I agree with a lot of what you said here. As a genre novelist who only dabbles with the short story, my insight might be off base.
But the one W we can't do without, in my humble opinion, is the "why." Without emotional stakes readers don't care.
Your short story example has great stakes - the character getting caught and humiliated thus earning a new nickname. We are voyeuristic creatures by nature and love to watch a downfall as long as it isn't our own. And the offer of explanation bookended by the "Hey Baby" on both ends of the piece both lends beautiful symmetry to the piece while also offering us an explanation to the perplexing syntax of the first sentence.
I often find this is the disconnect for me in literary fiction (admitted, it isn't my genre and I haven't much enjoyed the examples I have dabbled in). But often I find myself wandering through pretty prose feeling like I don't know why I am there or which character I should be rooting for.
Anyway, great article! I enjoyed thinking about this and will definitely think of Hey Baby when I write my next short.
I agree with a lot of what you said here. As a genre novelist who only dabbles with the short story, my insight might be off base.
But the one W we can't do without, in my humble opinion, is the "why." Without emotional stakes readers don't care.
Your short story example has great stakes - the character getting caught and humiliated thus earning a new nickname. We are voyeuristic creatures by nature and love to watch a downfall as long as it isn't our own. And the offer of explanation bookended by the "Hey Baby" on both ends of the piece both lends beautiful symmetry to the piece while also offering us an explanation to the perplexing syntax of the first sentence.
I often find this is the disconnect for me in literary fiction (admitted, it isn't my genre and I haven't much enjoyed the examples I have dabbled in). But often I find myself wandering through pretty prose feeling like I don't know why I am there or which character I should be rooting for.
Anyway, great article! I enjoyed thinking about this and will definitely think of Hey Baby when I write my next short.
Such a good point. The worst question for a reader to ask is-- why am I reading this?