Linking Short Stories

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SampleGuy

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In a short story cycle novel, how do you keep the stories connected so the novel won't be a short story collection? Whether the stories follow a single adventurer completing separate quests through episodic tales, or shows different characters in their own places, what methods are there to keep the chapters linked?
 

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You can still have linked short stories in a collection. I'm working on one at the moment. The structure of an episodic novel is quite different, though.

If you're trying too hard to maintain links, you might be better off looking at a collection.
 

Jamesaritchie

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In a short story cycle novel, how do you keep the stories connected so the novel won't be a short story collection? Whether the stories follow a single adventurer completing separate quests through episodic tales, or shows different characters in their own places, what methods are there to keep the chapters linked?

There has to be a story that runs start to finish through all the segments, much like a trilogy. The last story must finish what the first story started. Otherwise, it's just a collection of stories.

Read Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles.

Unless you really have the gift for it, this is definitely the hard way to write a novel. It usually just doesn't work.
 

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What if there is a main villain, who always shows up to try to stop the heroes in each of the story episodes?
 

Ken

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This isn't really an example, but it may be helpful to consider.

Complete works of Sherlock Holmes. All the stories tie together. So while it is a collection it has a feel of a novel. Why? Same antagonist. Criminals, collectively. Also to a limited extent, individually. Moriarity. Same protags; overall settings; etc. Just something to consider in terms of how to link stories with aim of creating a novel from them. And for the record, there's nothing wrong with pitching a collection. If your stories are really good you may make a sale. Entirely up to you.
 

Fruitbat

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My understanding was that in a novel-in-stories, regardless of the other details, the stories progress under the larger overall story arc of beginning/middle/end.

And linked short stories, regardless of the other details, can be organized more loosely. For example, it could just be set in the same town, with characters showing up in each other's stories in varying degrees, like in the Lake Wobegon books, or it could be the adventures of the same hero, etcetera. But, the overall beginning/middle/end story arc isn't there.

Beyond that, I'm confused. Here's a link, if we can trust wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_story_cycle


I'm wondering if the reason for the question is that we've all heard that novels sell better than story collections so we're overemphasizing being able to use the word "novel" in the book's description. However, in practice, I'm not sure at all that a publisher makes any big distinction between a novel-in-stories or a linked short story collection. It may be splitting hairs that doesn't make any difference anyway and best to just let structure follow story rather than the other way around. Does anyone know more on that?
 
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SampleGuy

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My understanding was that in a novel-in-stories, regardless of the other details, the stories progress under the larger overall story arc of beginning/middle/end.

And linked short stories, regardless of the other details, can be organized more loosely. For example, it could just be set in the same town, with characters showing up in each other's stories in varying degrees, like in the Lake Wobegon books, or it could be the adventures of the same hero, etcetera. But, the overall beginning/middle/end story arc isn't there.

Beyond that, I'm confused. Here's a link, if we can trust wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_story_cycle


I'm wondering if the reason for the question is that we've all heard that novels sell better than story collections so we're overemphasizing being able to use the word "novel" in the book's description. However, in practice, I'm not sure at all that a publisher makes any big distinction between a novel-in-stories or a linked short story collection. It may be splitting hairs that doesn't make any difference anyway and best to just let structure follow story rather than the other way around. Does anyone know more on that?

Well before the graphic novel idea, my first novel was going to be a short story collection, but someone said short story collections are hard to pitch for publication because most publishers prefer novels. I couldn't think of a longer story for my adventuring character. So I outlined some episodic tales and they sound fun. But since my artist only wants to do short, I decide to go back to the short story collection concept with links to make a novel.
 

Fruitbat

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Well before the graphic novel idea, my first novel was going to be a short story collection, but someone said short story collections are hard to pitch for publication because most publishers prefer novels. I couldn't think of a longer story for my adventuring character. So I outlined some episodic tales and they sound fun. But since my artist only wants to do short, I decide to go back to the short story collection concept with links to make a novel.

The issue I can see there is that it's making the story fit a structure rather than using the structure that works best for the story you want to tell. Then again, those other considerations are there too, so I don't know... But just to point that out in case you haven't thought of it.
 
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