Kate Flora: My calendar says that it’s my turn to blog today and I wouldn’t want to let you or the calendar down. The trouble is that every year, I write everyone a holiday story and post on my blog at www.kateclarkflora.com Alas, I didn’t have a good idea for a story, and so I’m still only halfway through it. Very embarrassing, right?

One thing I’ve learned over the years is this: If it took me, proportionally, the same amount of time to write a novel as it does to write a short story, I probably wouldn’t have so many published books, never mind all the books in the drawer. Writing short is a challenge. We have to make the words count. To have to, as I believe Poe put it, write stories that tend toward a single result, while our novels often have multiple strands being woven through the narrative.

After college, and the damage inflicted by those hateful writing teachers who have discouraged so many writers from continuing, I stopped writing short stories. I felt more comfortable in the long form of a novel, even though my first attempts ended up in the drawer. I returned to in kind of a backwards way. At a point in my writing where I was feeling discouraged, I decided the way out was to start taking chances. One of those chances was to write a police procedural that became my first Joe Burgess book. Another was to say “yes” when Susan Oleksiw invited me to be an editor on a project to take a snapshot of the New England crime writer’s mind through the medium of short stories.

That became a Level Best Books, a great adventure that lasted for seven editions of crime stories by New England writers before we ran out of steam. Part of that adventure was to sit on the editorial side of the desk after years of being edited. Part of that adventure was learning what worked and didn’t work in a story, even if I couldn’t always articulate it. And part of the adventure was that, as editors, Skye Alexander, Susan, and I each had to write a story for the collection, and get edited by the rest of our team.

An important part of the adventure was getting to publish debut authors, and each November, the collection was introduced at the region’s mystery conference, the New England Crime Bake. Watching writers who’d only dreamed of being published sit in a long line with their fellow authors signing copy after the copy of the book was thrilling.

But back to being perpetually behind. I’m a write who doesn’t believe in writer’s block. I believe in discipline and sitting in the chair. I believe in showing up and making it happen. But the folly of saying “yes” to too many tangential things means that I’m six months behind in finishing the next Thea Kozak book and too frazzled to seek out publishers for the two great (I think) potential first books in two new police procedural series, never mind the match-making dog romance that longs to find its readers.

I’m supposed to be a writer, so why am I only reading stacks of books? Why am I waking up to go, not to the keyboard but to the kitchen to make caviar pie, dozens of deviled eggs, chicken wings or a giant taco? How about a ten minute tiramisu for a holiday party? (Let me know if you want the recipe) And are any of the gifts wrapped? Or, for that matter, purchased? At least 2026 is right around the corner and with it, some freedom to return to the keyboard.

So if anyone is looking for me, I’m struggling to write that short story, which WILL be finished before Christmas. Meanwhile, a reminder that this month, once again, we’re giving away a bundle of books. That means if you leave a comment on one of our posts (of course we’d like you to comment on all of them) you could be the lucky winner.

And if you haven’t read them, do hop over to my website.