One of the biggest downsides to my recent bout of extremely-being-busy is that I don’t have time to write short stories any more.
It’s not a format that I was ever terribly skilled at. Why use 100 words when 10,000 will suffice? But that stated, I did like practicing short stories, and I really liked polishing them up for submission. Sure, only one of my shorts ever sold, but I think it was a very, very good short story (one that I plan to revisit someday as a novel, perhaps). But as much fun as they are to write (and to provide free here for all of you!), they don’t pay the bills, and I don’t think they ever will, There’s just too much uncertainty in short story publishing… most of the time the magazines that publish them take too long to rely on as a source of income. Great supplementary sources, sure, and I am positive there are people who have figured out a way to leverage short story writing into careers, but those people are much better at the format than I am.
Plus, I like writing epics. I like getting to know characters and situations and universes. I like thinking about how the technology in this universe will be different, either slightly or drastically, from the previous universes I’ve written. Can be hard to keep straight sometimes (I have so many variations on “pocket computer” at this point it’s somewhat ridiculous), but it’s a challenge I enjoy.
ANYway, hopefully the world will calm down a bit, school won’t last forever, and I can get back to writing more short stories before too much longer.
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!