The reason is obvious, isn't it? Our Twenty-First Century Lifestyle almost demands that we do. For one thing, we're involved in more activities and tasks than ever before, and we probably won't slow down. Our time for leisure reading becomes shorter and shorter.
Whoever invented the eReader is a genius, because the device is tailor-made for an important segment of the reading public. Keep in mind, though—longer novels and prints still reign in the group overall. I, for one, am happy about this fact because I read full-length novels all the time.
Writing a short story, however, is not as easy as it seems. Yes, 1,500 to 20,000 words sounds much easier to write than 80,000, but the short story's compact nature demands finesse—careful use of each and every word. I know…I've experienced a crash course writing shorts.
The Wild Rose Press asks for Free Reads from each author who wishes to participate. This was a big learning experience for me. Length—1500 words, max. Diving into the task, I had a brainstorm and wrote a short in record time. The title is The Wedding Auction, and it's still available on TWRP's website.
However, The Wedding Auction contained 3,000 words. I told the editor I could not shorten it. She said, yes, you can, and proceeded to give me a few hints on words or phrases to exclude. I trimmed it to 2,200 and informed her—"this is it. I can't shorten it anymore." She pushed me once again, and I even resorted to begging her to do it for me! I'm not a quitter, though, so I worked harder.
After succeeding with this first Free Read, I wrote two more: Merry Christmas, Victoria and Wishes Do Come True. All three Free Reads are Western Historical Romances found on my page at:
The Wild Rose Press:
I still prefer writing longer novels, but creating short stories gives a certain satisfaction that is different from writing longer ones.
Recently, I came involved with Victory Tales Press, owned and operated by Rebecca Vickery. She and her artist, Laura Shinn, publish themed anthologies consisting of four authors. I had the pleasure of contributing to one last Christmas: A Christmas Collection-Sensual. My story is titled: Angel and the Cowboy
This week, VTP released A Western Saga, four short stories about descendents of the fictional McTavish family who migrated west in the early 1800s. The anthology contains another of my contributions, and is available in print and eBook at Amazon. My story is titled:
Along Came Will
If you enjoy short stories—1500-20,000 words, I hope you find one to try within this post.
Thank you!
Celia Yeary-Romance...and a little bit 'o Texas
Welcome to Lindsay's Romantics, where we post on all kinds of romance topics.
