"Do you have any short stories?"

As it happens, I have some, almost all of them UFOs (unfinished objects).  I prefer novels—prefer to read them, prefer to write them.  I like the long burn of character development, plot complications, satisfying denouements.  Short stories are concentrated, like picture books:  brief, intense characterizations, focused plots, one scene or a few mini-scenes. 

When I’m running with an idea, I like to let it grow and develop.  Using it for a short story often seems like I’m wasting it.  But not every idea can sustain a novel. 

So when asked if I had any short stories, I delved into my file and came up with one I’d written a few years ago.  It had good bones but no muscle.  The main character had no motivation for his actions.  It was a story about a relationship with no relationship to back it up.

I named the main character Jason and listened to him talk about his friend.  I let him describe how their relationship changed his life.  But Jason wanted something different than I had planned for him.  I wasn’t comfortable with the story he wanted to tell, but I let him tell it.  Is there a novel in Jason’s story?  Maybe.  That would be a different story.