March 30, 2007
I finished the first draft of a short story today! And it feels great!
I have no idea if the story’s any good, but at least it’s done. Believe it or not, this was the first story I’ve written from scratch in many months. In fact, it took some real mental gymnastics for me to get the short story-writin’ part of my brain cooking again. Last year, I said I was going to focus a hundred percent on novels…and by gum, I did! I only wrote a handful of short stories. Now, this year, I have some excellent publication possibilities related to short stories, so I had to get myself back in gear again.
And it really does feel great. I admit it: I’d forgotten how much I enjoy writing short stories. It’s a whole different animal from novels, of course…and from anything else, for that matter. Now, I just have to hold my breath and hope my First Reader likes it! That would be my wife, Wendy–most trusted, and sometimes most brutal, of the First Reader profession. She knows her stuff, believe me, and she doesn’t pull any punches. No free pass from that girl…and as I’ve learned again and again, even when I think she’s wrong about something I’ve written, she’s right.
If you ask me, I think she ought to be an editor for a New York publishing house (and not because I think she’d buy my work!).
