The Changing Role of Short Fiction in my Writing
Over the past months, I have asked the eternal question that every new writer seems to ask: “Should I focus on short fiction to get a start or should I work on novels.” The answers are as unique to the individual as to the times in which the writer lives. After talking with some authors who know the industry well, I have finally come to my conclusion for me. I am going to continue to write short fiction, but it will not be a focal point in my writing. The market is changed where small fiction is getting harder and harder to publish and fewer people seem to want to read it. More focus is being put into the longer works and that is where I shall be putting my focus

A Decision for The Indebted
A while ago in this blog I discussed a problem I faced in regards to what to do with The Indebted. This dystopian story as originally designed to be a short story and turned into a novella. Sadly, there is not much of a market for novellas, and while there may be romance in the idea of a starving artist—romance only goes so far. For those who have never heard of The Indebted and to save the reader from having to page through the many blogs to find its reference: The Indebted explores the dark side of the “Green Powered” world and global economy. When I started rewriting this story I came to a standstill as I wrestled with the question I posed before: What t

The Constant Question
I think I have spent my entire adult writing career asking the same question over and over again: Where should I place my focus, long or short fiction? If you look back at earlier entries on this blog, you will see that question asked frequently. The answer to this question is almost as individual and life searching for a writer as the whole human condition of existence is. There are several reason why I struggle with this question. Of course, the first reason is simple: I write long fiction better. But what are the other reasons? Short fiction writing is as important to a novelist as understanding grammar is. Short fiction teaches the writer to be brief. Writers are

What Happened to the “Gangsta Way”?
Months ago I wrote about a short story that I was plotting, titled “The Gangsta Way.” This story was never written as I ran into a problem with the plot line and then technical problems with my laptop and other things. The problem I had with “Gangsta Way” was a question a good friend of mine asked me. In the opening scene, which was in the aftermath of gang violence at a hospital, I had a “wantabe” who was a witness to the shootings talking to a detective. My friend asked, “Why is he talking?” I responded with various reasons, as cops do apply interviewing techniques to get someone to open up with the information that they need.

A Senator with a Real Secret
If it seems that I had stopped blogging for the last few weeks, it was because I had to. If you saw in my blogs back in June, I had problems with my laptop and had to take it in back then to be fixed. That took two weeks. Well, the problem occurred again and I have been without it for three weeks this time. At the time I am writing this blog, I still do not have it back—though it is due any day. As a back-up, I bought a netbook. So far, I like it. During this time I also have been experimenting with a new way for me to write—dictation. A new short story, whose title will change, was written this way. It needs work, but I will admit I enjoyed telling the story of Sena