100 Orphaned Beginnings.

So if I can write a blog every day -- sometimes more than one -- why can't I just go ahead and write fiction, too?

Well, the answer is, I can. I'm pretty sure I could write as many fictional words a day as I can blog words.

In fact, over the last 25 years, since I stopped writing fiction full-time, I've probably started 100 different stories, maybe more. Most of them may only go a page or two. Some are a full chapter -- I'd be willing to bet I've started at least 25 stories and gotten 3 or 4 chapters in. Maybe 8 or 10 that I've gotten even further.

None of them seemed strong enough to continue. There comes that moment when I can't just do it off the top of my head, anymore. That it requires what I used to have when I was writing full time -- the space and time and energy to really dwell in the fictional world and let my subconscious work out the problems.

A blog is a transitory thing. I go back and read past entries, and I find stupid mistakes and/or ways I could have said it better. But it's gone, like yesterday's news.

A novel -- or fictional story -- while it may be transitory to the average reader, for the writer needs to stand the test of time.

I can't know if the stories I started would have resulted in a good book -- I can't probably know until I'm halfway through.

So what really stopped me from fully committing, was the process of publishing itself. I got really tired of waiting a year for every submission. I got really tired of just missing because of timing, or because of my subject isn't in style, of my style isn't in style, or.....

It started to seem a little too arbitrary. A little too much hit and miss, luck, who you know.

I know, I know. The excuse of a writer who hasn't had enough gumption to keep trying.

But I've decided to try to pick up the pace of fictional writing -- and see if it leads anywhere. Maybe I'll start a blog and post them all; I'll call it:

100 Orphaned Stories.