As the title says. The 200 page limit is arbitrary, but something around that size that could potentially be finished in one sitting. By punchy I mean something that hits you deep, that makes you pause, or leaves an impact.
Any genre. Likely fiction since it’s short, but curious about nonfiction as well.
My favorite example for this is The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes.
by escaypist
4 Comments
the five people you meet in heaven
Short stories are what you want. Or novellas perhaps, being long short stories…lol.
But I love shorts, they give you an entire tale in a few short paragraphs and are a lot harder to write.
You have to introduce the characters, describe the situation and give an outcome all in a few short words. No working up to it, long descriptions.
By their nature that’s what you tend to get – punchy.
I read a book once on How to write short stories. Something my dad had for some reason. Curious I read it. It had examples and one stuck with me;
A man washing up at the sink, he’d finished poking around at the waste disposal and was drying off some cutlery when he got a knock at the door.
It was a detective, called round as he’d reported his wife missing a few days earlier. detective just wanted to clarify a few things and a few more questions he says.
So they sit down and he notices the teatowel and forks etc…oh just doing the dishes.
Oh yes, wife had this waste disposal installed just before she disappeared he says, seems there was something stuck, and I had a poke about with a fork, yes I know you shouldn’t do that, but I had it off at the wall, no dangers of injury, he says.
Hmm, what was it he asks, that was stuck?
Oh a bit of bone or something he says, not really sure.
Detective looks at him for a moment. Hmm, he says. I might have to get one for my wife he says.
The End.
Small Things Like These – Claire Keegan
Amsterdam – Ian McEwan
The Yellow Wallpaper – Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Assembly – Natasha Brown
Mrs Caliban – Rachel Ingallis
Tuesdays with morrie