.

Don’t expect to get it right the first time. You have total control of what can be changed. (I often find also that if a story wants or needs to be changed, then it’ll let you know.)

Trust your instincts. If you suspect something’s not working then it probably isn’t.

Don’t be afraid of putting a story away for a while. Sometimes stories, and your head, need space.

Don’t be afraid of failure. Nothing’s wasted. It’s better to try something new and fail (and perhaps learn something) than to play safe all the time.

Most importantly: BE BRAVE. You have an imagination, use it. Write the story you want to write, write what you think’s good and interesting, even if that means not sticking with the norm. Different, if done well, can be brilliant.

And read the greats. See how they do things. See why they’re the greats.

***

Talking of greats and of advice…

Interview with The Bristol Short Story Prize



I’m delighted to welcome Joe Melia, the main coordinator of The Bristol Short Story Prize, to the blog for a chat about the prize and short stories. What a treat. Enjoy!



Welcome to the blog, Joe. So, tell us about The Bristol Short Story Prize.
Many thanks the invite, it’s a real pleasure to be here. The BSSP is an annual international short story competition that publishes an anthology of 20 previously unpublished stories and awards cash prizes to the 20 authors featured in the anthology. We’re in our 3rd year. We’re based in Bristol, hence the name, and try to involve lots of different facets of the city in what we do: for instance, the photos on our website are taken by a couple of photography students from Filton College, we invite journalism students at Bath Spa university to do interviews for our site and we invite designs for our anthology covers from final year illustration students at University of the West of England. These initiatives all take place annually.
How and why did it start?
The BSSP was founded by the editors of Bristol Review of Books magazine in 2007.  The magazine is a free quarterly that has features on the local arts and culture scene as well as lots of book reviews. The mag. has always published poetry and the idea for the short story competition came from the desire to support and publish new and exciting short stories and also to raise some money for the magazine to ensure it remained a free publication rather than filling it with advertising. The winning story in the BSSP also gets published in the magazine. The central idea from the start remains – to publish great short stories and reward the writers.
What do you look for when you select the judges? (Click to see this year’s.)
We’ve been very lucky with the judges we have approached so far, they have nearly all said ‘yes please’ straight away. Up to now we have stuck with the Bristol theme in selection- everyone on the judging panels we have selected has a strong connection with the city, this may well change in future years. The most important thing for us is that the judges have enthusiasm for the project and the short story in particular. Our chair Bertel Martin is one of the editors of Bristol Review of Books and heavily involved in the setting up and direction that BSSP takes, he also, writes, publishes and performs which brings an awful lot to the compiling of the shortlist. As well as Bertel, we have a couple of people who have some standing in the publishing/book industry, something we look to feature every year. We’re very lucky to have Maia Bristol (yes, that is her name!) UK sales manager at Faber & Faber and a big short story and new writing fan, and also Bristol publisher Helen Hart who has worked previously for Harpercollins- this kind of experience is invaluable in the judging process. We look for people who bring other things to the process, too: Joe Berger tells stories in many ways as a cartoonist, children’s writer and animator and he will bring a unique angle to the judging process. It was a great day for the city when Tania Hershman moved here last summer, as well as being a superb writer her enthusiasm for the world of short fiction (although she doesn’t like that term much!) is such an inspiration. I was reading ‘Go Away’ from her fantastic debut collection ‘The White Road and other stories’ for about the fiftieth time when she revealed on her blog that she was moving here- let the bells ring out, I thought!
What do you think of the state of the short story in the UK at the moment?
There are so many exciting things happening that it’s difficult to get to sleep at night thinking about future possibilities! Just off the top of my head, if you go outside the major publishers, some of whom consistently publish great collections- Atlantic, Faber etc. look at what Roast Books are doing, for instance- phenomenal stuff. ‘A-Z of Possible Worlds’ is one of the most courageous, groundbreaking acts of publishing it’s possible to imagine, it’s also a wonderful collection. And Comma Press, Salt Publishing– we look on in awe at what these guys are doing. Then there’s Short Fuse , Story Slam Live, Pulp.net short story cafe, Word Soup, Year Zero Writers live projects- such an active scene. And look at that list of magazines Tania put together the other day and the latest prizes to appear- Manchester and the Sunday Times (I think!), £25,000 first prize.
Here’s a scoop for you, Nik. We’ve been developing something for the last 18 months which will be piloted this year on a small scale and then, hopefully, if we get the funding, will be up and running in a big way for our 2011 Prize. In the next month or so Henbury school in Bristol will choose a story from our previous anthologies and a year 10 art class will produce pictures/images, in response to the story. The author of the story will visit the school to chat to the children about their writing, short stories, their story etc. and the pictures/images/works will be displayed in a gallery at the Arnolfini arts centre in Bristol during the day of our awards ceremony in July. Next year, we’ll open it out to 5 or 6 schools, who will all work on different stories and on different types of adaptations- drama, film, music, dance whatever they choose to do. These performances/exhibitions will be a major part of a day-long short story jamboree culminating in our awards ceremony in the evening. We’ve got lots of other stuff planned including a short story dj. It will be a big fiesta celebrating the vibrant and dynamic world of the short story and with it we hope to be contributing in our own small way to all the exciting things mentioned earlier. This has turned out to be a very long answer-sorry! Long term we hope to expand this to a weekend and then a few days but it’s early days and we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves.
Can you tell us a little about the prize’s anthologies?
They’re full of variety and different styles and great writing. There’s some historical fiction in there, humour, verse, stories that score highly on the quirkometre- some from experienced writers and some from those just starting out. One of the joys of the competition is finding out about the authors of the stories. All the stories are read anonymously and you always have a picture of the author when you read a story and quite often it turns out to be wrong, particularly the gender of the writer, get caught out by that a lot. And interestingly, knowing about the author can really alter the reading experience a great deal.
What, in your opinion, makes a short story great?
A really difficult question because there are so many different kinds of short story and different aspects of a short story that I really like and that are very effective. I do enjoy stories that really go to town on inviting the reader to ‘come to the aid’ of the writer, as Harold Bloom puts it, because it highlights one of the distinctive aspects of the short story ie the reader is often much more involved than in say, lots of novels, for instance.
Take Hemingway’s legendary six worder ‘For sale: baby shoes, never worn’ – it’s entirely up to the reader to fill in the gaps. Is this an unbearable tragedy with a baby dying or given up for adoption , or a domestic dispute over the colour of the shoes, is the baby alive and well but with unusually large feet, have the shoes been stolen and subsequently turn out to be extremely sought-after with a high market value, have they been sent to the wrong address and the occupants happen to be desperate for money? The possibilities are endless.
But I also think that great short stories have numerous other qualities-they leave an indelible mark, make you gasp, make you want to read them again and again, create an entirely convincing universe within a few lines, describe an episode or encounter or moment of realisation that not only effects some kind of change or eureka moment in a character but also the reader.
What do you think the future holds for the short form?
Nothing but brightness!  Short stories are one of the most basic and common forms of human interaction. Think about how many times stories are told- meeting someone in the street,  arriving at work,  having a haircut, visiting friends/family, a lengthy evening at the public house, a phone conversation. All of these occasions and more are full of stories. How are you? Did you have a nice weekend? How was your holiday? Did you hear about…? Wassup? – these prompts are everywhere, every second of every day all over the world and nearly always lead to a short story of some kind. I’d love a clever clogs somewhere to estimate the number of short stories that are related worldwide in a 24hr period – how many millions of pieces of short fiction would that be??
Also, having 2 small children makes you realise that short stories dominate pre-school reading- there are so many examples of Joycean epiphanies and Chekhov’s ‘note of interrogation’, it’s astounding-.The climax to ‘I’ll Show You, Blue Kangaroo?’ is a great example of the elusive Chekhov ending.  Short stories are everywhere and will continue to be. So the idea that gets banged around in some circles that no one wants to read or write them or buy books of them and that the short story is something that needs ‘saving’ is way beyond outright absurdamundo that it deserves no more airtime from this day forward. As Douglas Coupland says in his latest novel Generation A : ‘Without stories, our universe is merely rocks and clouds and lava and blackness. It’s a village scraped raw by warm waters leaving not a trace of what existed before.’
What would you say about flash fiction and short, short stories?
A great form and really powerful. They are unbeatable at delivering sensational knock-out blows- Lydia Davis is excellent at the art, for instance.  I’m still reeling from having read ‘Fear’ a week or so ago- it contains about 100 words and has a strength , intensity and resonance that defies belief. This is what flash fiction can do.
Do you think there’s anything more us short story writers (and readers) could and should be doing?
Just keep writing and reading stories. And write what you want, really want. Not what you think other people will want to read or something you think might be like another writer- just write your truth and stick to it. It’s wonderful the way in which writers support and encourage each other- it really is an act of courage writing something and letting other people see it. I have nothing but the utmost admiration for writers.
As a short story lover yourself, which five collections would you say are required reading?
Required reading is a tricky one. This is Earth’s toughest question!
If I may, perhaps I’ll give you 5 collections that immediately shivered my timbers and I return to ever such a lot (there are a lot more than 5):
          The Lady with the Little Dog and other stories’ Anton Chekhov
          Drinking Coffee Elsewhere and other stories’ ZZ Packer
          Burned Children of America’ ed. Zadie Smith
          My Oedipus Complex and other stories’ Frank O’Connor
          Not Her Real Name’ Emily Perkins
It would be a different 5 tomorrow and again the next day. Just thought of loads of others
Anything you’d like to add?
I’m looking forward to reading collections by these people very soon: Padrika Tarrant, Laura Van Den Berg, Sarah Salway, Gwendoline Riley, Panos Karnezis, about a zillion others and reading everything Lydia Davis has ever written.
Thanks once again for your kind invite, Nik.

2081

And while I’m thinking about Kurt Vonnegut – how amazing does this short film (based on his awesome short story Harrison Bergeron) look? Can’t wait to see it. Seriously.

(I first read the story in his collection, Welcome to The Monkey House – which is brilliant.)

Incidentally, if you google the story’s title there’s a PDF of the story on the results page just below the video results.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7898284&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=ff000d&fullscreen=1
2081 Trailer from 2081 on Vimeo.

Listen

Mid way through last year I started working on a story. It had a definite style, a definite voice which was different, a kind of extension, of how I’d been writing before. And I liked it, it was good. But I stopped. I got stuck. Couldn’t figure out where to go and went on to other things.

One of the reasons I stopped was because I was worried that the style was not my own. Honestly I thought I’d been too heavily influenced by reading Kurt Vonnegut. And me being me, well – I want what I write to be me, to come from inside.

But yesterday: a revelation.

I was working on an old laptop and I opened a story I’d written AGES ago.

And it was written in exactly the same style as the thing I’d given up on. The first piece had been written a year or so before I’d read a Kurt Vonnegut book. The more recent piece had been written before I’d read a Kurt Vonnegut book too, I discovered. I hadn’t nicked his style. It was my own.

You have no idea how happy that makes me. And free.

Now, if I could write something at least half as good as the master…