I started writing on Medium because, after twenty-two of the things, I was getting bored with writing and publishing novels. The amount of time it took to get one finished and out into the world, the effort and expense of marketing it followed by the inevitable waiting for anyone to read and comment on it was getting me down.
As I approach my seventieth year, I have less and less time available to wait for things to happen.
I decided that the immediacy of Medium was preferable, you get feedback on your work straight away, plus, you don’t have to wait two months for any payments.
So, last November, despite having around twelve novels in various stages of completion, I left that world behind and embraced the concept of short fiction, writing to prompts and drabbles. I even managed some poetry, the first I’d written since I’d been at school.
I managed to get articles and short stories accepted by several publications and also produced a serial version of one of my unfinished novels, which I submitted, a chapter a week. That was in addition to the drabbles and all the other bits and pieces I was publishing.
It was a lot more work than I had been used to but my creativity had been awakened and I was enjoying my writing, for the first time in ages.
Then I submitted a short story to a certain publication and was told that it really needed to be made into a serial. The question was asked, “Was I up for it?”
I love a challenge. I thought, why not?
I’m now writing an episode a week of that story and just about keeping ahead of the publishing schedule.
The reaction to what I’m doing is the thing that’s made it all worthwhile. I got claps (Medium’s version of the ‘like’) and responses without waiting for sales, reads and reviews to get approved.
Just about all the feedback I’ve had so far has been positive, which means that I’m achieving my objective. I’m writing things that people like to read.
More and more of my time is now taken up with answering comments, reading and commenting on the work of others and joining in conversations. In short, I’m building a community.
Now I’ve found an appreciative audience, it makes me want to write more.
The thing is, I’ve discovered a problem. Although I’m still keeping away from novels, I can see the potential for expansion in many of the short pieces I’ve written. A part of me feels the need to expand even a drabble to a short story or more. I can’t help it.
The more I write, the longer the list of novels I could write (if only I had the time) keeps growing. I don’t think that I’ll ever run out of new ideas. It’s more likely that I’ll find myself without the time to develop them all.
Because my head is full of possible plots, characters and locations for more of what I’ve already written, I’m getting distracted from creating more new material.
The only option I can see is to run with the stories, create them as chapter works and upload them regularly to Medium, alongside my other stuff.
In effect, I’m back to writing novels. I’m just publishing them in a different way.
If you subscribe to Medium, you can find me here.
If you look under the tab ‘lists’ on my profile, you’ll find my serials.
The Adventures of Kalyn Deere, Murder Most Foul, My Sister Alex and Captain Starlight.
With any luck, coming soon will be, Another Rainy Night in Helcon City, Working from Home, The New Old World and a second series of Kalyn Deere Adventures.
The ideas are all in my head, it’s just a case of getting them down.
The bonus is that once I have published all the parts on Medium, I can compile them into an eBook and put it on Amazon for anyone who wasn’t able to read it the first time around.
Like The Adventures of Kalyn Deere, available as an eBook from August 1st. Click HERE to pre-order.
Kalyn Deere is straight out of the Navy and straight into trouble.
When she arrives home, after five years away, Kalyn misses seeing her father by an hour. There’s no chance to patch up their broken relationship, no time to explain.
A month later, he sends her a message. “Help me,” is all he says.
Erik Deere is a private investigator and bounty hunter, a job he said Kayln must never be allowed to do. That’s the reason she left in the first place.
With Erik missing, she’s dragged into his world, whether he likes it or not.
Kalyn needs to find her father and keep his business going. All the while pretending that everything is normal.
She has to learn fast, helped by Erik’s secretary, Silva. And by some of the dubious characters she meets along the way.
Kalyn Deere. Bounty Hunter.
Solving crime and searching for her father, all across the Galaxy.
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