If you love science fiction - please watch.

[@BookFurnace]

Dear All, I made a discord server where we can enjoy more discussions on sci-fi and writing discord.gg/CF4fjSY2Ef I also want to say thank you. I could have never imagined how amazing the response to this video would be. Your engagement and thoughtful comments mean a lot to me! It's heartwarming to see that we are not alone in our concerns, and, more importantly, in our appreciation of the Sci-Fi genre in its different aspects. I'd love this community to grow to be a force for good, sharing what love about sci-fi, discussing it in detail, and facilitating new creations through community-based competitions, writing workshops, and so on!

[@nonyabeeznuss304]

As an amateur scifi and horror writer, short stories are also critical for developing a pool of authors. You can't just start by sitting down and writing a full book. Short stories are how you get into writing, hone your writing skills, and develop your own style.

[@tallaaron1115]

I completely agree with you, and while cutting teeth on short stories is vastly important, writing has changed with time. Old school sci-fi tended to be a set focus, where these days people expect genres to encompass many styles of the same form of art. Plus writing short stories verses a novel is vastly different in scope, skills needed (to a degree) and with so many failing, it is hard to see that we only see less then 1% that succeed and not the rest that give up or fail. Granted, Kindle makes it too easy. There are some actual "novels" I purchased on Kindle that really were short stories. While I think a technological boom is not a negative, the large coprerations who have focused their attention on high benefit and low cost changes the dynamic. Back in the 70's it was hard as nails to publish anything, and only a smattering was ever able to get through. What happens if we lost other possible authors equal to the great works of Dune or Foundation because they just were not seen due to the limited ability they had to create or get through to get published? In the end it is truly a double edged sword.

[@PoeLemic]

Nonya ... Perfect reply. I said same thing without reading your comment. Those smaller distribution, print magazines are where you can develop your talent and learn how to write for profit. So much can be learned in getting able to get published on a periodic, calender basis. And, that's also where you can get a "little money" to develop your skillset and ability to craft larger works in the future.

[@PoeLemic]

@@tallaaron1115 TA ... yes, very good comment too about "difficulties of publishing" in early 70s. Yes, I was planning to be sci-fi writer in high school and (actually) wrote something quite long. But, I didn't understand that "getting published" is not the end-all, be-all thing that I should have been striving for. I should have been taking courses in learning how to improve my craft, and that the publications would come when I had enough of a skillset to be able to produce content more quickly and without excuses. Yeah, and then, life got in the way ... right?

[@Iron-Bridge]

Absolutely agree. 👍

[@Yarblocosifilitico]

I can and I will!!!! I had to left many in the way though, so maybe you're right... :P

[@demonicaxeman7264]

The human imagination is a priceless gift in the human condition. We are currently being bombarded with short-term attention spans, monetary incentives, and too much focus on the external world rather each of our own internal worlds. We can get back to this appreciation of great sci-fi books if we continue to speak about the value of great writing and new ideas.

[@veramae4098]

Just turned 70 and it's shaken me. I'm immersing myself in scifi again in the hopes of keeping my mind flexible ... and hopeful. "Mote in God's Eye" was fabulous. I've backtracked in it, reading Jerry Pournelle's original series that's the setting for "Mote". Military scifi. Something I'd never pick up normally, but I'm very happy with it. Sometimes called the "Falkenburg's Legion" series or also the "CoDominium" series. Thrift Books is great!

[@friendlyone2706]

It is one of those vicious self-fulling prophecies. The original Star Trek almost died an early death because of the influence of the media controllers who demanded mean aliens and "women in their place.", hence what Ronderberry wanted as episode 2, became episode 1 and his original pilot much later became a story backdrop. Those same types are still too much in charge. In spite of that, let us not forget all movies are really animated short stories, not novels. Official Hollywood was shocked at the Martian's popularity. Except for a couple dramatic points, that was old fashio hard core sci fi.

[@wordsofcheresie936]

As a teenager, I read countless collections of science fiction short stories. I agree that it exposes you to tons of great ideas and is a lot of fun.

[@philpaine3068]

When George Orwell was near the end of his life, he noted that short stories had practically disappeared from the literary world. He was unaware that there was a wealth of brilliant short-story writing going on in the Science Fiction magazines, which were considered to be nothing but trash by educated literary people. Most science fiction fans discovered the genre through these magazines: Analog; Galaxy; the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction being the leading three in the English language. They were chock-full of brilliantly written short stories as good as any that were mentioned in histories of literature, but they were unknown and probably incomprehensible to people with degrees in literature, who prided themselves in not wasting time on "that stupid Buck Rogers stuff." Science fiction was "low class." Novels that are now famous were serialized in these magazines before they appeared in book form. The short stories were reprinted in book anthologies, which is how they made their way into public libraries (which is where I read most of my science fiction). I remember, as a little kid, being emotionally overwhelmed by Eric Frank Russell's "Dear Devil", after which I gobbled up as many of these stories as I could find in the libraries, each exploring some idea that expanded me either intellectually or emotionally. Then I would move on to the novels of those writers. They were usually short novels, rarely more than 100,000 words long, and each a separate world. Novels like Edgar Pangborn's "A Mirror for Observers", already old and out of print when I first read it, shaped my life. I don't have to list titles ---- the list is different for every person.

[@bbloggins8490]

And yet these very "trash publications" were the stepping stones for writers like Issac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, and countless other Science Fiction authors we consider today as bonafide masters in that field. They used to scramble to push out two to four short stories a week, some weeks, if the editors were pushy, and they did it, and they were amazing stories. That's probably the name of one of the publications. Issac Asimov used to give interviews on this subject. I loved hearing about this. It was some wild and crazy stuff.

[@JoelRiter]

Hey look, something else Orwell was wrong about.

[@WilLSOwNs]

I loved the stories in analog, I miss that mag.

[@KenPapai]

@@WilLSOwNs Miss it? Then please subscribe. It is still kicking ass.

[@starmnsixty1209]

@@KenPapai at maybe eight or ten thousand copies. barely above what used to be considered semi-professional circulations. This seems to be average today. Unfortunately with today's prices, one does have to make some hard choices at times. If you don't, I'm happy for you, but not everyone falls into that category.

[@Stlaind]

One thing I miss from older sci-fi is that it also seemed more about asking questions, potentially ones that could be entirely unapproachable in their current social context, and asking the readers to wrestle with the potential answers. It always feels like when questions are asked in modern sci-fi that the reader is more railroaded into a particular answer.

[@kregy7509]

lately, I have been reading a lot of older books from 1800 to 1960 and I got a strange sense of adventure, wonder and excitement from them, but when I read something very new I don't get the feeling as much. Maybe I am just biased, but it seems like the whole writing style has dramatically changed.

[@SkyWriter25]

@@kregy7509 I agree that style has changed dramatically. I had been thinking about that for a long time. I am re-reading some books from my old scifi collection. Currently, I am on the "Rama' series. The original "Rendezvous with Rama" was written by Arthur C. Clark alone at 276 pages. The followups were written by Arthur C. Clark and Gentry Lee. They ran 466, 518 and 602 pages respectively. (paperback copies) You can tell what was written by Lee - page after page of fluff that does not truly add anything relevant or interesting to the story. The main focus shifted from wonder, plausible science and discoveries to broken human interactions with cardboard cutout villains as metaphors for popular social crusades. Oddly enough, I blame some of this on scientific progress. 🙄 The advent of word processing makes it far easier to bang out reams of fluffy filler to pad your page count than it used to be. Older books stuck to the base story because the task of writing itself was harder.

[@mikeglide1292]

So well said, it brought me back to when I first fell in love with science fiction. “Science fiction is the most important literature in the history of the world, because it's the history of ideas, the history of our civilization birthing itself." Ray Bradbury

[@nemanjasim100]

As someone closer to end of life rather then beginning, i am surprised someone remembered short stories. Good job.

[@disenfranchisedrealist4433]

My take is that most classic trilogies and series grew into those things organically. Most of what's being published today wants to be a series from day one. I think this trend is fueled by the idea that this is how a few achieved phenomenal success, so this is what is being emulated, hoping for similar success.

[@FreeStyleProjector]

I know this is not really on topic , but there is a show called "Love, Death & Robots" that kinda deals with this problem ... we just need more projects like it :D I'm in love with that show, even if i don't particularly enjoy an episode the idea of a whole new world explored with each episode is absolutely amazing and i can't get enough of it.

[@drivers99]

Good point. I’ll have to watch more episodes. I was going to bring up Black Mirror for similar reasons. Standard Black Mirror disclaimer: if you haven’t watched it, don’t be put off by the first episode

[@SRDaustralia]

Love these series and Black Mirror. Dust is another online KZbin arena that has excellent short-form content and discussion.

[@waverlyking6045]

I’m another big ❤️ + 💀 + 🤖 fan. There are some episodes that I feel are stronger than others but I wouldn’t change a thing except for having more episodes for Seasons 2 and 3.

[@eyalsegal6730]

I like Love, Death, Robots a lot. There are many episodes I don't like, which is a good thing - it means they try a lot of very different things and don't stagnate.

[@natanlevine]

I've enjoyed many LD&R episodes, but my criticism is way too much Death and not enough Love and Robots. Basically just like Black Mirror they mostly lean into horror and super bleak stories. There's virtually no sign of the inspiration and optimism from classic Scifi. The vast majority are just gory, bleak and depressing. There were a few nice exceptions admittedly.

[@Hunter-ck3ty]

I go to sleep every night with a classic scifi audio short story, they last 30-90 minutes each. A great way to fall asleep.

[@johnstjohn4705]

Very good analysis. I've been a fan of science fiction for over 60 years. I agree with you about the importance of short stories. They are an art form of their own. Any good novelist should also be writing short stories. Some of my favorite Stephen King tales are short stories. Good luck with building your channel.

[@BookFurnace]

Thank you very much, your kind feedback means a lot! I remember Stephen King's recent interview about his short story collection, where he speaks about keeping the short-story-writing muscles well toned. I couldn't agree more! Also, a fun fact - a few hours after publishing this video I finished reading Philip K. Dick's short story collection. At the end, there was an interview where he echoes and even doubles down on the main point of this video -- that short stories are the heart of science fiction, with novels being a mere extension.

[@lolglolblol]

I like the HFY subreddit. It's a community of hobby writers sharing their original short stories around the central theme of 'Humanity, Fuck Yeah!' It's surprisingly active, with multiple stories being posted every day and the vast majority is sci-fi themed, though there's also the occasional fantasy or modern setting Of course, being a hobby writer community, most of them are not of high quality, but there are a lot of diamonds in the rough.

[@sans_theskeleton]

I was bout to recommend r/HFY but u where first

[@Swordfish42]

When he started talking about short stories HFY immediately came to my mind

[@DoctorFuturity]

One other comment: publishers like Baen are doing a fine job of keeping the short story format alive and well. That said, your point is well made that among self-published authors there does indeed seem to be little incentive to write short fiction. The problem likely is due to low demand; authors need readers to meet them halfway and actually buy short story collections. As a contrast, the medium of short fiction is alive and well in the horror genre.

[@DoctorFuturity]

This has been an ongoing issue for at least forty years. I was a teenager when the big problem lay in how most fantasy fiction was being written by authors who were clearly far too influenced by a small handful of more meaningful authors (such as Tolkien), and publishers were motivated to pump out multi-volume series to keep readers hooked. I was noticing this in the early 80's. The problem today is that there's no longer any publisher gate-keeping in fiction today, and as a result, any author who wishes to can self-publish their Halo-inspired fanfic (or insert bigger IP here), and as a result the market is now flooded with with mediocre novels. The good news as I see it is, there are still just as many good authors with good ideas being published out there, it just takes a bit more effort to find that golden 10% that isn't crap.

[@twocoffeelimit5024]

I agree 90% with you on the publishers no longer being gatekeepers as part of the issue and now we're left to deal wading through the dross. However, 10% is on the side of the self published author who never would have gotten a shot with one of those gatekeepers but is amazing. They do exist though I acknowledge they are few and far between the abhorrent fan fic knock off word vomit masquerading as original thought. Not that I have any personal experience or strong opinions when it comes to that particular category...

[@boukimalice7909]

I knew this was an issue years ago when a friend tried to introduce me to a new series. I asked him how many books in the series? He said, "It's in trilogy in 10 books."

[@Globovoyeur]

Heh. Mention to him the Dumarest of Terra series by E. C. Tubb, currently at 33 volumes. I heard it was to be made into a TV show in 2018, but I'm not sure that happened.

[@fireblade295]

That's not an issue. That's your friend and author being horrible.

[@nbhubbard]

This is something that has troubled me for some time. Thanks for identifying it so eloquently. I believe that the short story form is the back bone of SF. I remember that in my day there were many excellent anthologies available that introduced readers to a variety of authors and ideas. I've been a bit disappointed with the current contents of the SF magazines though. They seem to be filled with mediocre, dull material. Is there any hope for magazine SF? I don't know.

[@PoeLemic]

For me, I see it as somewhere an aspiring writer (or someone early in their career) can test out their ideas, gain the ability to write on-demand, get into print (or "published" as they call it), and start getting more external feedback and critiques. To me, I don't see those smaller publications as the path to huge financial windfalls. I think they used to pay per word (like 25 cents, at one time), or that's what they did in my day. Because, yeah, I was "aspiring" too and still write more when I am older with less responsibilites.

[@veramae4098]

Oh, the Judith Merrill anthologies "The best of sci fi" every year for over a decade! Loved it.

[@loxodoncyclotis1823]

I don't read magazines but there are still good anthologies coming out, like the 'Infinity' anthologies edited by Jonathan Strahan.

[@oldsynner]

@@veramae4098 The first book I ever bought out of my own (pocket) money was a Judith Merrill. I was about 12, so you can imagine what a shock that was! life-changing, in a good way.

[@edwardlouisbernays2469]

You are Mimicking eacstly what Ascience Fiction Fans said after USA Atom Bomb Japan and Everything Changed. Exact same also when Writers like Heinlein and Arthour Clarke were War Mongers and when these Mass murder lover's died off Women ""Took Over"" same gripe, and then it was found Lovecraft was Racist, so fu&kin wat? Science Fiction is like Pornogaphey People either Love it and Support it, ot they Hate Porn but still watch it. Do you remember books by author Hugo Gernsback - 1930's? I was born 1949 became interested in Ham Radios. - I am losing my mind- You Young People are so silly, always Psychotic and Frearful that 'Shit Changes" and ""I DO NOT LIKE IT!" STFU foot. when YOU are 73 Years Old you will Laugh At Yourself for being a fool. How can I qualify this? I Was always mad when shit changed, when Steve Ditko was Removed from Peter Parker and Spiderman became a crappy comic. I went Nuts and was put in a Boys Ranch for Disturbed Children. Lol.

[@Epoch11]

Science fiction short stories are among the most important stories that this particular genre has to offer. The short stories are the ones which most resemble things like the Twilight Zone or Black Mirror. You can explore one particular idea in a way that makes your audience think without worrying about how to fill 200 or more pages. Sometimes a certain social issue or philosophical issue can be best investigated in just a few pages because you can pose the idea and then allow your audience to think about the consequences.

[@williamblakehall5566]

You've convinced me to not only write a book but to try to get out an anthology as well. After all, it worked for Bradbury.

[@PoeLemic]

Well, just write. Millions of us love to see new content. Just we've never heard of a lot of people because they don't produce much content. Like they get one little thing written and think they've landed on the moon, then wanna bathe in the glory. No, doesn't work like that. Writing is like a job -- just at home and with much more groaning than most jobs. [He he he] I've done science-writing and have publications, so yeah, it's not just all fairies, rainbows, and gold at end of that path.

[@muppyheingardt8597]

Ray Bradbury was an advocate of new authors writing short stories. He remarked once that it's better to write fifty-two [paraphrasing] short stories than a book, because it's really hard to write fifty-two bad short stories.

[@aingealstone8457]

When I was in college in the 80s I had limited space in my dorm room for books so I bought SciFi magazine and was introduced to SciFi short fiction. WOW! This began my love the short fiction. perhaps it is time for me to return to my first love.

[@davekincla9818]

My dad (now in his 80s) is always bringing up old sci-fi short stories and some of the ideas were just mind blowing.

[@stefanbraidwood2007]

Some fantastic short story collections by contemporary science fiction authors: - Conservation of Shadows by Yoon Ha Lee - Stories of Your Life And Others and Exhalation by Ted Chiang (one of these was made into Arrival) - The Paper Menagerie and The Hidden Girl by Ken Liu (who also translated The Three Body Problem and an anthology of Chinese sf short stories, Broken Stars) I would also recommend any collection of Ray Bradbury's short stories that you can get your hands on if you enjoy more poetic, lyrical short pieces

[@joelcarson9514]

SF Short Stories also can have something else that seems missing recently, Whimsy. And Humor. Also, a short tale can effectively make a point about something, without unneeded expositions and prolonged belaboring.

[@TheGeorgeD13]

There's plenty of science fiction with whimsy and humor today. Books like the Bobiverse and others have whimsy and humor in many spoonfuls. That's very common if anything in today's science fiction.

[@agsags4122]

I think this is the main reason why I loved The Three Body Problem series. When it comes to the books themselves they feel like an anthology with a grand connective tissue. And within each book are so much amazingly insane ideas it feels like a collection of short stories. It just filled that hole in my heart. Maybe that’s cheating, but that’s how I felt. 😅

[@celtspeaksgoth7251]

I listened to the first book as an audiobook and hated it. So I turned to John Wyndham's Triffids to dispel the memory.

[@agsags4122]

@@celtspeaksgoth7251 I respect that. But if you ever feel like giving the second back a try, do it. There are certain ideas in that book that are so interesting, they’re worthy of being used in another original story just by themselves. And I’m now very interested in the book you’ve mentioned by the way!

[@BubbleoniaRising]

I've read short stories by Dick (for example) that are light years more interesting than most long-form series. Great video!

[@garethmartin6522]

I fully agree; I have always thought that the short story is the format most suited to SF. I always recommend short stories, or these days, short films, I think they work ok. To write a full novel you need a plot, and a dramatic premise, and acts, it;s a very different format to the short story that can just present one idea to consider, cleanly and elegantly. I think another factor in the rise of novels is that they are good for merchandising. People will buy other stuff that is related to a book series they are invested in, but much less likely to buy merch for a story that's only a few pages long.

[@paultoensing3126]

I'm an older guy that is been reading science fiction all his life, less and less of it because of the very phenomena that you describe. I thought you did a great job of describing the situation, and you also provided a great remedy. I think exposure to short stories that pack a wall from the past are really fun. Furthermore, they provide great value for the time spent, which should be a huge enticement to why would like to enjoy short stories. I've recently pulled three books out of a storage bin from my recent move: two volumes of Larry Nevin; one volume of Stanislaw Lem. They have so many short stories worthy of total immersion. Anyway thanks for your wonderful views. I've clicked the subscribe button so best of luck.

[@jagoturner]

Thanks for this important reminder. I know that many people love long form fiction and losing themselves in a world that will sustain them for a long time but the beauty of the short story is in how it feels like dipping your feet into a world with a friend. And those magazines and collections give you the opportunity to read a variety of ideas and a variety of styles. I think the epic novel and even the epic series of novels have their place and I am happy that we can return to those worlds but short stories and, for that matter, novellas and stand alone novels, allow one to experience a balanced diet of the genre. Nice video.

[@PoeLemic]

No, it doesn't sound crazy coming from a smaller YT channel ( 6:14 ). I never heard of your channel until you got recommended today. Honestly, I like what you've said, and I do agree with it. For me, I love sci-fi, but it's harder to find time to read any more. Yes, I buy older books, which I grew up with, and scored my beloved Christopher Stasheff series. Yet, I barely have time to read the books that I've collected; let alone short stories. I'm still trying to work through some of my favorite authors growing up. So, I do agree with what you've suggested, but (for me) I only wish that I could find a way to read without distractions. I barely can start to read something, then my mind reminds me of calculating bills against my mortgage payment, reminding me to check emails, assure that enough groceries to cook over weekend, take car to get repairs & oil changes, doing some extra work in the evening for my job, taking care of family medical issues, etc. So, I will take into consideration what you said, because I do suggest stuff like PJF's Riverworld to people versus newer short stories, because I hadn't thought about it. ANyway, I rambled ... sorry. However, don't concern yourself with how many subs or how many views right now. Concentrate on making good content, and your viewership will grow. But, I don't even know what you've got as content -- because, like I said, I just found out about you. You're likeable and easy to listen to. You could easily have a bigger channel in time and with content. Anyway, by the way, I'm subbing and plan to watch some of your "I am a writer" content or "Difficulties of writing" videos, which I saw after a quick glance as your existing videos.

[@scottabc72]

I dont really disagree with your main point, especially that the genre is losing something with the fading of short stories. However, I think there are a number of really brilliant, original works coming out now and a ton of mindless dreck from the classic sci-fi era that is rightly forgotten. Its a little unfair to compare the work of the most recent couple years against the greatest hits of several decades past.

[@BookFurnace]

That's fair. I didn't mean to say that all old sci-fi is better than modern, precisely because of the reasoning you've outlined. But there are many axes of quality, and what I meant to say is that with the short story losing popularity, one of these axes (quality/originality of ideas) may be systematically affected for the worse. Even that does not mean that all new ideas are worse than old, but on average in the genre, I believe, it might be happening.

[@controlthedreams]

Can you give some examples of really brilliant original works coming out right now in Science Fiction? Stories that put ideas before spectacle.

[@loxodoncyclotis1823]

@@controlthedreams I'd recommend the Children of Time series by Adrian Tchaikovsky. The third book is coming out in November (btw it's a 'series' but each book is pretty much self contained).

[@Nabekukka]

@@controlthedreams Remembrance of Earths Past trilogy by Liu Cixin, assuming you haven't read it already

[@synchc]

@@loxodoncyclotis1823 Agreed. I've been reading sci-fi for thirty years and the two Children .. novels are right up there. Looking forward to the third. They may not have the breadth that Book Furnace is talking about, there aren't really any ground breaking new ideas here, but the ideas that are there, the writing, the character, world and story building are all extremely well handled and that is something that sci-fi writers regrettably often neglect: good novel writing.

[@chiphowell4063]

I'm glad to hear someone else pointing out something that I've noticed. Though there is some excellent science fiction being written these days, I'm really shocked at the number of ideas that aren't being explored, and the reason for that is short stories are in dire straights, even though science fiction (and fantasy, and horror, and mystery) short stories are still doing better than mainstream, "Literary" fiction, but these days, that's not saying much. Thank you for this video and the encouragement to just suggest short stories and short story anthologies to potential new fans.

[@lemon265]

Been to a few bookstores last week and wanted to get back into sci-fi but couldnt find anything appealing so Im definitly gonna check out some short stories now! And then hopefully recommend them to my friends. Thank you!

[@BookFurnace]

Very happy to hear it. Makes me feel that this video was not in vain! I hope you enjoy the stories! (and, hopefully, your friends too) :)

[@Mathematica702]

You got my sub for this video. That’s exactly the right message

[@LostTimeLady]

As someone who enjoys finding old sci fi paperbacks (practically novellas by today's standards) in second hand shops, I agree with this change in form from the exploration of almost outlandish ideas and themes towards more character driven tales in a larger, but often shallower (thematically not creatively) sci fi universe. Food for thought!

[@wtk6069]

Those old ACE paperbacks from the sixties were awesome. Many if not most of them were repurposed material from pulps, sometimes collected as an anthology or other times two or three short stories were spliced together to form a novel (usually by the original author, but not necessarily always).

[@Writers_End]

Thank you for making this video. I've been working on my own science fiction story for the last five years or so. Its most likely going to be a reasonably long story, but I'm not absolutely certain yet, but I hope I'm able to create something that has the right balance between action, immersion, and most importantly the exploration of the unique ideas I'll be introducing with this story. I do have plans for a sequel and a prequel, but that's as much as I can imagine this story will need; and it's a bit arrogant to think about those when the first one isn't even finished yet. I sincerely hope I can contribute to this amazing genre one day, and I look forward to the day when I'll finally be able to share it.

[@BookFurnace]

Glad to see another author here! Consider joining our discord. I hope to focus it around writing, and, if this channel grows a bit more, host community-based short story competitions, and so on.

[@Writers_End]

@@BookFurnace I will!

[@damunzy]

I watched and didn't really agree with a bunch of your points but still subscribed because of your passion. I'm off to checkout your other videos! 17 subscribers to 4.05K pretty quickly!

[@ThatAnArchyDude]

I agree with this video. These notions are why I gave up on writing a sci-fi novel, opting instead to write a series of short stories originally intended to be chapters of my novel. This also allows me to write prequel short stories featuring each of my main characters WITHOUT having to finish writing the main story (short story series) first. So I can explore different types of stories through one-off short stories WHILE still staying true to the overarching narrative of my original novel idea through the short story serials. And I keep the one-offs optional so you don't NEED to read them to understand or appreciate the short story series, but it can also enhance the short story series if you so choose. Also, the short story series doesn't really spoil much about the one-offs because I always publish the one-off BEFORE the short story which references it, and the only thing it would spoil is knowing the protagonist survives the one-off....which is pretty standard that the protagonist survives a story anyway. lol So I usually have OTHER stakes in place which could be disastrous, but wouldn't necessarily affect the world in the short stories.

[@trygveplaustrum4634]

I'm a science fiction writer myself. Everyone who's read my one-off books loves them, but I'm still having difficulty selling them in such a market, or even attracting the attention of literary agents. I hope the market shifts towards more exploratory thinking.

[@hellblaze10]

Problem is most people don't want just a few unique ideas to snack on, especially when there are way too many flavors to chose. They want to a literary meal that will fill the mind with wonder, short stories just aren't filling enough for large audiences anymore.

[@hellblaze10]

The only way I can see some the ideas getting on more peoples plates is anthologies.

[@BookFurnace]

Glad to see another writer here! I hope to host some community-based short story competitions in the future, hopefully focusing on good ideas. Consider joining our discord to stay tuned (discord.gg/CF4fjSY2Ef).

[@snouty2005]

I totally agree. The market for short stories is now extremely limited, as they only buy a certain type of story. I've submitted lots of stories in the last few years and if they give any feedback at all it's that it needs to be more about characters than ideas, plot rather than idea driven. And reading the stories they do publish (especially the magazines you showed covers of) the stories are terrible sophomoric tales of characters overcoming huge often slightly metaphysical challenges solo against the odds. They all read like tryouts for Netflix series. :)

[@christopherbartlett4285]

Hmmm. I've been reading sf for almost fifty years, and am someone who has appreciated the increasing incidence of literarily skillful writers. To me, the interest of an idea gets submerged when the writer puts the idea through the frame of a character who is nothing more than a plot device, or a cut-out mouthpiece. Of course there are classic authors who are capable of both, and modern authors who fail the idea piece, but I am a demanding reader who wants both. One can look at Foundation (at least the first two books) as an extended anthology in a shared world, and yes, the ideas are interesting, and the characters aren't, which means I loved it as a kid and it doesn't age well for me. (That's subjective of course, but it's an example of a golden age writer who didn't always do the literary part of the writing task.

[@jesavius]

Philip K. Dick's short stories are always my go to.

[@jerrybailey5797]

I've read a few Sci fi short stories it gives you a broader spectrum of Science Ficition reading , lve also read a few book series which are ok but can be hard going !.... Sometimes just reading more short stories or novels is much more rewarding

[@bronwynsmith8386]

Glad I found your channel, I don’t subscribe to many book suggestion KZbin channels. I tend not to agree with the suggestions, but I think I’ll like yours! Ubik is a novel that seems to never leave my thoughts. I’ve been meaning to do a science fiction deep dive.

[@BookFurnace]

Welcome! I am glad you've found my channel. I hope you do like it here :) Just in case - I plan to do a bit more than book reviews/suggestions (specifically, discussions on writing craft, and some of my own writing), hopefully those videos could be useful/interesting too :)

[@vedametatron]

Ubik is indelible!

[@zdravkominchev9897]

Great video! Short stories are the backbone to classic sci fi. They are a great way to test ideas for authors. They are great way to dip your toes in many ideas as a reader.

[@realphillipcarter]

I've covered some of these points on my talk show. There's an increasing feeling of pressure among writers (even those in selfpub) to turn worlds into series

[@LyndaWilliams]

I can relate. Long, immersive series were always my jam, as a reader and writer, but the sentiments feel familiar nonetheless.

[@steveunderwood3683]

Short stories are at the heart of true science fiction (as opposed to the modern habit of anything set in the future being called sci fi). Much of the best material comes from a single idea, and it only takes a short story to explore than one idea

[@semanticmachine]

Agree, short stories or single book novels are the best thing for scifi. I have written short stories too and my friends read it and liked it. It comes more natural to mee

[@MettleHurlant]

This is so true. It also applies to television. We used to have anthologies such as Outer Limits and Twilight Zone. Now we have adaptations or prequels for established franchises.

[@Dancestar1981]

It’s a shame really

[@johnjapuntich3306]

My biggest gripe about modern sci fi novels is that they're all too long and always a series. Seems like every book I've read in the last 10 years could have been edited down by at least a third. I got so tired of not finding Science Fiction that I like to read that I wrote one that's original, concise and is wrapped up in one book. Not that I won't write a sequel but it doesn't have loose ends that need to be explained with a sequel.

[@BookFurnace]

That's the problem solving approach I can't admire more! :) An honor to have a successful author here. Interestingly enough, the book I am working on also centers around a society transformed by an unusual pandemic, but of a different kind than what you've explored. P.S. To my defense - I started thinking about it before the actual pandemic hit :)

[@johnjapuntich3306]

@@BookFurnace Thank you. I'm curious to find out about your unusual pandemic.

[@johnjapuntich3306]

@@BookFurnace Oh, and I'm with you on the short stories. We need more of them. I recently added one to my website if you're interested.

[@aleximalmgren5301]

I love retro scifi I prefer series as more lore .

[@BookFurnace]

@@johnjapuntich3306 I took a look at it :) Sorry, I got a bit swamped, but please join our discord (discord.gg/CF4fjSY2Ef) - I'd be happy to connect/chat more!

[@benw9949]

There needs to be balance. I love the what-if and sense of wonder of science fiction, the exploration of ideas and differences. I would love to see more short stories and anthologies / collections. While I like the long-form epic novels and series, I also want regular medium length novels, and series or one-off books or books complete in themselves but in a larger story-universe the author runs. OK, I guess that is, I want it all. Haha. Or at least, all length forms.

[@marcbraun5342]

I feel you, that's a real loss nowadays and this video let's me remember the times when I've finished thick sci fi short story collections in record time for me, since it's always something new to explore and it doesn't get stale. You can stay with the same author if you like to keep some thematic consistency, like Philip K Dick short stories often have, it's still fresh story after story, which keeps you curious and therefore engaged much more than characters and scenarios you're already familiar with and dominate nowadays media. Same goes for series nowadays, where of course it's easier to tell one story over a season or the complete series instead of a new one each episode, in this case also linked to aditional costs since the Enterprise, for example, has to visit another planet with another culture, different architecture, language and everything. You not only have to come up with more worlds and ideas in less amount of time and recources, you also have to sell it. So I'm there's a return to the, granted more difficult to achive, episodic storytelling again, than basically knowing next week it's agaaain about the war against X or Y, maybe the same goes for literature. Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck do also write every book of their series in a different genre to keep it fresh which works very well. Some authors like Walter Moers who writes fantasy novels often has stories with a lot of stories in them which get relevant at the end, these somethimes thick books also fly by that way, since there's always something fresh in the narrative. This is basically the best of both worlds if you aks me, since I notice the same in fantasy novels as well, while I loved Sapkowski's witcher short stories the novel series that followed was just boring as hell and not sustainable at all. It's the same world and characters but it's always the same book after book and doesn't fit the characters and worlds anymore that were build for short stories and it shows.

[@Nadinetherescuehound]

What is great about short stories 🤔 1-typically well written due to its brevity 2-its the original format of the genre 3-timeless classics in abundance I love enders game. Its not a short story, but an easy read that can be accompanied in minimal sittings.

[@babymariobrother3793]

I would guess a lot of it is just changing tastes in readers too. I've seen many short story collection reviews on KZbinr where the reviewer talked about how (whether they're by a single author or a collection of authors) they wish the stories and ideas could've been fleshed out more, and that there were very stark differences in quality between them. So it makes sense full-length SFF books and series would become more popular and the market would reflect that. Kent Wolf has even talked about how it's typically not easy to sell a short story collection. Also, I appreciate the solutions you included in the video.

[@jimivey6462]

When I saw the title of your channel, I immediately thought of “Fahrenheit 451“. - your newest subscriber

[@steve-oh4342]

Love short stories. I also like the shadow of your kitty!

[@kzinful]

Thank you, friend, this is so relevant. Years ago I read A Saucer Of Loneliness by Theodore Sturgeon. Finishing it left a feeling so profound that it left me speechless, it stayed with me, and it still does. Now, here is another factor of what you bring : Wikipedia. One can easily highlight this title and read the summary, and yes, there it is, except this would rob you of the experience of what I felt. And therein lies the power of the short story, the ability of the author to pull you into that context. I would also recommend Harlan Ellison, but his writings can be brutal, and yet he can also break your, heart. Cheers and Peace

[@johanvandersandt8904]

Solid points good sir! Things have changed but it is never too late.

[@aleckelsey2663]

I completely agree - especially with the value of short SF stories. When I was young, the local library had a section devoted to short story collections. I think I may have checked out every single one (I'm probably exaggerating) during middle school and high school.

[@GeekGirl-ub7ki]

I can't believe I only just found this channel. i I agree that short stories are becoming a lost art. I admit I'm more likely to read or listen to books than short stories and will seek to remedy that. I love sci-fi and am a fan of exploring classic sci-fi and futurism of the early modern era. Seeing how they explored issues and ideas of the day helps me see people of that era more clearly. I love sci-fi for exploring the hopes and fears of generations of mankind.

[@brachiator1]

Very good video essay. And right on point.

[@jimgoodrich8943]

You make some very good points. I enjoyed the short stories of Niven, Clarke, Pournelle, and others.

[@tomsenior7405]

I'm with you on this. Going back to the short stories of the 1930s, there was a push-back against the tales contained in "Astounding Stories" because of their incredible portrayal of the Future. Popular as they were, it was not until after WW2 that the genre became acceptable. Anything was possible. Now we face a future where fantasy has taken the chair and sci-fi seems little more than a few months away from reality. And yet, we have no Transporters, Flying Cars or commercially available Hoverboards. We do have a host of Jedi though. Has Sci-Fi become a child's realm?

[@giren0079]

I super agree with this. Short stories are a great place for both new and seasoned authors to experiment and practice, and they are an easy time investment for new readers. I also have started buying short stories and collections for Sword & Sorcery a neglected but wonderful genre that needs to get more love.

[@danakerjbam]

I think you’ve hit on something here. For all we can quibble about comparisons between eras, the over abundance of material without a monoculture to help sort it, etc - it’s a basic fact that 20th C sci-fi relied heavily on magazine publications, like most other fiction genres. But it seems to me the answer then has to be - how do we find a paying audience for shorter works of fiction that are as attractive to authors as magazines were. “No one but a blockhead ever write, except for money.” If writing is your livelihood, you go where the pay check is. As it should be, to be taken seriously. But the answer is not obvious, in our current content climate. Great videos, sub’d!

[@ronin47-ThorstenFrank]

I'm so happy that the YT algorithm brought this into my feed! I fully agree - and I still prefer the short story format, and even the shorter 150 to 200 page novels, to the one of the full blown modern 'bibles ', which have often uninteresting passages.

[@ronwalsh]

I got hooked on Sci-Fi short stories when I was a kid reading Omni magazine. It pretty much opened up my reading world, and let me see that there were authors out there that were really great. Recently, with the demise of magazines, I do find my self reading series books, like The Expanse. It is kind of fun finding new authors in the genre though.

[@kundanchhabra]

I actually prefer short stories and standalone novels for this very reason - because it's too much of an investment (of my time, enery and focus) if the main idea of a series is mediocre. I also highly recommend diversifying your reading to get really good ideas. Don't just read Western authors. Also read international authors such as Ted Chiang, Cixin Lu and Ben Okri too for example. I especially recommend the collection "Stories of your Life" by Ted Chiang and "Tales of Freedom" by Ben Okri!

[@harrybarrow6222]

When I was a teenager, I loved reading sci-fi. I had a subscription to John W Campbell’s “Astounding SF”. Through those, I discovered Isaac Asimov, Frederick Pohl, and many more. I really liked the short story format, particularly stories with a twist in the tail. “Astounding…” also serialised novels over several issues. I also loved the non-fiction pieces (often written by JWC). Short stories deserve a comeback in the modern era, when spare time seems so short too.

[@djdpascoe]

I have a very modest collection of Ace Doubles (Sci-fi ones) and they are amazing. For those that don’t know, Ace Doubles are Tête-bêche books; they are a book with 2 short stories where you flip the book upside down to read the other story. There are some great writers in there and span the ‘50s to ‘70s.

[@oldsynner]

Wildside Press publishes a range of short classic SF novels in just that format. Tracking them down can be a bit of an adventure, especially with Amazon's now pretty much useless search.

[@AZTECMAN]

I hecka enjoy short scifi stories. Just thinking from the creator perspective, maybe it helps to have a underlying common plot. So, like consider "The Animatrix" (animation). It has many independent stories, but they all exist in the context of the matrix-universe and all contribute to understanding phases in the history of that universe.

[@kayakMike1000]

Yeah, that was pretty cool!

[@invaliduser6431]

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury took this vein. Excellent spread of concepts, while the theme and light chronology help hold it together. Some of the best short story writing to be found.

[@DogWalkerBill]

For many years, I lived in Staten Island and worked in Manhattan. I read science fiction magazines, story by story, while traveking back & forth on the Staten Ilsnas Ferry. I'm retired now and haven't been to Manhattamn in a few years, due to COVID. (I suppose, I could arrange 30 minutes twice a day to read short stories!)

[@SilverSerpent705]

SO I want to raise you: I, Robot. (the book, not the movie.) Because you are right!!! We are oversaturated with long-form science fiction, but creating a world sometimes does make you very attached to it, make you want to write a lot about it. And then, making a series of short stories loosely strung together and set in the same world is very helpful in not breaking one's soul because the world has so much potential and i am just leaving it.

[@garymemetoo2238]

H. Beam Piper wrote a number of short stories, mostly during the Campbell era of scifi. Well worth finding . . . and reading.

[@Darth_Niki4]

There are some good points here. And that also affects the authors themselves. It forces new writers to take a series based approach, which can easily lead to rapid burnout.

[@CMDR_Verm]

I couldn't agree more. What I want to read about are concepts, new ways of interpreting life, the universe and everything. It's sometimes very simple slants on reality that haunt you forever. ''The Watchtowers'' by the late, great J.G. Ballard springs to mind. Anyway, you got me Sir, excellent video and I've subbed.

[@DeclanMBrennan]

Very well said especially about the importance of short forms of SF. I'll forward to some SF friends of mine. A couple of other points under (ominous noise) "Capitalism". (1) As SF has become more main stream, a lot of the people reading it are looking for comfortable immersion in a familiar world rather than the challenge, disorientation and occasional paradigm shifting ideas that can come from starting something new. (2) Hollywood was very much an afterthought for the classical SF authors. Nowadays many authors are thinking about how their ideas will look on a big screen or series before they have written a word. And we end up not with novels, but with pre-novelizations.

[@luisbaltodano227]

Short stories. Excellent suggestion. Thanks

[@jeremythornton433]

I've been a sci-fi fan since I was a little kid way back in 63. I can't agree with you more.

[@electrictao5180]

I grew up reading Asimov. His works filled my imagination on technology, science, and the human quest for expansion. His writings were one of a kind, and his depth of knowledge was expansive. His wisdom could pierce the veil of time itself. This is what I call the classics. I believe he helped shape the future that we embark. Thank you.

[@KurikRocks]

I don't often comment but this resonated. I wad recently looking for a good scifi book to read and they were mostly series. I just wanted a good stand alone novel that i didnt have invest so much time into. I eventually gave up and started hunting to short story collections. That's my primary source of scifi now. Recommend Best Sci-fi and Fantasy of the Year volumes.

[@mnrvaprjct]

As an author this was extremely insightful, thank you.

[@Yuong0]

Not a long ago I had troubles with an attention span due to mental health issues and it was hard for me to read a whole book until the end. My friends recommend me to read some short story series and I got some good ones so yeah can't say the genre is completely forgotten, it still can find it's own readers. Like people with ADHD or just people who are not used to read for hours and hours.

[@BookFurnace]

If I understand you correctly, it sounds like you've managed to overcome, or mitigate the mental health issues you've mentioned. I just want to say that I am very happy to hear that you've made it through these tough times! As for the audience - I agree that there still is some audience (thankfully), but I just feel that it should be much more broad, so that we don't have to have an unusual situation (like ADHD or a novice reader) to recommend a short story over a book. So that even avid readers recommend each other short stories as often as books.

[@benpearson49]

I can certainly say that the best sci-fi stories that I've read, have been in short story form.

[@daniela_to]

Thank you for saying this! I write short stories and every time I say I've published work, every single person outside the SFF writing community asks: "what's the book/novel called?" I'm now writing a novel since it's the most straightforward way to get attention and while I'm resisting the idea of making it the first in a series, it's very difficult not to think in those terms.

[@BookFurnace]

I hope you still enjoy the writing process. I feel that it might be emotionally difficult to write in a certain format simply because it's more likely to attract attention. Best of luck with your novel!

[@daniela_to]

@@BookFurnace Thank you. I have other compelling reasons to try a novel (not the least because my short stories are already bumping into novella word counts and I do fall in love with the worlds I create). But it is absolutely possible I'd hate writing a novel, in which case I'll just drop it. Loving what I do is core. It's quite easy to see when somone has hated writing something--the result isn't great.

[@billkemp9315]

I started my reading trek with Ray Bradbury's short stories, they were and still are excellent!

[@ericjohnson9468]

I started reading sci-if in the 50’s, I still love it, & totally agree with you about the missing ‘short form’ today….. it’s really annoying.

[@jacobwright5542]

You make sense. Character development, tight plots, world building- these are all great, but IDEAS, yes, that's the thing, isn't it. . . The film and television analogue to short stories might be the anthology format.

[@deepashtray5605]

Classic sci-fi short story anthologies are all too often out of print and may take a bit of effort to find, but they're out there.

[@brunosilva6204]

Agree. For a few years I subscribed Asimov’s science fiction magazine and I discovered amazing authors through their short stories. One of them I particularly enjoy is Robert Silverberg. So delve into some old school magazines and be delighted in the writing of some of these authors

[@krimsonsun10]

This is the main reason I mainly read r/hfy, SCP stories and independent hobby writers. Also seek out Older sci-fi from before the nineties. Lately Cixin Liu's "the three body problem" has been one of the few shining lights.

[@andrewstallard6927]

It's worth noting that back in my day, in the 80's, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, short fiction, especially sci-fi and horror, were actually big on the screen. Tales From the Darkside was just about my favorite thing in my teenage years despite my parents forbidding it. (Check it out if you have not heard of it.)

[@BookFurnace]

I agree. I think that the decline of short fiction is a worrisome modern-day phenomenon. I hope that the pendulum might swing back a bit, and I guess I am trying to do my part in pushing it in the right direction. Also, I will certainly check out "Tales From the Darkside", thank you for the recommendation :)

[@andrewstallard6927]

@@BookFurnace Oh, I forgot that KZbin is now a cult and deletes any comments with external links. I am an old man trying to become a writer. I have some fiction, mostly sci-fi published in an ezine called Terrorhousemag. My stuff is under my name, Andrew Stallard, but there are lots of great writers there with short stories in all genres.

[@BookFurnace]

Oh I didn't know that either. I'll look it up! I'm an aspiring sci-fi writer too, although not yet published. I hope to document my journey on this channel, hopefully a "diary of success" rather than "anatomy of failure", but one never knows in advance, haha.

[@Globovoyeur]

Yes, there was Fredric Brown's "Arena" (a 1944 novelette), which turned into a ST:TOS episode of the same name.

[@Dawt_Calm]

Short stories were always me favorite format for sci-fi. Up until about ten years ago I used to subscribe to a few pulp magazines like Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine, Absolute Magnitude, Realms of Fantasy Asimov's Science Fiction. Some of the best reading I've ever had from the likes of Phil K Dick, Harlan Ellison, Ben Bova, etc. But really the best part were the unknown authors. Magazines had few clunkers because the editors were pretty meticulous in picking out not only what they thought people wanted to buy but what would expand the genre horizons. Even if the stories were short, some even approaching novella length, the themes they explored loomed large. And I never become bored. Some of the stories were "small" in scale, like "Bears Discover Fire" (Someone made a short KZbin cut of that) with a simple premise that has large implications. What if another species on Earth had taken the first steps toward sentience. What would our reaction be, would some want to eradicate them? What obligation do we have to preserve that spark, Do we have an obligation to do so?... and so on. I'll take the opportunity to point out that short sci-fi has a presence on KZbin in form of channels like Dust. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oqaYamebo9Oorqs So maybe in an era where companies are delving deeply into epics, there just might still be a niche for short sci-fi and fantasy too.

[@PetrosArgy]

Some of the best, most memorable sci-fi I ever read was in short story form. Short stories are, in a lot of ways, harder to write well (like a good letter...).

[@anotherbibliophilereads]

When I was growing up in the 80s, science fiction was my go to genre, but that has faded over the decades. I still like it and read it, but I read a lot more types of fiction and non-fiction nowadays. I favor older works too. A part of that is the dominance of series; I have always thought that a series is going to lose stream after four to six books, and I’m going to dismiss longer series as not worth starting. I’m also going to say that film and TV are having a negative influence. The popular adaptation is a siren song for author. I think the era of the short story is over. Kurt Vonnegut gives a regretful smack down of the short story in the first paragraph of chapter five in his final novel Timequake.

[@dave9242]

I hope that these great stories don't fade away before the next wave of serious Sci Fi fans discover them.

[@vedametatron]

Well the 3 body problem is in production now and it’s not an adaptation you can dumb down so let’s hope for the best !

[@BookFurnace]

Amen! Although I am a bit worried about how are they going to handle the whole femininity-masculinity theme. I wish they could risk it and go all in with exactly how it is presented in the book, just to stir and shake up the intellectual quagmire we're living in. But any traditional masculine-feminine distinction is almost a "forbidden narrative" in modern entertainment, which is a shame. I think it'd be a nice counterpoint in the ongoing cultural discussion.

[@vryusvin3905]

The trailer looks pretty awesome :) Almost word-for-word from the book. Lets see if it comes out next month.

[@jimivey6462]

Great advice. TV’s original Twilight Zone was a great way to introduce people to sci-fi short stories.

[@twocoffeelimit5024]

Thank you for this video! And you pointed out something my family and I've discussed as far as both sci fi print and tv/film seems to be losing out in this equation- the intelligence. My whole family are sci fi fans with myself being the biggest reader. But we've all noticed, with a few exceptions, if it takes too much brain power to understand it doesn't last. The thinking and conceptualization can't be too advanced or people lose interest. It has to be dumbed down to a NY Times level which in some cases compromises the point of the story being science fiction. Yes, it needs to understandable and believable to whomever is reading it. But it seems we regressed in lot of ways from Dune to Buzz Lightyear. And it makes me want to make all sorts of Picard meme faces.

[@bilcal]

Good suggestion! I would suggest reading any collection of short stories by Robert Sheckley. He writes great humorous short stories, especially those about the AAA Ace Planetary Decontamination Service. You'll smile and enjoy his creativity! Another that just came to mind is a great classic collection set in our solar system - The Best of Stanley Weinbaum. All the best! 👍 Edited to add Weinbaum.

[@zj871023]

I have never taught about this angle but you do have a valid point. It also reminded me of a few failings in series. For example, the 6th or 5th Dune book when Duncan was mentioned in all caps every 2nd page I was getting so fed up with him even existing :D Or the Drizzt series around book 15ish, when every 5th page Drizzt laments the death of a certain someone... God I hated that. And there is my beloved Gaunt series that just became boring as the writer shifted the tone and focus from the ingame universe to modern day reality. Maybe I should read some short stories:) PS.: Sorry it just felt good to vent it :D