Join me today on r/Fantasy for a discussion on short fiction!

• Confidence. Belief that I can write stories that people want to read.

• The ability to say a lot without saying much at all. There isn’t time for grand exposition and elaborate backstories. It’s straight to the point, revealing what’s necessary and relevant alone. It’s improved my characterisation as a result. Without the grace of chapters to introduce characters, you have to swiftly forge a bond between reader and protagonist.

• It’s given me the freedom to hone my craft. A writer’s job is to tell stories, and the only way to get good at it is to practice. I learn something new with each story I write

• Writing short fiction keeps me motivated. If I’m feeling the slog of writing longer fiction I can switch to something shorter

• My experience writing short fiction has led to paid opportunities with local organisations.

• It’s helped me grow my following.

Do you write short stories? If so, how have they helped your writing and career?

As I’m looking ahead to future projects, the idea of devoting a year or two to a novel doesn’t appeal to me as much after just doing so. And I cannot help but notice the changing nature of people’s attention spans. Reading a short story isn’t as much of a commitment as a novel. It’s partly because of these reasons that I’ve decided to shift entirely to writing short fiction for a while. What do you think the future has in store for short fiction? Can you see it growing more popular, or will the novel continue to dominate?

As a thank you for getting involved, everyone who comments will be entered into a competition to win copies of my two books, Flying on the Ground and A Fantasy Writers’ Handbook. I’ll announce the winner at the end of the AMA.