Success only flourishes in perseverance -- ceaseless, restless perseverance.
--Baron Manfred Von Richtofen

Monday, August 2, 2010

What a Rush!

I set a goal at the beginning of July to write a Christmas story by the end of the month. July turned out to be pretty busy is a fun, summery kind of way. I plugged away on the story, though and late Saturday night, the last day of the month, I finished it!

I absolutely loved the thrill of starting and finishing something all in one month. I could get addicted to this. The story is called "Living Water," and I feel pretty good about how it turned out. I once heard Orson Scott Card describe writing a story as crossing a lake. With a novel, you can take a row boat. You can stop and fish. You can enjoy the scenery and take your time. With a short story, you have to get in a motor boat and cross the lake just as fast you can. That's sure what it felt like to me this time, and it was fun.

So, although I plan to write novels for sure, I will never give up the short story. It's such a rush!


P.S. Tyrean Martinson was kind enough to give me her Blessed Blog Award. Thanks so much! I have been truly blessed by her blog as well. Go check it out and read her daily 365 Days of Blessings posts if you want a great reminder of all we have to be thankful for. Thanks, Tyrean!

26 comments:

tiffany said...

congrats on the blessed blog award & im so excited to read your story

nephite blood spartan heart said...

I love your short stories.

I used to be unsure if I could write a short story-all my ideas seemed so long.

But with a bit of trying to encapsulate ideas it turned out to be a lot more fun and satisfying than I initially expected-so I have done a lot more shorts this year.

Linz said...

Yea! I am so happy! I can't wait to read this Christmas story!

Shallee said...

Way to go, Angie! :)

Larry and Cindy said...

This is a great short story. Although I love all your work. POP

Cherie Reich said...

Congrats on the blog award and finishing a short story in a month!!

Karen Lange said...

Congrats on the award! Tyrean's blog is a good one too, just like yours:)
Have a good week,
Karen

Nicole Zoltack said...

Congrats on your award and your story!

Taffy said...

Woot! Woot! It feels so good to finish a story! You rock!

Brenda Susan said...

Yay good for you! Though I have loved the writing process all my life I am only just now looking at it seriously. I am very excited about where this will go!

Terry W. Ervin II said...

Great to hear you're story got finished, you goal met!

Angie said...

Thanks, everyone! You are all so nice and encouraging!

Danyelle L. said...

You are amazing! I love the way you described the different types of stories! I wish I was talented enough to write short stories, but my Muse is longwinded, and every attempt becomes a novel. >.<

Christina Lee said...

Ya know, I could see how that would be a rush!!! I feel that way about finishing my columns for the newspaper!

Aubrie said...

Congrats on finishing your story! Where are you going to submit it to?

And thanks so much for reading my story. :)

Windy Aphayrath said...

Yay! Congrats, my dear!

Tyrean Martinson said...

Angie - Thanks!

Karen - Thanks!

Wow, I just feel blessed by your encouragement.

I love the boat analogy. Sometimes I feel like I'm the water-skier behind the boat when I'm writing a short story and I'm not sure if I'm going to stay up, or take a nose dive, but I try to keep the speed going . . . otherwise I'll sink for sure.

Congrats on finishing your story!!!

MTeacress said...

Now that you're done, what are you going to do with it?
I enjoy writing short stories too, and mine are usually for children.
Congrats on the blog award. :) Have a good week!

Jolene Perry said...

congrats, that's pretty awesome!

Rosslyn Elliott said...

That's so neat! I wish I could switch back and forth between novels and short stories. My brain just seems to have fallen permanently in love with the novel.

Anonymous said...

Short stories are the best! They are the reason I fell in love with writing.
Anyway, I just stumbled onto your blog here and read through a few posts. You have a new follower! I love your happy and optimistic outlook and your tips and advice on writing!
I, too, am an author hopeful... working on a few manuscripts and dreaming of the day I'll hold a publishing contract in my hands.
Glad I found your blog!

documentingimagination.blogspot.com

Rebecca Blevins said...

How cool! And it's nice to meet you, Angie!

Angie said...

Welcome to the blog, Jessica. Thanks for becoming a follower. It's nice to meet you too, Rebecca.

Aubrie--the story is a gift for my family and friends. I've done it every year for fifteen years! After Christmas, I may look for somewhere to submit it.

Rosslyn--I think it's good to be in love with novels. They make you more money. :)

Thanks for the comments, everybody!

ali cross said...

That is so cool! Congrats Angie! I so canNOT write short stories, but I enjoy other people's! Loved the analogy you shared. ;)

WritingNut said...

Congrats Angie! I can't wait to read this story too :)

Brandon Barr said...

Excellent Angie :)
I love short story writing too...maybe I should submit something to Mindflights one day!