What do I do now?

I’ve finished writing two novellas, each has come in at just over 40k words.

There’s no particular reason for their brevity. I always reckon that the story is finished when there’s nothing more to say. Whether that’s 40k or 100, as long as it’s at a point where you can draw a line, then it’s long enough.

After all, some of the best stories are short; Fahrenheit 451, Animal Farm or The Great Gatsby spring to mind. All of them are under 50k and are classics of literature.

Not that mine can claim to be comparable in anything but word count.

I feel that both of them are complete as they are. Sure, I could add more worldbuilding or description, but I feel it’s unnecessary padding to a pair of action-based adventures like these.

As always, there’s a feeling of satisfaction that I’ve managed to complete a coherent tale, tinged with regret that I won’t be spending more time with the characters and their lives.

The covers of both are the current version and are subject to change.

The first one is called The Collective. It starts as a disaster story, with an exploding spaceship, but soon turns into something slightly different. No spoilers, but it heads off in a direction you might not have expected.

The second is called Another Rainy Night in Helcon City, and is a crime story set in the far future. There’s a down-on-his-luck private eye, a femme fatale and corrupt officialdom.

Both of them are on the way to my editor; I’m eagerly awaiting her reaction.

Of course, now that they’re done, the question of what to do next raises its head.

I have a few choices. There’s an Andorra Pett adventure to write, as well as several sequels. There are also quite a few of my stand-alone short stories that have the potential to be expanded, at least to novella length, if not longer. And three collections of short stories to complete.

I want to save one project for the traditional November challenge, the thing that used to be called NaNoWriMo.

If it had continued, 2026 would have been my twelfth year of participation, so I’ll probably give it a go for old times’ sake. This year, for the first time in quite a while, I have no idea what to attempt. As I’m never short of ideas, it’s not a concern.

All being well, I’ll be back with another post on Monday. See you then. Meanwhile, have a great weekend.

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