Annie Proulx\u2019s short stories make a fantastic use of space in an important way. She completely understands the limitations of the form and uses all available space to work for her, as the writer, and you, as the reader. The titles feed into the story, so that she either gives a hint as to what she wants to you read out of it, or simply kicks off the first part of your mindset before you launch into the meat of the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In publishing, works go through a laundry list of titles to ensure that the work is catchy, appealing to the right audience, and dissimilar from either a recent work or a famous one. The short story collection can be titled from a list; the magazine has its own title to appeal to a predetermined audience. In the short story itself, all ink on the page must perform a function. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pick a short work you\u2019ve titled. Cover the title. Uncover it. I can\u2019t decide. What you can ask yourself is this: Am I repeating myself? Or is the title saying something new that isn\u2019t stated within the work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes we want to repeat ourselves. Sometimes we want to clarify. Sometimes we\u2019re just desperate to call it something and be done. That\u2019s okay, too. But you have all this real estate above your name to work for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Annie Proulx\u2019s short stories make a fantastic use of space in an important way. She completely understands the limitations of the form and uses all available space to work for her, as the writer, and you, as the reader. The titles feed into the story, so that she either gives a hint as to what … Continue reading Titles: Annie Proulx’s Short Stories<\/span>