Date:         Mon, 26 Oct 1998 13:07:51 -0700
From: Gary Chambers <chambers@MAIL.OCIS.NET>
Subject:      Re: [WRITERS] FILL: 1999 Annual WRITERs ???

   This is an interesting feature that I don't recall from my
previous subscription to WRITERS.  There are lots of categories
so I hesitate to offer yet another, but one thing did strike
me as a possibility.

   We sometimes debate on the list whether short-shorts are
short stories or an entirely different form of literature.
People have strong feelings about this, and the debate can
get quite heated at times, although I don't recall it
degenerating into a flame war.

   Anyway, regardless of whether a short-short is a short
story or not, I don't see any problem with having an award
for each category.  The problem is, trying to define the
two types of stories.  It leads us straight back into the
debate again.  I'm not sure it can be done by length
alone, because some stories of under 500 words have all the
elements of a traditional short story.  While others of a
thousand words or more read like what I would call a short-
short.

  I've read postings from others who seem to be able to
define these two forms more concisely and accurately than
myself.  Perhaps if any of those people feel the idea has
any merit, they might spend a few minutes resubmitting
their definitions of short stories and short-shorts.  On
the other hand, there are already many categories, so if
this overall idea doesn't excite anyone, then we don't
really need both categories.

Gary Chambers
chambers@mail.ocis.net