normsherman wrote:Mr. Tweedy wrote: On the other, it wasn't a story: No plot, no characters, no particular setting. It was just a description of a concept for a story, notes.
Yah, I think that would disengage me normally, but concept-based stuff seems to work alright in flash fiction, at least IMO, and that's why you usually see more of it there than anywhere else. Beekeepers was basically the same thing wasn't it?
I was thinking the same thing. For me, stories are about ideas. Mr Tweedy's probably right in that this doesn't strictly qualify as a story, but it does a great job of getting the idea over. It breaks the old 'show, don't tell' canard, but who cares? If it works well in audio, and the ideas are strong, I don't really care about how we categorise the piece.
I like 'Beekeepers,' I think for similar reasons. In some ways it's easier to listen to because you don't have to keep track of voices, who's speaking in the dialogue and so on. Although I did miss Norm's range of voices on this one.
There are other ways this could be done --- for example, it could be done mockumentary style (like `This is Spinal Tap') with interviews and stuff. Or, if it's to be read out loud, write it as a radio news report (`War of the Worlds?')
Just on that, Norm, do you get many submissions that are specifically written for audio presentation? I might give it a try one day.
(I should add that my wife fell asleep while we listened to this story. I suggested that she could be earning money while she slept, but she missed my point and went back to sleep. Ah well.)
