When I began writing in 2001, I started with short
stories. Living in Boulder, CO, where the University of Colorado is located, I
learned that the university allowed anyone over fifty-five years of age to take
classes for free with the instructor’s permission. I availed myself of this
opportunity and took two semesters of fiction writing. In these courses we
wrote short stories and critiqued each other’s work. Next, I decided to get
some of these short stories published. After 111 rejections, I sold my first short
story. Along the way, I also switched over to novel writing. I have
periodically written short stories, but the majority of my writing has been
focused on novel-length manuscripts. I have published a handful of short
stories but sixteen books.
The other morning I awoke from a dream with an idea
for a short story. I sat down that morning and wrote a first draft. That’s one
of the beauties of short stories. I can often flesh it out in one sitting.
Then I went through a number of revision passes. It’s now complete.
I will continue to write short stories. They are a
challenge to write crisply and concisely. But my major writing goal is to continue
to have novels published.
No comments:
Post a Comment