An essential read. Short Circuit is a collection of essays from writers who are passionate (and successfully!) about short fiction. A real gold mine of insights and ideas for aspiring writers and for those seeking a refresher.The Bridport Prize
At last! The definitive guide to writing short stories, put together by a team of experts who are passionate about this most elusive, maddening, beguiling and ultimately satisfying of art forms.Carole Buchan, Asham Trust
Cleverly constructed - a book which you will want to dip into for years to come. And a book which will do much to raise the status of the short story in contemporary fiction.
Once a lover of the short story opens Short Circuit one quickly realises it is indispensable ... to a degree that has one asking why hasn't it been done before? Like all the best story anthologies the essays and interviews are varied in style and structure and possess all the attractiveness and excitement of good gossip.Pat Cotter, Frank O’Connor Award
How refreshing to have a book on creative writing that is neither abstract theory nor banal 'how to'. What we have instead are insights into the short story from a marvellous variety of accomplished writers; an invaluable resource for anyone tackling this tricky but highly rewarding literary form.Paul Munden, Director, National Association of Writers in Education
Here is a ‘How To’ book that is hard to put down. If there is anything you still need to know after reading the varied authors here, you probably haven’t read it properly. Read it again. Not that you’d need to, wisdom and insight hop off the page like light on water.Clem Cairns, founder, the Fish Prize
This book lacks the aridity of a textbook. The writers give of themselves and their experience, and information, advice and insight is fortified with example. Respect is given to the process and to the reader.
There is a mystery at the heart of writing. It’s the experience of characters and stories developing lives of their own; of characters arguing with their author and creator, of stories going places the writer did not know about. It is the marriage of this mystical, that a writer must learn to listen to, and the craft that a writer must learn, that makes fiction sing and dance on the page, and one of the joys of this book is the illumination given to this vital process.
Vanessa Gebbie has compiled an indispensable guide to crafting the short story. The subjects represented here--all written by contemporary authors--will stimulate advanced writers and instruct newcomers. There's nothing like hearing from people who have learned a technique or a way of approaching a problem through experience. These authors are generous with what they know, to our benefit.
Alice Elliott Dark, Writer in Residence at Rutgers-Newark University author of ‘In the Gloaming’ and ‘Naked to the Waist’.
This is rich book- full of insight and interest. 'Short Circuit' will be a essential addition to my undergraduate book list- it is written by those who have first hand understanding of the problems, as well as invaluable knowledge of the craft of writing short fiction.Gill Lowe, Senior lecturer in Creative Writing, Ipswich University.
This is a generous book, rich in ideas. It’s a practical book, giving a kick start to the imagination with its suggestions for overcoming the tyranny of the blank page, and it’s also a realistic book. Short Circuit updates Chaucer’s advice about life being short and the craft long to learn, without ever losing sight of why it’s worth the effort.
As a teacher of creative writing, I recommend it to students. I believe in the apprenticeship system and this is an excellent manual. As a writer, it reminds me why I write, and why there’s nothing else I would rather do.
Bridget Whelan, lecturer in Creative Writing, Goldsmith’s College
As full of inspiration as it is of sound advice. An invaluable tool-kit of a book for practitioners and scholars of the short story.
Mike McCormack, lecturer, MA in Creative Writing, NUI Galway.
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