"Short" Stories!

I’ve mentioned before how short stories aren’t my forte.

I can write them… I have written them, and a few of them have been sold professionally. So I can do it.

But it’s not a natural place for me to write. It’s more effortful than me writing long-form stuff like novels and novellas. Those feel more natural… I can’t tell you why that’s the case, but I have been doing this writing thing for long enough that I know it’s true.

The reason I mention it is because right now I’m working on the novel (12K words and counting!) as well as two short stories. Technically three if you include the one that’s off with my editor. But regardless, the short stories involve a lot more editing, a lot more second-guessing, and a lot more work to get that final product on a per-word basis.

That’s not a bad thing, I think. People seem to really like my short stories, so the extra time and work seems to pay off. And that’s good! But it does mean that days like today, where the emphasis is on the short story side of my work, feel more like I’m working harder to do less work. It’s a weird feeling… even when the end result is extremely satisfying.

Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!