It’s Wednesday so today is a round up of what I am working on right now. I have taken on a few short stories for anthologies as I have been struggling working on longer pieces but I am hoping to get back to it this month. I have noticed that the length of the short stories is increasing from 5k as the norm to between 10 and 20k in length. This trend going forward does mean I will have to cut back how many I do in the future, which is a shame because I enjoy being pushed out of my comfort zone. The plus side is when the rights are returned I have a chunky piece of writing to expand and make full novella out of which is something I am working at right now.
This week I have two things I am working on. Firstly, I am working on finishing the story for the Books On The Beach Anthology which was inspired by the people I met at the riding school. I have to say writing young adult has been an interesting challenge, one I wasn’t convinced I would be up to but the test will be at the end of the month when I let me tester audience try it.
The second project is turning In Search Of Ghosts into a novella. I realised when I got it back that it stands at 15k words and that I could actually expand it quite easily to extend it. This was originally published as part of the Indie Love Myths & Legends anthology. The story is set in Wales and I went for the Lady Of The Lake legend for the basis of my story but it was also looking at the way people handle grief. I was in a position when I wrote it where I was worrying about losing my dad, and at the same time dealing with the fact if he lived he would forget who I was more and more.
Working on short stories is a really good way to get back into the mindset of writing every day, even if it is only 500 words. That is my plan going forward to get me back writing and to also get some work published. It will also allow me to focus on getting some of the half written projects I have on my computer finished and out into the world.
Paula Acton 