She ain't heavy, she's my Novella..

This week our homework was to write a short story for teenagers. Eek. I've found a genre that simply isn't for me. Not yet anyway. Maybe when my kids get a bit older and I have an insight into teen culture from their perspective. For now I think I'll stick to what I enjoy, that is short stories and my burgeoning novella.

Yes I dare call it that now. It's taken on a life of it's own and I'm well past the 21k word mark. Even with ruthless editing it is clearly beyond a long, short story. It has been a voyage of discovery but I haven't been travelling alone. My characters have their own clear ideas of where they want to go, I just need to keep up with them. From time to time the muse deserts us all but going to class where I hear other people's writing and get set new exercises provides inspiration time and time again.

I guess that adult education is another form of 'salon'. We listen, share, inspire and support each other. Feedback from the teacher, who is herself a published author, is invaluable. We even manage to squeeze in a glass of wine after our session.

I'll sign out today with this wonderful quote;

I know that the best stories are those that are still untold -
so keep writing, keep creating, keep the faith. - COLUM McCANN

Bedtime Stories and Salons

When I got down to work on my latest homework, which was to write a story for an eight year old child, I didn't think I was going to enjoy it or have much success. I can't believe how wrong I was. I absolutely loved the challenge - not only did I manage to create what I think is an original and compelling story, I ended up drafting two installments. Now I have 4,500 words (for my 600 word homework). I put in the first chapter for feedback so I can't wait to get the critique back this week.

On another note, my writing teacher lent me a copy of Mslexia which I'm going to subscribe to. It hadn't occurred to me how useful it might be to read about other writer's experiences. It also highlighted how little I know about this world - there is a cover story about 'starting your own salon' - I thought it was referring to a hairdresser.  Apparently not, a writer's salon is where you share and discuss work. If publicly admitting my ignorance helps at least one person my shame won't have been wasted.