As a writer I tend to focus more on longer works and novels. At one point it wasn’t the case. I suppose when I was first beginning to write it was all about short stories and flash fiction. Really, they are still at my heart. But when I did my first ever Nanowrimo in November 2011, I was hooked. I got such a rush from writing 50k all in one month. It was planning and preparation and then the writing. I was always wondering whether I’d written enough or whether I could write more and if I was going to make it to the end of the month. I did, I made it for my first year of completion. I’ve done it every year since as well as having wrote some things in between.
I got my debut novel published in November last year and now I’m in the middle of editing another novel ready to submit as well as cranking out a load of short stories to sub to anthologies.
I submitted four shorts in January and a couple since February began. I recently had three acceptances! One for a zombie short called Dealing in Death which will be in Undead Legacy. The Wolf and the Rabbit which will feature in Kaiju: Lords of the Earth. Then tonight after coming home fro a long shift at work I had an email stating that my short story The Truth in Abercrombie had been accepted to the Sirens Call Publications Ezine.
I almost feel like things are really going my way and I’m very proud of myself not only for getting those stories out but for getting accepted.
The other side of it is that I want to be sure I don’t lose my novel. It has been about a week since I last looked at it. Editing can be a daunting process and it’s easy to tell myself that I’ll do it tomorrow or to wait until my day off. I think sometimes I need a kick up the bum. I need to be able to get the balance right between shorts, novels and editing. It can be hard to juggle but I know it’s manageable.
When you write do you prefer flash fiction, short stories or longer works? Or is poetry your forte? Let me know!
alicejblack 