Posts
Why?
Because I am in one.
Ah, no. That's why they are good for ME.
Why are they good for YOU?
1.) YOU SEE DIFFERENT HORIZONS
Each of us falls into reading ruts eventually.
Say, we look at an anthology and see an author whose work we like ...
We buy it and fall in love with the story, "The Silvering" by Ellen Jacobson
a haunting romance of superstition and a need for liberation, whose cost is dear.
Fantastic!
Our reading horizons have just broadened. How neat is that?
2.) ANTHOLOGIES PROVE THAT GOOD STORYTELLING TRUMPS GENRE
Often we short-change ourselves because we look at a novel and say,
"Oh, I don't read that stuff!"
Yet a good story is seldom centered upon genre but upon the conflict within the human heart.
And whether that heart is alien or human,
we are touched and enriched by a good story about its bruising.
Which leads me into my next point ...
3.) STRANGERS TEACH US ABOUT HUMANITY
By portraying "The Other,"
authors are really holding up their characters as a comparison to our own ways.
Sometimes a story about aliens
(or an age group or sex with which we think we have no connection to)
can help us see the best and the worst of humanity.
As in my story for Sendai, "It Seemed The Thing To Do,"
letting you see through the eyes of a single mother in a foreign land devastated by war.
4.) SHORT STORIES TEMPT YOU TO STEP INTO A WORLD YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE BUT FOR THE LENGTH
When you’re between books, or don’t have the time to immerse yourself in your current book,
it’s very satisfying to read a thoughtful, well-written story.
There are many stories you can read in 10 or 15 minutes . . .
stories that you will be thinking about for much, much longer than that.
5.) SHORT STORIES TEACH US HOW TO USE THE LANGUAGE
In short stories, you do not have the luxury of gushing words.
You have to make each word count.
Reading a short story well done teaches us how to sketch in a much fuller world in fewer words than we thought possible.
6.) BECAUSE STEPHEN KING SAYS SO!
7.) AND YOU SEE WHAT KIND OF DRECK THAT YEOMANS GUY WROTE
Look for it Never.
Hey, life happens.
But even anthologies
that the publisher abandons
teach you to do your
due diligence!
Have you read any
great anthologies lately?
Hey, life happens.
But even anthologies
that the publisher abandons
teach you to do your
due diligence!
Have you read any
great anthologies lately?
We did all learn from that last one.
ReplyDeleteAnthologies are great exposure for both the authors and the readers.
That last one hurt a lot of authors sadly.
Delete