Nuts & Bolts: Author Josh Rountree on Transitioning From Short Stories to Novels
By Tom Joyce
Whether it’s a matter of keeping a short story tight, or of churning out the daunting number of words required to fill a novel, creating a narrative at any length comes with its own set of challenges. Drawing on the lessons he’s picked up as a short-story writer who transitioned to novels, Josh Rountree discusses the nature of those challenges and how to overcome them.
Q: How did you become established as a short-story writer?
A: Back in the early 2000’s when I first began submitting my work for publication, the conventional wisdom stated that if you started out by selling short stories, and you aimed for top level markets, that would raise your profile among editors. That way, when you were ready to sell a novel, you’d have some sort of name recognition, and a professional track record that might separate you from the pack. You still had to write a great novel to be noticed, but all other things being equal, maybe your pedigree as a successful short story writer might give you an edge.
I don’t know if that was the right way to go then, and I’m pretty sure it’s not today, but it did sharpen my short story skills, and they remain my favorite thing to write. You can do worse than to hone your writing skills with short stories as you build your own voice as a writer. The basic tools in a writer’s bag are the same, whether working long or short, and they’ll translate to a novel when you’re ready for it.
Of course, if you only want to write novels, that’s perfectly okay too. Some people come right out of the chute with a fantastic first novel that wins all the awards and is rightly celebrated. They have that skillset that lends itself to the form.
That wasn’t me, though.
Short stories consumed all my writing time. They became the thing I loved most. I know they aren’t for everyone. But in my quest to “work my way up to” a novel, I realized short stories weren’t just a means to an end. They weren’t just mile markers leading me closer to writing that great first novel.
Short stories were my favorite form of art.
Q: How is writing a novel different from writing short fiction?
A: I don’t think there’s one perfect answer for this, but in general I think short stories and novels require us to access different parts of our writer brains.
Being a short story writer, my brain is always telling me to tighten, tighten, tighten. Leave nothing in the story that’s not important to character, advancing plot, etc. You try to make every sentence you write do double duty.
When I transitioned to working on a novel, I felt that same instinct, and I had to remind myself that it’s okay to let things breath. I can go deeper into the characters, their personal stories, and figure out who these people are on a deeper level. I still want every sentence to work hard, advancing the story and building the character, but I can be a bit more leisurely about it.
Some people are skilled at one form and not the other. I think I’m one of them. Short stories come easily to me, but novels are much more challenging. I wrote a half dozen novels that will never see the light of day, for good reason. Books that I thought were wonderful at the time, but with hindsight I can see they’re a mess. As much as I love short story writing, I did want to prove to myself I could write a novel, but the process became discouraging with each new failure.
Finally, I decided to split the difference and see if I could write a novella. I told myself it was really nothing more than a longer short story. I was consciously trying to trick myself, and ultimately it worked.
Q: What have you learned in the course of transitioning from short stories to novel?
A: I like to joke that I accidentally wrote my first published novel, but it’s not far from the truth. My effort to write a novella ended up being a 25,000-word book called The Legend of Charlie Fish. Even for a novella, it was kind of short compared to a lot of the books in that form being published. When I submitted it to my eventual publisher, Tachyon Publications, they worked with me to grow it into the novel it became. About 55,000 words. A short novel, but a novel, nonetheless.
Throughout this process, I learned that I had the ability to switch back and forth between the person who wants to write short stories, and the person who wants to figure out the novel form too. For me, I think I think learning to write to editorial direction was the key. Listening to input on how to effectively grow the narrative, without just padding a story with words to make it longer.
Q: What role did your editor play in preparing the novel?
A: The editorial assistance I got from Tachyon was crucial to getting The Legend of Charlie Fish across the finish line. At their suggestion, I added an entirely new point of view character that infused the book with a whole different energy, and ultimately opened up the story in a way that I hadn’t imagined. They helped figure out some sticky plot points, and directed me toward a much stronger ending that does a much better job of servicing the story I wanted to tell. The result was a much stronger book than that original novella.
Working in the genre short story market, you won’t always encounter this sort of editorial guidance. That’s not to say it doesn’t happen. I’ve worked with many great short story editors who have helped me immensely, and their support has resulted in some of my best stories. But often, when a story is accepted for publication in a magazine or anthology, it will pass through with only grammar checks, and some nuts-and-bolts type editing. Not the sort of developmental edits I received for The Legend of Charlie Fish.
Being mostly unfamiliar with this level of feedback, I had to learn how to work with someone so closely on a story, and take the suggestions for what they are. A genuine attempt to improve the art. When you have a book that you feel is a finished project, it’s easy to become irritated with anyone suggesting large changes. But if you give it some thought, and realize they might be right, you have to dive in and do the work. For me, figuring that out made all the difference.
Q: Can you share any resources or tips that you think would be helpful for authors just getting started?
A: Write what you want to write, and build a community. One of the best parts of being a horror writer is the great people you meet in the industry. I would recommend that you attend conventions when possible, and that you support writers when they visit your local bookstore for reading and signings.
Attending conventions is a great way to meet like-minded people, and to learn more about the writing industry and how it operates. More importantly, it’s a great way to make new friends. Don’t attend these events looking for an angle on how you can get your stories in a particular anthology, or who can help you get an agent. Attend them with a desire to learn. You’ll find that most people there will welcome you into the fold, and those industry relationships will form naturally.
Then, every time you head back to the convention, it’s like a family reunion.
Q: Do you have any projects you’d like HWA members to know about?
A: For a novel, The Unkillable Frank Lightning is my new one from Tachyon. An old west Frankenstein retelling in which a doctor and occultist brings her husband back from the dead, then realizing her mistake, goes on a quest to put him back in his grave.
For short stories, I’d point people to my latest collection, Death Aesthetic. Horror and dark fantasy stories about death and grief, some of which originally appeared in cool places like The Deadlands, Weird Horror, and Bourbon Penn.
For a novella, I have Summer in the House of the Departed coming in August from Psychopomp. A West Texas haunted house story about searching for the secret to death.
Q: Where can people follow you online?
A: I’m on various social media sites under some variation of my name, and you can find out pretty much everything at my website, www.joshrountree.com
Josh Rountree is a Texas novelist and short story writer. His novel, The Legend of Charlie Fish, was released by Tachyon Publications in 2023 to wide acclaim, making the Locus Recommended Reading List, and being named one of Los Angeles Public Library’s best books of the year. A followup novel, The Unkillable Frank Lightning, will be published this summer.
More than seventy of his short stories have been published in a variety of venues, including The Deadlands, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Bourbon Penn, Realms of Fantasy, PseudoPod, Weird Horror, and The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror. Several collections of his short fiction have been published, including Fantastic Americana, and most recently, Death Aesthetic, featuring tales of death and transformation.
Rountree lives in Austin with his lovely wife of many years, and a pair of half-feral dogs who demand his obedience.
Tom Joyce writes a monthly series called Nuts & Bolts for the Horror Writers Association’s blog, featuring interviews about the craft and business of writing. Please contact Tom at TomJHWA@gmail.com if you have suggestions for future interviews.
