Having the opportunity pop up to publish 3 short stories this week (haha, you’ll find out about the 3rd shortly) made me realize something. I had to pull them up, read them and give them a quick brush-up before sending them out and I remembered why I liked writing short stories so much, even though there’s not much of a market for them.
Writing short stories makes a great palate cleanser. You finish a novel and it’s like finishing a giant multi-course meal. You don’t want to just dive right into starting another one. You need to cleanse your palate and digest a little first. Also, you can try out a different genre or voice or technique in a short story without investing a lot in the exercise. It can be a great way to find out if you like something or how it works for you.
Reading Jordan’s blog about books by authors that didn’t win you the first time made me realize I do this with reading, too. If I read something by Laurell K. Hamilton, doesn’t matter which series, they’re excellent but soooo sad. I always have an antidote read on hand, something light and funny to read afterwards. If I don’t, it can really affect my mood. (I think this works well in reverse, too. Read a few too many sweet stories in a row? A little Poe restores the balance!) What I think of an author the first time I read them can be influenced by whether or not I’ve restored the balance before or after reading their book.
So. Palate cleansing reads keep my reading digestion in balance, and the same goes for writing. I was a lot more productive when I wrote short stories alongside and in between novels. I’m going back to it. Starting now!:mrgreen: Am I the only one, or are there other palate-cleansing readers and writers out there?
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