… where I write very little short fiction.
I was thinking this morning that I’ve been in the space for a couple of years now. The kind of short fiction output I had a couple of year ago was way beyond what I have now and that’s due to a few factors.
2010 was the ‘Year of Two Collections’, and my productivity was pretty high.
Last year (2011), I was finishing of the PhDoom and that, of necessity, curtailed my short fiction activities. I think I wrote only four stories last year and that was because they were commissioned rather than me writing them and trying to find a market. Then there were the reprints, which are always happy surprises, making a story pay for itself twice.
This year started with writing and finishing the Midnight and Moonshine collection with Lisa L Hannett. Now I am trying to knock over the five short stories (three down, two to go) I’ve been commissioned to write so I can get back on to writing the novel, Brisneyland by Night.
It feels like a strange space because I’m not the market machine I used to be. When I started out I spent more time reading Ralan.com than I did drinking coffee – and that’s a benchmark I never thought I’d use. Now I have this burst of surprise when someone mentions a market … but I don’t run off to madly write a story for that specific market. I guess that’s what happens when you’re pointing yourself towards a full-time writing career, you end up in a weird shifting kind of space for a while.
Wonder how long it will last?