“Why One Author’s Bold Departure from Short Stories Could Redefine the Literary Landscape”
When I first dipped my toes into the world of writing on Medium, I was like an eager puppy chasing its tail—full of excitement and a dash of chaos. My passion was all about short stories, those little bursts of creativity that can pack a punch in just a few pages. I shared tips, explored the art of publishing, and even chronicled my own journey through rejection letters that felt more like a daily workout than a career path. But here’s the kicker: somewhere along the way, I realized my heart had started to wander. Have you ever found yourself in a place where something you love no longer sparks joy? That’s where I’m at with short stories. In this piece, I explore the shift from short-form to long-form fiction and what it means for my creative soul. Join me on this reflective journey—who knows, it might just resonate with your own writing evolution. LEARN MORE.
The Short of It
It’s not rewarding enough to be my passion anymore
When I first started writing on this platform in January 2020, it was primarily to talk about writing and publishing short stories. Some of my earliest articles on this platform were Four Reasons Aspiring Novelists Should Be Writing Short Stories and Literary Magazines For Short Stories And Where To Find Them, for example.
I had realized that a lot of writers didn’t know about the marketplace for short fiction in literary magazines, all the terminology and best practices, and how to write and edit their works for the best chances of publication. Or I was seeing well-meaning misinformation. So, I decided to share from my experience what I had learned over several years of writing and publishing (and failing to publish) short stories in literary magazines.
Going into my fifth year of writing on Medium, sharing about my writing journey from process to craft to productivity, I even chronicled by experience compiling and self-publishing my first short story collection.
So it with a weird feeling that I’ve had to admit first to myself and then to you that I have moved away from writing and publishing short stories… and I have for a while now.
Writing from the heart
I enjoy short stories from time to time — to read and to write. And I stand by my much-repeated adage that every story should be as long as it needs to be. But truly, my heart belongs to long-form fiction. I even prefer TV shows to movies most of the time. I really enjoy getting to dig into characters, themes, and worldbuilding from both the reader and writer side of the experience.
Writing short stories is a great learning experience for fiction writers. You can go through the entire writing process a lot faster than with a novel: idea to first draft to subsequent drafts to editing to proofreading to submitting to literary market to publication. Thus…
