Got Shorts? Why You Want to Write Short Stories

Where Fleur gets her shorts out and prays for rain.

It’s been a tense week here in Colorado, as a good part of our beautiful state is on fire… If you’re so inclined, a prayer or manifestation for rain in the West would be much appreciated. I often think of all the evacuees and first responders… Seeing those firefighters gear up in front of a wall of flames makes me terrified.

My little slice of heaven is fortunate and has not been impacted. The heat is still ridiculous; if ever I longed for fall it is now. Half my poor plants that I so hopefully put in the ground a few months ago are already dead, and the rest are not too happy. Rain, please.

Other than melting, I’ve been keeping busy, gearing up myself up to tackle the rough draft of a novel. This between-big-projects space has been good for writing and editing short stories, always fun and a reminder of where I came from. I got my start in publishing writing short crime fiction and solely wrote shorts for about ten years. It’s fun to flex the short muscle.

I have a fun, Encyclopedia Brown-style mystery for kids in this book.

If you’re a writer, I highly recommend giving short fiction a go. It’s an opportunity to try out new things, explore a new character or idea, and gain publishing credits once you send them out on submission. Plus, the risk is low: worst case scenario, the story doesn’t work (yet) and you set it aside for a while. There’s not that huge investment of craft and creativity that a novel requires.

Looking for places to submit your work? Try Duotrope (this one costs) or Authors Publish. SCBWI also has a list of markets if you’re a member, in their Essential Guide to Publishing for Children, a great resource all the way around. There aren’t too many opportunities for submitting stories for kids, but you can dive deep into genre at your heart’s content.

Another option is to use your short story to promote your other work. I have a fun scary story for kids on my website, for those fans who are dying for the next book, or teacher who’d like to use it in the classroom.

And if you’re lucky like me, your story makes it into the Best Mystery Stories of the Year anthology. I’m pretty stoked that How to Teach Yourself to Swim (published in Dark Yonder #3 last year) will be included in this year’s edition. It’s out in September.

How to Teach Yourself to Swim was published in Dark Yonder 3 last year.

What I’m Writing

On that short story kick, I wrote and revised three short mystery/crime stories (written for adults) in the past few weeks. Two are already spoken for because they were invitations to write for anthologies (a lucky break), but one is out on submission. Godspeed, story.

Next week, I really want to decide which of my two novel drafts to revise, so I can start to make a plan. I also have that non-fiction writing craft book; I have a draft that needs deep revision… Time to get cracking on that.

I have been able to get back to my writing every day habit, which feels good. It’s all about momentum, baby.

Where I’m Going

I just finished a couple of podcast interviews, but otherwise it’s been the calm before the storm. School is back in session in some states now, and my calendar is already filling up with (virtual and in-person) author visit requests. Hello, Texas! The Texas Bluebonnet Award list inclusion of Daybreak on Raven Island is really exciting, because lots of kids will be reading it this year.

If you’re an educator and would like me to join your kids for a talk, you can check out details here.

Me, taking a bad selfie at the Texas Library Association Convention in April. Such a fun time!

Your Weekly Floof

With all this heat, Floof has been hiding under the bed. It’s hard to be a Floof when it’s 95 degrees outside and the AC is only so-so.

I pulled a good Floof photo from the archives, from when she was still a small Floofie. Let’s hope for better temps next week…