Short reads
Hello Dear Reader!
Today I want to share my newfound love for short reads. I am actually growing quite fond of novellas. Generally, a novella is around the 30-50k word count. Something that you finish typically in one to two sittings (maybe more depending on how fast you read or how much time you have.) These novellas are kind of like a reading snack. I’ve found they help whet my appetite and can help get me out of a reading slump. Plus the little dopamine kick from finishing a book is great.
Additionally, I’ve been trying to work on writing some short stories and novellas to help improve my writing craft. Writing a short story can teach you a lot. You have less time to establish what is going on. You have to be concise and to the point. You don’t have time to meander around or spend a long time worldbuilding.
While I am really proud of my first novel, I know there are lots of things I could have done better. The best ways to keep getting better are to read good stories, keep writing, keep practicing, and keep telling stories in their entirety from start to finish. The more reps you put in, the better. Short stories are a great way to get some good reps in without having to go through the long process of writing an 80k-100k+ novel. I work full-time outside of my writing, so I have limited time to practice.
Here are some of the short stories that I have enjoyed over the past year or so.
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
An imaginative retelling of Edgar Alan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher. This book does the most amazing job of setting a spooky atmosphere and creating a sense of ‘wrongness’ that is so vital to a good horror story. There were scenes in this book that literally gave me goosebumps as I was reading. Book two of this series is What Feasts at Night, and a soon to be released third novella What Stalks the Deep which is set to take place in a haunted coal mine in the Appalachian mountains and I cannot wait to read it.
🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇/5
Bright than Scale, Swifter than Flame by Neon Yang
This is an asian-inspired fantasy of a dragon slaying knight who is sent to a neighboring kingdom to track down and slay one of the last dragons. When she arrives in this mysterious kingdom she finds they revere dragons instead of revile them and is forced her to choose between her loyalty and her heart. I definitely want to read more in this world.
⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️/5
Six Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente
An excellent mash up of a fairy tale and a western. Beautifully blended, with strange and wonderous magic, this story follows Snow White as she tries to escape her evil step-mother by fleeing across the wild west.
🔫🔫🔫💦/5
The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill
Something of a futuristic fantasy, it follows the story of a teenage girl who runs the household and takes care of her younger brother. Everything changes when her mother, a renown artist and already somewhat neglectful parent comes home one night with a six foot tall menacing crane.
This is a strange and sad story that will likely resonate with anyone who felt they had absentee parents and had to grow up too fast.
🪽🪽🪽🪶/5
The Fireborne Blade by Charlotte Bond
We follow Maddileh, a disgraced knight and dragon slayer. In this world dragons kill knights more often than not, and even when a dragon is slain, they are just as dangerous dead as alive. Out to redeem herself, Maddileh must navigate the twisted labyrinth of one of the oldest and most cunning dragons. Accompanied by a doubting squire, they must dodge ghosts, fight darkness and dragonfear, and avoid getting lost in the maze of caves if they are to have any hope slaying the dragon.
Readers… this book was fantastic. It lives in my brain rent free. There are small excerpts of other knights who have fought dragons and they are so fascinating. Plus this book had a twist that I hardly saw coming. SO good.
🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉/5
Well dear readers, have you read any of these books? What is your favorite novella? Let me know in the comments!
Till next time, go enjoy a short story. <3 Tiff
