Perfectly Formed
Waterstones are running there first ever short story competition. They're looking for a story that is "small but perfectly formed." (?!) Its open to writers from the UK and Ireland. Stories of 2,000 words or under. Looking at the short stories I've written to date I think competitions and submission guidelines have certainly had an influence in the length of my work, most are 2,000 words or under, the longest being 3,000. There is a skill to writing shorts but does it limit a writer in some way if you don't explore a longer short story form? I'd be interested to see how I'd get along with a longer story of 5,000 to 10,000. http://www.wbqonline.com/feature.do?featured=505
Comments
I find most of my stories are edging towards the 2000 words. I have to make a real effort to expand on that and I need to practice writing longer.
I was also thinking further about this and wondering who/where would publish my (yet to be written) 10,00O word story)? Does anyone know of a publication who publishes longer work?