Re-read this excellent piece. I think Clancy called it early (visionaries often do) but I think he called it correctly.
First step here is I need some sort of short story curation. Using the 'Fiction' and 'Literature' sections on Notes is largely useless as it is people talking *about* stories rather than posting links to the real thing. A common problem of the modern internet.
I'm happy to save a lot of short stories to read at my leisure. But I need to discover them without tons of trawling first...
you gotta get in the right circles on Notes, Thomas. i haven’t been doing so the last few weeks but typically i’m able to find and save 2-3 stories a day as restacked/quoted from people in my feed, or my inbox.
I enjoyed this essay a lot but I think you are wrong, Clancy, at least for now. As you said fiction requires much more focus than non-fiction, and that becomes difficult when the device you are reading it on can ping you at any given moment with 29 new notifications that are springing up from all over the place. But I do think Substack could save the short story if they create print options, monthly magazines from a group of fiction publications you pay. How about that? Let's do that.
Clancy is a great presence on this website and genuinely enthusiastic about what people are writing on here. Glad to see him getting some exposure to more potential readers.
"The short story is on the brink, not of extinction, but of its moment, a moment brought about by the Substack medium, the cultural trends, and the death and stagnation of its previous gatekeepers."
You nailed it. There are bins of, shall we kindly say, kitchen scraps on Substack, but within the refuse are gems that take my breath away. Those gems elevate the short story form and deserve to be celebrated. They challenge me, humble me, inspire me. Here’s to the short story!! 🥂
I think you summed up the current situation quite well, Clancy. A world of short stories is a dream-realized for me. I have always preferred the shorter form to novels. Novels pack more on than needed most times. As the great short story writer Ambrose Bierce said, "Novels are just stories with too much space between the covers." Even the most prolific novelist cannot explore nearly as many ideas as the short story writer can in a career. One of my favorites, Donald Westlake, penned close to a hundred novels. Just imagine how many short stories he could have written. And even when it comes to series, why can't a series character (not the protagonist) have a short story about them? in truth, they usually cannot carry a novel, but most characters can carry a short story. I see endless possibilities here and I think you're right about a shift happening. Even the popular thing becomes stale over time, especially when there is little substance. Readers already clamor regularly for something deeper than another "How to make money on Substack" post. I think we're trending in a bright direction. Great post as always, Clancy.
"it’s too easy to regard even moderately popular Substack fiction writers toiling away without orange checkmarks as members of the “creative underclass,” hopeless dregs jerking each other off over their silly little stories, a class which I am proudly a part of."
Whew! Thank you for adding those last nine words here, Clancy. If you are a hopeless dreg, I am proud to consider myself in good company...
So much to think about in this post, my friend. Thanks
Excellent analysis, Clancy. No point for me to say that I wholeheartedly agree with everything you say here -- you already know that.
you are part of the movement silvio. thanks for reading!
Re-read this excellent piece. I think Clancy called it early (visionaries often do) but I think he called it correctly.
First step here is I need some sort of short story curation. Using the 'Fiction' and 'Literature' sections on Notes is largely useless as it is people talking *about* stories rather than posting links to the real thing. A common problem of the modern internet.
I'm happy to save a lot of short stories to read at my leisure. But I need to discover them without tons of trawling first...
you gotta get in the right circles on Notes, Thomas. i haven’t been doing so the last few weeks but typically i’m able to find and save 2-3 stories a day as restacked/quoted from people in my feed, or my inbox.
check out my subscriptions
I enjoyed this essay a lot but I think you are wrong, Clancy, at least for now. As you said fiction requires much more focus than non-fiction, and that becomes difficult when the device you are reading it on can ping you at any given moment with 29 new notifications that are springing up from all over the place. But I do think Substack could save the short story if they create print options, monthly magazines from a group of fiction publications you pay. How about that? Let's do that.
Tremendous work as always Clancy. And not just because I agree with everything you said.
thanks TJ. i admire your work for the short story on here
🫡
Clancy is a great presence on this website and genuinely enthusiastic about what people are writing on here. Glad to see him getting some exposure to more potential readers.
thanks jack :)
Word.
Nailed it.
"The short story is on the brink, not of extinction, but of its moment, a moment brought about by the Substack medium, the cultural trends, and the death and stagnation of its previous gatekeepers."
You nailed it. There are bins of, shall we kindly say, kitchen scraps on Substack, but within the refuse are gems that take my breath away. Those gems elevate the short story form and deserve to be celebrated. They challenge me, humble me, inspire me. Here’s to the short story!! 🥂
hear hear!
I think you summed up the current situation quite well, Clancy. A world of short stories is a dream-realized for me. I have always preferred the shorter form to novels. Novels pack more on than needed most times. As the great short story writer Ambrose Bierce said, "Novels are just stories with too much space between the covers." Even the most prolific novelist cannot explore nearly as many ideas as the short story writer can in a career. One of my favorites, Donald Westlake, penned close to a hundred novels. Just imagine how many short stories he could have written. And even when it comes to series, why can't a series character (not the protagonist) have a short story about them? in truth, they usually cannot carry a novel, but most characters can carry a short story. I see endless possibilities here and I think you're right about a shift happening. Even the popular thing becomes stale over time, especially when there is little substance. Readers already clamor regularly for something deeper than another "How to make money on Substack" post. I think we're trending in a bright direction. Great post as always, Clancy.
"it’s too easy to regard even moderately popular Substack fiction writers toiling away without orange checkmarks as members of the “creative underclass,” hopeless dregs jerking each other off over their silly little stories, a class which I am proudly a part of."
Whew! Thank you for adding those last nine words here, Clancy. If you are a hopeless dreg, I am proud to consider myself in good company...
So much to think about in this post, my friend. Thanks
haha no problem Sharron, thanks for reading. glad to be a dreg with you.
👍🏻
Here’s hoping.
same!
Comic short story: https://clarkaardvark.substack.com/p/tictocq-awakes
As Poe famously described, the unity of effect is a magical goal in literature. The short story achieves this in a way no other genre can.
that’s awesome felipe! keep it going!