Comfortable Shorts

Tags

a new path, fear, getting out of a rut, procrastination, short stories, writing

I find myself finished with my movie series and wondering what to blog about. *stares at screen*

However, one subject has invaded my mind.

Short stories.

These marvelous little bits of fiction have taken over my life. Invaded my brain. Become a comfy place to live.

Ten years ago when I began to learn about how to get published… the idea of publishing a short story was introduced to my head. I found a short story competition that called for UP TO 2000 words. BUT I CAN’T WRITE ANYTHING SHORT ARE YOU NUTS?

But I did. And it taught me that every word is important in the telling of the story, that extra phrases bog down the tale. Strong writing isn’t full of words, it pulses with images and emotion.

And I began my journey to being a short story writer.

After two years of rewriting two manuscripts, I wanted a break. Last October I wrote all sorts of flash fiction, my first attempt at anything under 500 words. And had a blast! And realized that I really liked (and was capable) of writing horror.

I wrote WEAKNESS for The Pen and Muse blog. Last November I wrote four stories for the ProjectREUTSway competition, one of which will appear in their upcoming anthology and the other three will appear on their blog sometime this spring and summer. Last March, my short fiction piece CLICK was featured by Julie Hutchings on her blog DeadlyEverAfter.

I just kept going. I’M ON A ROOOOLLLLLLLL!

Every time I discovered a call for short story submissions, I thought I CAN DO THAT!

I submitted three others, two of which have been accepted. The third, I decided to sub elsewhere too, just because it’s been a few months. And I have two more (a frozen fairy tale fantasy and a madness, creepy horror) I am working on to submit this month and next.

Whoa… so upcoming… two stories in two different anthologies and another in an online literary magazine. Three more on a blog. And we’ll have to be patient and wait for news of the other three.

I LOVE THIS!

But… am I using short stories as an excuse not to write the thing I should be?

Yup. I do believe so. But in my defense, I am pretty darn good at the shorts. And they are helping to get my name out there. At least my procrastinating was somewhat… good. Right?

We all know, once Kathy is comfy, she is less likely to move.

Shorts are comfy. I know them. But after these two stories, I’m throwing my shorts away. For a while anyway. I do have edits for DOORS that will eventually appear in my in-box. And the sequel waits, forever forming in my brain.

I will crawl out of my rut, even though it is a REALLY nice rut, and try to forge my way through something new.

NOT SOMETHING NEW?!?!?!?!

We all have to do it. What kind of life would we have if we never set foot on a different path? What kind of people would we be if we never accepted a challenge?

I don’t want to know.

So go forth! Try something new!

BE THE BEST YOU EVER!