Hallo!

[aly]

Hello, everyone! My name is Aly and I am a prose writer. I prefer novel-length fantasy, but feel very strong in my skills as a general fiction writer. I'm a co-administrator at All that Wander, a different Proboards forum, that has a writing segment.

Currently, I'm an English major with a Teaching English as a Subsequent Language minor and I should graduate next June--so I've got that to look forward to. I hope to open my own publishing company some day. I've got the Business Plan all set, I just have to gather the credentials to get the loans set in place.

It's been a long time since I've written one of these.... Well, I look forward to getting to know you all! I'll see you around

[sapphire]

Welcome! I think fantasy writers tend to congregate here - we've got quite a few, so you should fit in nicely.
Sounds like you've got a pretty awesome long-term plan. Out of curiosity, do you plan to publish your own work, or just open the publishing company?

[aly]

I'm mostly focused on starting the company--it'll be a mash-up of a normal and self-publishing company to combine best of both worlds I'm not sure if I want to publish one of my novels yet. I did a small experiment in the past, but I didn't get a true feeling from it. Time will tell

[sapphire]

Right, read your post in the self publishing thread after I posted here.

I think it's awesome that you're digging into starting a company. I have nowhere near that level of drive.

Do you write short stories at all? I've tried, but the short form is definitely not my strong point. My main comment from workshops is always "This should be a novel. It's too big for a short story." Heh. But it's a nice way to get a bit of a following without publishing a novel, if you get into the right magazines.

[aly]

I've written maybe three short stories. I've grid submitting to contests, but I struggle a LOT with short stories, like you. I feel like I don't have enough time in the short format to get it all out, like I'm incapable of not having a larger--whatchamicallit. I'll be honest that I haven't put all that much effort into short stories. Novellas I have, though. Those I can do stepping stones, maybe. Any advice for me?

[sapphire]

Heh, short stories are very hard. The only advice I really have is to keep writing them - they're actually an excellent tool for honing your writing skill in general. I have a BFA in writing, and for three years we worked exclusively in the short form. Nothing long until senior year, when we wrote our novel-length theses. Short stories are super helpful if you have the right person editing them.

You could also try writing a short story set in the world of something longer you've written - that can help with picking out a shorter plot, since you may have already covered the longer issue that you wanted to deal with in that story. Not something I've done yet myself, but I've had a few ideas as I'm writing my novel that may turn into short stories eventually.

You could also try reading short stories, see how other writers do it. (If this is something you're interested in, check out Lightspeed Magazine. All sci-fi and fantasy short stories (some nonfiction, too), and they're really excellent.

If you do decide to try writing more short stories, you are, of course, welcome to post them here. We have some pretty good readers, though it can be a slow response sometimes. (We also have a monthly short contest, posted on the 15th of every month, that you have 24 hours to enter. Having a prompt can help, I've found.)

[A Mask Among Many]

Welcome! We're all a tad different, but most of us enjoy fantasy writing the most.

Occasionally I write poetry. but not all that often.