Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Why write short stories

As a teenager, I wrote endless stories all with no final scene. As an aspiring author, fearful of this outcome I reduced the word count. Instead of novels, I wrote articles for craft magazines, flash fiction for literary journals and creative non-fiction for magazines. As an emerging author, I write short novels as well as continuing to write short stories. My most recently completed short is entitled Liquefied. Inspiration for this story was the Canada Writes contest. I entered for a chance to win $1, 000.

Why write short stories?

-To find an end
-To sharpen your writing tools
-To have an opportunity to work with an editor
-To gain a readership
-To gain validation (i.e. "Yes, I am a writer--my article appeared in this magazine.")
-To build your author platform. Many book publishers advise aspiring and emerging authors to submit to literary journals
-To win a prize

Remember to celebrate your win each day you continue to work toward your goal.