Organizing Short Fiction Collections

[X Equestris]

Here’s a discussion I’d thought about broaching on the old forum but never got around to making: what do you think are the most effective ways to organize short story collections? What do you find most enjoyable as a reader?

Since I’m putting together one myself, it’s a topic that’s been on my mind lately, even though I’ve already settled on a structure that I think suits mine well. Conventional wisdom is to start and end with your best work, but there are a lot of options:

• in the order the stories were written
• in the order they were published
• in the order they take place in-universe
• Framed with some sort of narrative device
• Presented one after another
• By theme
• By genre/sub-genre
• By main character
• Part of a larger narrative
• Each meant to stand alone

…and this is really just the tip of the iceberg. So I’m curious to hear your thoughts. Have you ever read a collection whose structure really enhanced the experience or did the exact opposite? Have you ever thought about how you might arrange one of your own? If you’ve done it, what did you decide on? Does your audience seem to prefer certain structures over others?

 

[Homer Potvin]

I'd say load the front with your best shit. Got to get them reading, right? If they make it to the end, they're already sold, so no more need to rope em in. Just my opinion, but hit em fast and hard.

 

[Damage718]

My first collection was pretty random, but like Homer said, I put a couple of the strongest stories first for the reasons he suggested. For my second collection, they were all linked and part of a bigger narrative, so my first chapter was a short little hook to the jaw and the last chapter was the knockout punch. In between was some good and important stuff, but maybe not quite as strong as the first two and last two chapters.

I liken assembling a collection to a band/artist making an album. Once you have the individual pieces, you'll know what should and shouldn't hit the cutting room floor. And then assembling what you want to include can be fun - you'll see it sort of take shape on its own.

 

[Banespawn]

I think the fundamental question to be answered is why all these stories are being grouped into a single collection.

Collections very often include stories all within the same setting, or all having a similar theme. What is it that ties all of these stories together? Whatever it is, that should be highlighted. For example, if it's the setting, and the setting is new to readers, you might want to start with a story that eases the reader into it and then follow it up with stories that deepen the complexity of the setting bit by bit. If the setting is known to readers, you might want to start with a story that feels more familiar and then follow it with more and more unfamiliar bits.

Whatever you choose to do, I would avoid anything arbitrary, such as the order in which they were written or published. That likely won't have any meaning for the reader unless that order also aligns with something else. Ordering them chronologically makes sense if the stories have some dependencies, but if all the stories are entirely independent of each other, then ordering in that way won't make any difference to the reader. They may not even realize that they are in chronological order.

To me, the order of the stories is another way to be creative and to engage the reader. It's another layer of satisfaction the reader can gain from the book. A frame device can be a way to more overtly show the connections between the stories, but you can also leave it up to the reader to infer those connections.

Of course, all of this is dependent on the stories being connected in meaningful ways. How you go about it is going to depend on the stories themselves. Think about how your stories are connected and how you can use those connections in a way that will be meaningful to the reader.

 

[X Equestris]

I'd say load the front with your best shit. Got to get them reading, right? If they make it to the end, they're already sold, so no more need to rope em in. Just my opinion, but hit em fast and hard.

I do think there’s something to be said for ending on the highest note you can, since it’s likely to influence reviews and how the reader looks back on the collection, but overall I’d agree with front-loading.

One of the reasons I decided to alternate between two loose narratives woven from stories in different stages of the main character’s life was that arrangement would stick most of the best stuff at the start or end.

Whatever you choose to do, I would avoid anything arbitrary, such as the order in which they were written or published.

Yeah, I think structure like that are better for more academic looks at the work in question, and you probably wouldn’t be putting those together yourself. Del Rey published some great collections of Robert E. Howard’s stories this way, and it’s fascinating to see how characters like Conan develop over the course of his career, but I don’t think it would work so well for a relative unknown.