Things I've Written and a Thing I want to Write

Apr 21, 2024

I've been moonlighting as an "author" (yes in quotes) for about three years. In that time, I've written three short stories, abandoned one, accidentally wrote a novella (at about 20,000 words and it's shit) and outlined a novel.

My short stories have been rejected (rightfully so, they were shit) by a couple of places. Though, I'm still holding out hope that my third one will pan out with a certain horror podcast. I submitted my shorts under a pseudonym (he's got a whole website and everything!) because their subject matter tends to be pretty graphic. Even though the tagline for my pseudonym is sci-fi/fantasy/horror - it's mostly horror.

The short I abandoned was more sci-fi-y but it really didn't hit. It was about a serial killer that incepted his personality and his anti-social behavior (you know, the uncontrollable murdering) to unwitting victims by way of a shared dream space that people accessed with tech akin to VR. That’s a mouthful. I mean on paper, that sounds pretty good.

But short stories are hard. We have around 5000 words to set up an emotional gut punch. Writing science fiction shorts, I've learned, is much harder because within the limited word count, you also have to do enough world building to give the audience context without losing the audience.

So yeah, I abandoned it.

But I have another idea that I want to explore. If I were to pitch it in a sentence or two: I want to write a series of novelettes (or even novellas) which follow a group of characters in a familiar setting. I want these stories to stand on their own when read individually but also tell an overarching narrative when read together. I also wouldn't mind working with an artist to sprinkle in some illustrations.

It's going to be quite an undertaking but the world's been in my head since before my son was born and some of these characters have been talking to me for even longer (No, I will not be seeking professional help at this time).

"Wait, did you say you had a 20,000 word novella and an outlined novel?"

Yes. I think I need to let those breathe some more.

"That novella's been breathing for about 4 years now."

You can go to hell, disembodied voice.