Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Short Stories

I have a policy regarding writing time: The only permitted form of procrastination is blogging.

So usually, when you see a new entry on this blog or BoMuMo or Ghost Town Revival, it's because I sat down to work on a complicated short story, and hit a wall. That is certainly the case today- usually, cranking out a blog entry loosens something up, and I can return to the short story with some momentum.

This year has actually been a good one as far as writing goes. Two and a half months in, I have one short piece scheduled for publication in a literary magazine, a pending assignment for a Christian magazine on a refugee I work with, and one more short story which, although it hasn't been accepted yet, is getting good feedback from editors.

My current project is a series of five interconnected short stories. The plan is to write them all as standalone pieces, publish each in a different journal or contest, then, if successful in that, compile them as the first section of a novel.

So far, I've completed and submitted the first piece, written the second and sent it out to friends for feedback, drafted a rather weak first draft of the third, and written half of my first draft of the fourth. It is here, at the halfway point, where I need to switch from setup to action, that I am stuck.

Because I started the piece in a voice which was excellent for exposition, a rhythm built for setup, and I have to make things happen now without breaking stride, which maybe I can't do. We'll have to see.

Anyway, I oughta get back to work, so thanks, readers, for joining me on this little diversion.

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