What is the purpose of this blog post? I really don’t know. I don’t plan on promoting it in any way on my one social media account (Instagram), nor do I think I’m going to cross-post it to Medium (boy was that a short-lived jaunt). I think the reason I’m writing this here (as opposed to a private journal), is that I want a record on my website my writing progression. I say “progression” and not “progress” because I believe progression not only encompasses stories that I finish writing, but it (hopefully) will encompass an increase in frequency in my writing and an increase in quality.
So what am I writing now? Well, more short stories. I joined a critique group back in July that meets once a week on Zoom to discuss 3,000-word sections of everyone’s current project. I’ve run a short story and novelette through the ringer there already, and we’re analyzing a third short story that I wrote way back in 2019 for my Night Bulletin podcast (“Fantasmacomm”). I have also finished writing another novelette called “Roh” that I’m currently in the process of editing. I’ve read through most of it already, but I already know it’s too long at 13,000 words. I’ll have to find a way to cut large portions of it out to make it flow better. Unfortunately, the story also lacks some key points of action and character development, so I’ll have to find a way to add those in without bloating the story even more. If not, I’ll just have to make it even longer and just roll with it.
That has become a problem for me lately: My stories are very long-winded, full of backstory that I believe is necessary in understanding the characters. That backstory has also been critiqued as being largely unnecessary for short stories, and for breaking up the action taking place. It’s been suggested that this backstory and extra character development can be used in novels, but I have yet to think of a story I want to tell that will encompass the length of a novel. I’ve tried twice now to seriously write a novel. My first attempt was about a man who falls in love with a ghost, but that story wasn’t anything more than an idea. It fizzled out after 40,000 words.
My second attempt at a novel is an epic fantasy novel about two kingdoms who are racing to reach a mountain that is said to hold untold treasures. It’s a more fleshed out story with multiple POVs, but I’ve stopped writing it to once again focus on short stories.
That is all to say, I’ve started another novel outline. This one is contemporary horror. It’s still just an idea plus a few key scenes, so I need to add more meat to it before I even attempt to write it.
It is at times like this that I wonder if I will ever 1) get my writing skill level up enough to craft a good tale & 2) actually sit down and work on one project until it’s done. The goal is still to write novels and short stories as a career…someday. I know it’s very unlikely, but I still want to try.
The Night Bulletin 