Should a person write short stories before a novel?

[Justin]

I've written a couple of short stories now. It's fun to revise and learn how to describe characters and whatnot. I don't really like them as much as working on my novel, though, and I don't like reading short stories at all for some reason, even classic and/or popular ones. Am I somehow making life harder for myself if I forego short stories and just stick to working on a novel? I see the benefits of writing short stories, like learning to tell a good story and the fact the people are more likely to read a short story by a new author than invest time in a novel. I also realize that if I suck at writing fiction it's easier to realize that after a week of working on a short story than months and months of working on a novel. I just don't like doing it much but if it's really crucial to learning to write fiction I'll stick with writing them.

[Maeve]

The short story and the novel present very different problems. Like you, I do not care to read short stories. I've tried my hand at them and have even published a handful for the children's market, but they still feel alien to me.

I'd say go with your inclination. Skip the short story apprenticeship and go directly to your novel. Keep in mind, however, that each scene in your novel will incorporate aspects of the short story. A scene should begin with a character wanting something, focus on whatever it is that opposes the character's desire, and end with the character either getting getting what he wants or, more likely, being farther than ever away from obtaining the desire.

[Matt9537]

I've written a couple of short stories now. It's fun to revise and learn how to describe characters and whatnot. I don't really like them as much as working on my novel, though, and I don't like reading short stories at all for some reason, even classic and/or popular ones. Am I somehow making life harder for myself if I forego short stories and just stick to working on a novel? I see the benefits of writing short stories, like learning to tell a good story and the fact the people are more likely to read a short story by a new author than invest time in a novel. I also realize that if I suck at writing fiction it's easier to realize that after a week of working on a short story than months and months of working on a novel. I just don't like doing it much but if it's really crucial to learning to write fiction I'll stick with writing them.

I love writing my novel...so very much! But my ex-english teacher told me I should work on short stories. So I did...

It's helped me a lot...I've been practicing with loads of different techniques and I think that's what you should use short stories for - practice. Try out new things! I wrote a very very good story without giving anyone a name!!! It was hard at first not to loose the reader but it worked eventually.

Also, I've been able to brush up on grammar. I was reluctance actually to write shorts, but thankfully I came up with a few good story ideas which made it easier. Why don't try a short novel instead? 3-4 chapters? Or, write a short story about your novel? Take one of your characters and write a short about them...Write about how they came to be. It's great actually! It allows to create and understand your own characters better and allows you to make your characters more complex...

My advice is: In order for your novel to be successful you need to be a good writer...experienced with a good fan base. So work on shorter works to get experience and to get a fan base so your novel will work :D