Suspend Your Disbelief

Posts Tagged ‘Thoughts on Shorts’

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Thoughts on shorts: Daniel Orozco

by Celeste Ng

Every story that I write feels like a kind of experiment. The challenge in crafting a story is how to engage a reader emotionally, intellectually, experientially. I’m always looking for some kind of challenge, some kind of structural or narrative constraint to try and figure out. […] I mean, the story “Orientation” is a gimmick. […] But so what? All that matters is that a story, whatever the structure, must be grounded in the humane. ~ Daniel Orozco Further Reading: Read more about Daniel Orozco on Fiction Writers Review Looking for something to read? Check out the Stories We Love […]


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Thoughts on shorts: Danielle Evans

by Celeste Ng

“[T]he value of a short story is the same as the value of all literature—that it allows a person to confront the world in a new way, that at its best it has the power to act as a transformative experience, and to leave the reader changed—smarter and more empathetic. I think there’s something especially lovely about being able to have a complete, meaningful emotional experience in the time it takes to read ten to twenty pages.” ~ Danielle Evans Further Reading: Read more about Danielle Evans on Fiction Writers Review Looking for something to read? Check out the Stories […]


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Thoughts on shorts: Wells Tower

by Celeste Ng

“I think the best stories start from something tiny. […] A short story can easily destroy itself through metastasis. I think if you start a story with more than two scenes in mind, you may be doomed. At least you have a hell of a lot of work ahead of you. If I start off trying to get at this one little moment, that’s all I want to do. And then I have to build the world that makes that moment happen.” ~ Wells Tower Further Reading: Read more about Wells Tower on Fiction Writers Review Looking for something to […]


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Thoughts on Shorts: Valerie Laken

by Celeste Ng

“With short stories, you never really expect the World at Large to care one way or the other. It’s a labor of love, and no one disputes that, and I think the purity of that endeavor is very liberating.” ~ Valerie Laken Further Reading: Read more about Valerie Laken on Fiction Writers Review Looking for something to read? Check out the Stories We Love Need inspiration? Try our Get Writing exercises



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