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The story that was originally 8,200 words is now 2,500. I might have cut too much.

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I’ve spent the past three weeks revising short stories, and I’m getting cranky about it. I realized this morning that I’m cranky because I need to write something new. Revision is good and necessary. Revision can be fun. Revision can even produce a deep sense of satisfaction when it’s done. But when takes too long, [...]

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I have joined a critique group, which I attended for the first time last week. Thanks to the group’s suggestions, I’ve cut almost 2,000 words of the 8,200 word story they saw. I haven’t even started on the structural changes that will trim more. The cuts I’ve made so far were mostly scenery and description–two [...]

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Yesterday I started a new short story with the working title, “The Substance of Things Hoped For.” I had a hard time getting it under way. I knew the broad outline of what I wanted to write, but the opening words wouldn’t come. After spending too much time doing unnecessary research, I decided to describe [...]

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I finished “Untitled Stephen Regan Story #1″ earlier this week. It’s not much of a working title, is it? I often struggle with titles. It’s a good thing I don’t have children. They’d have been named “Work in progress” for the first three years of their lives. Usually, whatever triggered the idea for the story [...]

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