I began my professional writing life as a playwright. I was serving as drama minister for our church and we needed scripts, so I provided them. Then, after a bit of dabbling in curriculum writing and non-fiction work, I rather quickly plunged into my true love—writing novels. And there I have stayed for forty-some years and fifty-some novels, exploring three genres. In all that time one category I never seriously undertook was short story writing. Until now.
The Idea
In the summer of 2021, during a brief break in the Covid lockdowns, I accompanied my daughter-in-law and granddaughter on a trip to France and Switzerland. While there I conceived the idea of writing a short story collection in the format of a travel memoir, using characters from my various series in short stories set in the places we visited:
Nice,
Saint-Tropez,
Villa Ephrussi,
Monaco,
the Loire Valley,
and Saint Gallen.
The Challenge
This project has recently boiled to the top of my list and I find myself learning the skills of a whole new genre. Short stories are a fascinating mix of novels and poetry. They require characters, themes, and plots like longer fiction, but condensed into a few pages that can be read at a single sitting. Therefore, like poetry, every word must be precise. Every sentence must serve its purpose. No more of the expansive scenic descriptions I love so much. No more delving deeply into a character’s background and psyche. And yet those elements must be there…
The Rewards
In spite of the trepidation of entering an unknown field, I find I am greatly enjoying the challenge of taking on something new. I am learning new skills (yes, it is possible to teach old dogs new tricks), I am getting to know long-time characters in new ways, and I’m gaining fresh perspectives on a wonderful trip undertaken at a challenging time.
Yes, I hope to get back to my novel writing. But when I do, I’ll take with me the new skills I’ve practiced and renewed energy for my first love. Good reasons to make an occasional dash outside the luxury of the familiar.
What projects have you taken on that challenged and stretched you as a writer or as a person? Looking back, was it worth the discomfort?
I smile as I re-read this–today I managed another 2 pages on a projectr begun in March and due out for Christmas. Still, I find the snails pace rewarding.