I’ve been far too busy eating chocolate and having a lazy time with my family and friends this long weekend to really do much work. You may have noticed I even handed over the blog to the lovely Lucy Felthouse, while I was away.
But just because no words have actually been hitting paper, doesn’t mean I’ve been entirely unproductive. Over the last couple of days I have managed to play around with ideas for five of the six short stories I still have to write this round. Some of them will change, I’m sure, by the time I get round to writing them, but at least I have a jumping off point for most of them.
That last one, though… I have a feeling that one might be tricky. Better save some chocolate for when I get to that one.
Lucy’s post on her first time writing a novella got me thinking about the pieces I’m writing most at the moment.
Writing short stories is something of a new adventure for me, and I’m still in that crazy honeymoon period where I want to write them all the time. Compared to the longer stuff I’m used to writing, the idea that everything has to fit into, say, 4k-6k words is still astonishing to me. Character, plot, change, meaning, everything! Not to mention, in the stories I write, a whole lot of sex.
I love writing stories specifically for anthologies, which give me a theme, or an idea, and let me run with it. Thinking around the theme and trying to find something different to do with it is half the fun. And really, it’s about as instant gratification as writing gets for me!
What’s your favourite length to write? Do you zip off flash fiction, or spend years on sprawling epics? Or are you somewhere in between?
Too Much Temptation 
As a new writer I have not yet found my favorite length to write in. I have found the value in incubating the ideas as you’ve discussed above.
Posted by lorig | April 11, 2012, 6:36 pmI think you have to try a lot of different forms before you find one that feels right. And even then, I find my preferences change as time passes, and I start to love a different form again…
Posted by Jenna Bright | April 15, 2012, 8:42 amI love to write flash fiction and short fiction, but my ultimate dream (don’t tell my romance-writing friends!) is to write an epic fantasy novel akin to George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, anything by Brandon Sanderson, or Stephen King’s Dark Tower Series. *wistful sigh*
Anywho. Glad to hear you were productive even if you weren’t actively writing. Good luck on the upcoming week!
Posted by Dahnya Och | April 11, 2012, 6:51 pmOoh, yes, I’m often tempted by the idea of a really juicy, epic novel series. But then I get scared and run back to my short stories!
Posted by Jenna Bright | April 15, 2012, 8:41 am