I started out writing microfiction.
Well, I started out “writing” stories of varying lengths with crayon when I was about five. But as far as actually attempting to write, submit, and possibly earn some money, I started with Twitter fiction. 140 words, something like that, one or two sentences, very brief. I sold a good handful, which was enough impetus to get me to start submitting some longer pieces. I did a lot of flash – 1k words or less – and sold some of them. Great. I wrote some longer pieces, 3 or 4 or 5k. Zinnia and Harris, my dear gentlelady monster hunting characters, kept edging from 7k to 10k to 12k. They are irrepressible.
But I always had ideas for stories that hit that short story sweet spot.
Lately, though…it’s not there.
I’m querying one novel, writing a second, editing, when I get a chance, a third. This focus on longer projects seems to have sapped my ability to write shorter. I find that I can’t even really come up with short story ideas as easily.
Some of this could also be attributed to 1) children and 2) getting old. But I also feel like there’s something behind the idea of getting stuck in the length and having a hard time breaking out of it.
Do you get stuck in short or long forms? How do you break out of it?
Leave a comment