Survivor: Short Story Edition

I found this incredibly interesting post by Matt Lapata at Glimmer Train Stories regarding the short story as a form and what writers need to do in order to help it survive. In his article, Matt tries to understand how the modern short story might survive against comic books, TV shows, and video games.

It seems he's suggesting that modern short stories need to be as explosive and engaging as any of those other forms of entertainment. Writers need to create memorable characters and scenes that are unforgettable. In short, we need short stories that don't suck. Well, that's my incredibly simplified summary of what he's trying to suggest. He makes a much better argument.

I take this as a friendly challenge, though; it's almost a writerly call to arms. And I think all indie writers should do the same. I'm going to take it upon myself to go on a Story Quest. I want to figure out a way to make the short story feel more like a rock song (taking a cue from Matt in his article). It's time to turn the short story on its head in a way that makes sense in the digital age. It can be done.

And I'm going to do it.