“You learn by writing short stories. Keep writing short stories. The money’s in novels, but writing short stories keeps your writing lean and pointed.”
– Larry Niven
As a short story writer I have to agree with this one. I find short stories are tough to write and teach you a lot about writing, especially about keeping it short and to the point. There is no room for excess words when you only have so many thousand (or less) to tell a story.
Inside My Worlds 
What a fantastic quote! So true. I tend to steer away from short stories and stick to writing longer pieces that eventually tie into one of the two novels I’m working on (the reason being that I tend to drone on and on, hence my blog title 😉 ). However, writing short stories about my characters, events, day to day happenings, etc., would be great practice for keeping it short and to the point, as you put it. I can then implement these stories into my novel, killing two birds with one stone: practicing more simple writing, and working on additions to longer pieces.
Thank you. Sounds like a great idea!
Great advice!!
Thanks 🙂
Ah, this is an interesting one! And honestly . . . I can’t say that — for me — it’s the best way about learning writing. It might work well for others, but I just don’t enjoy short story writing. Sometimes — I’ll get an idea for a short story and I’ll write it, but my heart lies in novel writing for sure. 🙂
Everyone is different and there are plenty of other writers who don’t really like writing short stories. I love the challenge of trying to fit a whole story into a small word count.
I actually find it easier writing shorter things! Or well, I did when I was in school for assignments- I’m not really a writer, though, so I probably can’t weigh into this argument too much. I just find it hard to have the patience to stick with a story for long 😛
I never liked writing long school assignments either 🙂
Oh, I like this! I really enjoy writing short stories, too, but I’d never consciously thought about how good it is for my writing. I really agree with it, though! Short stories ARE often more difficult to write and edit than a novel, especially because the whole process is somewhat condensed and generally quick compared to novel writing. I love the editing process of short stories, especially when you have to meet a word count. It’s so interesting and fun and trying. Really glad you posted this, Rochelle. Xx
Thanks Romi. I certainly find short stories challenging to write, and I’ve started a lot of stories as short stories and then they have turned into a novel! It certainly makes you think hard about what words you’ll use, ehich is good practise for novel writing because although you have a greater wordcount, you till need to choose your words carefully and deleted unnecessary words and try not to be too wordy in your sentences.