Do I Write Short Stories?

To answer that question honestly-- yes, I've written a few. And there are a couple I'm rather fond of. But all in all, I'm just too dang long-winded to be an accomplished short story writer, which is why I write novels. First of all, it takes me a really long time to come up with an idea that's worth investing months, even years, of my life sweating over. And it takes an even longer time to develop that idea into a story I'm happy with.

It takes me many pages to flesh out a plot and develop characters; I like to take my time to get to know them in depth--their back-history, their flaws, their speech patterns, etc. Then as I go on I develop the settings as background for the action, though I usually have at least a vague sense of the background to start with.. I just can't seem to do all this in a few short pages! More power to those writers who can--I rather envy them!

All for now. Take care,

MRTighe

My Favorite Books and Authors

Hello again,

I just wanted to share a few of my favorites with you. It's possible you may also enjoy some of them, and it will give you some idea of what I write. First of all, I love Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. I try to read this classic, high-fantasy once a year. I find it very inspirational and unbeatable.

I also love all the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling. She is a fantastic writer, and,no, her books are not just for kids (especially the later ones!)  I also enjoy the Twilight Saga by Stephanie Myer. Notice so far these are all fantasies of one sort or another.

As far as science fiction is concerned, probably my all-time favorite author is Zenna Henderson. I'm a big fan of her People stories/books. If you've never read them, run to the library and look them up. NESFA has published a collection of her stories in a book titled Ingathering. Her "People" are aliens from a destroyed world who are very much like us--only with a few extra "talents". Her work is the best example of "soft" science fiction I know of, beautifully written and very moving.

I also love the early Dragonrider books by Anne McCaffrey, especially the first three in the series. When I first read them, I considered them fantasy, but as the series progressed and she explained the back history of the planet Pern, it became clear that she was indeed writing SF. Sometimes the boundaries between genres are unclear, and as long as things don't get too muddled, I'm fine with that. Please note that by no means do I put myself in the same category as any of these fine writers, but I hope if you enjoy their work, you'll also enjoy reading mine.

Thanks for reading,

MRTighe