thread: 2005-11-14 : Long and Short
On 2005-11-15, Victor Gijsbers wrote:
There is a standard piece of advice given to all aspiring writers: start with short stories. Once you've mastered those, try longer stories. Then do a novella. If you feel you can do a novella, try a novel. And then, perhaps, you're ready to embark on that decades-spanning series a la Tolkien or, well, Proust.
We have just started learning how to make roleplaying games. Of course we start with small games, because they are probably the easiest to get right. Once we've mastered those, we may be ready to take on long games. But that might take while yet.
This makes go "Except."
Short stories are not shorter, easier novels. If anything, short stories are harder to write: every word must be carefully chosen, and placed just so. —Then again, short stories have a much easier time achieving that ol’ Aristotelian unity. Of course, I’m a fox, not a hedgehog, so salt accordingly. —Short games as we’ve been describing them are very good at what they do, which is take a group of any people you care to name and bring them to the point quickly and surely. Long games would almost, I think (I know) find that anathematic, or at least tiring; then, sprinters do not do well in marathons, eiher. (Though do note the athletes that specialize in either are both of them fine, fine athletes.)
This makes KM go "Um. That’s me, up there. If the annoying strikethroughs didn’t give it away."
