Limitations of Short Stories

Had to think for quite a while before I came up with a topic for this post. Especially since nothing new has appeared. Had a new acceptance, but still nothing has actually been published. Soon.

Until then, I'm going to breifly-- I promise!-- talk about the limitations of short stories in Bo Fexler Land. There is far more to Bo's world than just the cases-- short and long-- that she's seen working in the stories thus far. Briefly, we've seen her friends Axel, Dimi, and Michael and her assistant Dawn. Since I've been focusing on mystery stories, the mystery doesn't often include her pals. But their presence, if I could squeeze it into the limited word count, would show Bo to be a fuller, richer character.

Many of the sites I read and submit to limit story length, some as low as 700 words, but most under 5000. I have a couple stories in the to-be-revised bin that are hefty 8 to 10k. The cases are more intricate (can we say 'red herring!') The story more involved. But the markets are fewer for these. Then these are even parred down by the ones that won't accept violence and profanity-- But that's a whole separate issue.

Just wait until I get my novel written! Then you'll get to see so much more of Bo Fexler's little world. Actually, it's getting big enough that I sometimes get lost in there. =)

• Story in progress: Medium-Well
• Last story finished: False Impressions (accepted)
• Reason for not writing: Summer school papers to grade