When I was younger, I was not a fan of short stories. Mostly because they always seemed like a teaser to something more. I felt as though I as constantly finishing on a cliffhanger, and was unsatisfied. Also, I am a fast reader at 100 pages an hour, so shorts just went by too fast.
As I got older and time became less available to me, I began to cherish the shorts. I could still find 15 mins to read and therefore cram in a few stories and move on.
Now that I am writing daily, writing short stories has become the best learning tool, and I had never before thought about writing them.
It takes a long time to write a novel, and then you have to wait for editing and beta readers. It is much harder to go back and correct all the silly mistakes in a novel then it is in a 2-page story. Whereas, I can write a flash fiction in a couple hours, rather than a year. It's also easier to ask others to read and get advice back quickly on a 1000-word tale then it is on a 10,000 word one.
Every day I am learning something new, and thanks to all you writers, readers, and supporters out there, I am only getting better.
Another thing I have found is that when I write something that is good, there is a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. Again within days, rather than months, and over and over again. So, no waiting 6 months for trickle in reviews on a novel, it’s validation that writing is worth the time and effort. I will continue to write flash fiction and enter anthologies, contests, and magazines so I can get that instant feedback and learn faster.
If you have not tried writing short stories yet, you should, it’s worth it. If you want to join our writers' support group for feedback, click here:
https://plus.google.com/communities/117971856746439909290
https://plus.google.com/communities/117971856746439909290
If you want to see what I've bee doing, here are a couple of guest blogs I was overjoyed to be invited to write for
Happy writing folks, Theresa
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