The HEA Cafe

Last fall I was in a writing slump. My suspense novels weren’t selling and my agent was unimpressed with the romantic comedy I’d whipped up in three months over the summer when I should have been playing with my kids. Failure tightened around my throat like a noose. Pressure froze my fingers on the keyboard.
            Halloween, one of my favorite holidays, was approaching. One morning I woke up with an idea for silly story about a bad witch who wanted to cut her ties with Lucifer and go good. My muse offered nothing more than a title, Witches Anonymous, and the main character, Amy. It seemed harmless to write something just for fun, and I had nothing else pressing that day, so I tackled a scene.
The noose around my neck loosened a micron. My fingers pulled out of neutral and flew over the keys. I laughed out loud at Amy’s sassiness. The scene became a chapter. Over the next few weeks, my pulse jumped every time I thought about the story. It was just for fun, right? I could throw in crazy characters and twist the plot as much as I twisted my hair. I could write as much or as little as I wanted. I could toss it into the pile with the rest of the unsold manuscripts at any point and not worry about genre or word count or selling.
The process of writing Witches Anonymous freed me creatively. It gave me my writing life back and opened something that was blocked inside of me. In March, I sold my first suspense novel in my Super Agent Series, Operation Sheba. In June, Witches Anonymous won a contest (thanks to Chiron O’Keefe, our wonderful challenge board guru, who insisted I enter) and will be published in February of 2009. I just signed a contract for the second book in my suspense series.

If someone had told me last fall that writing a short story – a paranormal comedy no less – would save my writing career, I’d have scoffed. Now, I’m encouraging other writers to give it a try. This week at Five Scribes blogspot, http://www.fivescribes.blogspot.com , author KL Grady offered her take about writing short stories, “Writing short fiction gave me the opportunity to craft a story without having to commit to a long-term project - no pressure. It also allowed me to learn the quick and dirty route to telling a story.”
Whether you want to refine your skills, experiment with a new genre, or just enjoy a break from the pressure of a full length novel, consider writing a short story. You might find your fingers flying over the keyboard and new doors opening for your career.