I've started a shiny and new thing this week and I'm really excited about it. I'm still writing Blaze a Trail, book 3 in The Flanagan Sisters, but I'm also writing a short story.
A local publisher has put the call out for stories in their upcoming anthology which revolves around a bridal boutique in a small coastal town in Western Australia. When I read the requirements I was immediately hit with an idea, so I decided to give it a shot.
Now I haven't written a short story since I was at university. I always had trouble sticking to the word limit, but this one is 7500 - 10,000 words which I think might be the perfect length for the story in my head. One of the things I'm most excited about is being able to write in Australian English, using Aussie slang. I don't have to think hard about the different spelling and grammar (my novels use US English), and the story is pouring out.
It's the first time I've written a romance about a more mature couple. They're in their fifties and so their priorities are different from a twenty or thirty-year-old. It's fun exploring the differences and at the moment I'm writing it purely from the heroine's point of view, when I normally add the hero as well. The change feels good.
Each morning I set the timer for one hour. That's the time limit I've set for my lovely, shiny new story, because I still have the deadline for Blaze a Trail to meet. I've been doing it for three days and I've written 4,000 words. If I'm lucky I'll finish the first draft by the end of the week, but if not, it will be done by the end of next week. Then I'll get to polish it and send it in.
There's no guarantee it will be accepted for the anthology, but if not, I'll add it to the freebies that my reader group receive. I'll be happy either way beause I'm absolutely loving writing something fresh and new, and because it's short, it's not a huge commitment. I feel quite free writing it.
I'll keep you posted with how it goes.
