Maine Crime Writers

Why Write Short Stories? Lessons from the Maine Crime Wave

A few weeks ago, my friend and fellow Maine writer Rebecca Turkewitz and I co-facilitated a roundtable discussion on short stories with other crime writers at the Maine Crime Wave. It was a fantastic chance to talk craft. (If you haven’t read Rebecca’s exceptional collection, Here in the Night, please check it out.)

I wanted to share some of the essential tips I’ve picked up along the way.

Why short stories?

During the roundtable, a number of writers shared why they enjoy both writing and reading short crime stories. And there are a few things that truly exceptional crime writers do in short stories, maybe better than any other genre.

Subtext. The short form allows writers to go deep, fast. I tried this in my story “For Laura” by trimming out as much as possible, leaving the characters on the cusp of a tragedy. So much of suspense is what is left off the page. It’s the quiet between the sentences. And often, for me, the best writing contains precise and specific details (toenail clippings, a bottle of catsup on the microwave, etc.) but in the end allows for many interpretations, motives, and meanings.

The art of a the twist. My favorite short story writers have mastered the twist. Like a magician’s sleight of hand: the twist should never be entirely unexpected. At the same time, the road should be lined with breadcrumbs; readers know something is coming. Twists with no crumbs feel undeserved, and too many crumbs make the plot predictable. In my flash piece, “Lubbock to El Paso” (available October 15th), I tried to lean into this idea by sprinkling small omens along the way to earn the ending.

Experimentation. Short stories offer a low-stakes environment for risk-taking that is difficult in a full-length novel. You can try a second-person POV, explore deeper, darker themes, and test ideas without committing to a massive time investment. This frees writers up to be truly innovative.

What resources are out there?

• Short Mystery Fiction Society (SMFS): This free, fantastic listserve is where over a thousand of short story writers share calls for submission, market news, craft questions, and encouragement. SMFS also sponsors the Derringer Awards.
• Reach Out to Authors: Did you read a short story you loved? Email the author! When I started out, I tracked down three of my favorite writers and received outstanding advice and encouragement.
• Buy books, share what you love on social media and with friends, show up!: Take a minute to showcase what you’re enjoying. Write the reviews. Show up for book events. This writing stuff is hard. It means a lot when people shout out the good that they are reading.

Where can I find a market?

When you join the SMFS, you get access to a comprehensive market list that has been compiled lovingly by members over the years. Below are my personal favorites. (Full disclosure: my list skews toward dark, ambiguous, and literary crime fiction. Always check the submission requirements and read what the publication is putting out to get a sense of their distinct vibe.)

1.) Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (EQMM): A gift to the genre. They published my first story and invest in new voices. The editor puts together a great edition. Highly regarded and competitive, they pay professional rates. Response time is typically 3–4 months.

2.) Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine (AHMM): A sibling publication to EQMM and a guaranteed good read. Every editions offers at least 2 stories that I love, and many more that I enjoy. The editor reads every story, so the response time is longer—twelve months plus—but they pay professional rates.

3) Rock and a Hard Place (RHP): Great for noir and dark literary fiction (my go-to for edgy pieces). They take risks and produce interesting collections. Standard pay is $25 per story.

4.) Dark Yonder  Focused on Neo-noir; they look for tightly written, deeply subversive, and unsettling stories. Pays $50 per story.

5.) Shotgun Honey Excellent small publisher for flash fiction ($\text{1,000 words or less}$) and unexpected themed anthologies. This is an online publication and offers $15 per story.

6.) Dark Waters Anthology (Annual): A podcasting duo that runs an annual call. Listen to the podcast – they interview some great writers. Pay is $25. The call for submissions opens in the summer.

7.) Crime Spell Books (Annual): Publishes The Best New England Crime Writing anthologies. Pay is $25, and accepted authors are eligible for the Al Blanchard Award (which comes with a $250 cash prize). Calls for submission open in January

As always – thanks for reading. And if you have any short story specific questions, feel free to drop them in the comments or send me a message by going to my website www.gabrielastiteler.com.

My latest stories:

In Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (September/October issue): My story, “A Hard Night’s Sleep,” explores a mother’s attempt to host a peaceful Thanksgiving, disrupted by her husband’s worsening condition and family resentment. The evening culminates in an act of violence that shatters the fragile world she was trying to protect.

In Snakeberry: The Best New England Crime Writing: My story, “Money Well-Spent,” introduces Sloane, a cynical private investigator whose vacation is derailed by a blizzard and a troubled young woman. Sloane will reappear early next year in “The Best and Sweetest Things” in EQMM.

New story up on Shotgun Honey on 10/15. Check it out online on Wednesday (10/15) HERE.

Upcoming Events:

Stay well, and we’ll connect again in November.

Gabi

I am a prolific word counter. Yes, I’m a bit obsessed with how many words I’m writing at any given point during my novel-writing process. How did this weird compulsion to be?

Writing a novel is akin to running a marathon. A runner constantly check their time, pace and miles. Or maybe a better analogy would be like building wealth. Sure, you could spend all your money trying to hit the lottery. Or betting your life savings on the roulette wheel. But wouldn’t it be better to save some money every week and invest it? Build wealth instead of trying to make a big score? Of course the big score is sexier and more cinematic. But remember the story of the tortoise and the hare? Slow and steady sometimes wins the race, especially when it comes to writing. And how many of us can write a novel in a day? Or a week? Unless you’re Jack Kerouac writing On The Road on a 120-foot-long scroll of tracing paper.

I often wonder how people back in the day wrote without that little word count box on the right corner of the screen, keeping them in check. I did at one time, oblivious to the ways in which those numbers mattered. Now those numbers ground me, and speak to me about my daily progress. Often, I have to grind out a certain number each day, and I don’t stop until I’ve reached it.

People marvel when I tell them I’ve finished a novel. They often say that they could never achieve such a feat. Admittedly, it is difficult. But then I think about what they’ve said from their perspective. They look at a novel in its entirety, seeing it as singular, monolithic achievement. And it is, to a degree. But writers view that novel differently. Or at least I do. I see the novel as a series of word-building blocks stacked high. Like Legos. Blocks of words arduously formed into sentences. Blocks of sentences arduously formed into paragraphs. Blocks of paragraphs arduously formed into chapters. You get the point.

People say it’s too hard to write a novel. I tell them that if they wrote five hundred words every day for five months they would have a working first draft. An hour each day. An hour of discipline and a dash of inspiration. Sometimes it’s hard to teach the grind, but the grind is all I know as a writer. Not sure creative writing departments teach the grind, and that’s the hardest trait to develop. Grind. Never give up. Keep sitting in that chair and pushing out the words. And that’s where word counting helps me out.

I used to make myself write thirteen hundred words a day come rain or shine. If I wrote beyond that I could bank the extras for a rainy day. Or take a day off. If I didn’t meet my goal, I would have to write more words the next day to make up for the deficit. Couldn’t steal words from someone else.

In this day and age of literary austerity, managing word count matters for a novelist. The days of writing nine hundred page novels are a thing of the past, especially for crime writers. A workable word count for a mystery/crime novel is anywhere between 80,000 to 100,00 thousand words. Publishers have to manage paper costs, as well as cater to the demands of readers who have shorter attention spans. Thus, the need to keep an eye on that little box on the top left corner of the screen is imperative.

I could go on and on about this seemingly mundane subject. It’s not just good enough to be a writer these days. One needs to be an accountant of words. A CPA of literature. A story auditor. Bookkeeper of ideas. Words matter in this business, but so do numbers. Keeping track of them could be the difference between getting published and a rejection letter. So watch your words, brother. Numbers don’t lie, sister. Do the right thing and watch your word count.

I am a prolific word counter. Yes, I’m a bit obsessed with how many words I’m writing at any given point during my novel-writing process. How did this weird compulsion to be?

Writing a novel is akin to running a marathon. A runner constantly check their time, pace and miles. Or maybe a better analogy would be like building wealth. Sure, you could spend all your money trying to hit the lottery. Or betting your life savings on the roulette wheel. But wouldn’t it be better to save some money every week and invest it? Build wealth instead of trying to make a big score? Of course the big score is sexier and more cinematic. But remember the story of the tortoise and the hare? Slow and steady sometimes wins the race, especially when it comes to writing. And how many of us can write a novel in a day? Or a week? Unless you’re Jack Kerouac writing On The Road on a 120-foot-long scroll of tracing paper.