The FAQs

So, here's how this thing works. I'm going to try and write 21 short stories over 52 weeks... so, roughly 1 story every 2 weeks. The idea is to make sure that, whether or not I'm working on my other projects, I'm getting in practice of simply creating stories from ideas.

Since such a project can't help but lend itself to writer's block, I'm asking you to provide me with story ideas. In return for your suggestions, I will provide a story that is at least 1,000 words and no more than 10 pages uploaded about every two weeks. (I have a tendency to get myself really busy and to be out of town a lot, so the timing might not be perfect.)

How do I make a suggestion?

I will put up suggestion posts. You can tell they are suggestion posts because their title will be, "Open for Suggestions!" Feel free to reply on those, and I will look through the suggestions and choose one from there. I also take suggestions via G+, Facebook, and by word of mouth. However, priority goes to suggestions on the blog itself.

What kind of suggestions do you take?

They can be as specific or vague as you want, but shouldn't be longer than a couple sentences. If you find they're getting longer than that, then you should probably look into writing the story yourself.

The story can be any genre (though you are welcome to name a particular genre in your suggestion), but it will be a work of fiction. It will also not be poetry or song (though it can reference either). Just a story. Keep in mind that I'm probably going to ignore suggestions that are overly graphic or obscene, political, or fanfiction. That's just my personal preference.

You don't just post stories here. How do I just get to the stories?

I've made sure each of the stories has a "stories" label on it, so simply find the Labels box on the right-hand side of the screen and click "stories". That should bring them all up.

Where should I start?

Well, that depends on your taste.

Because the suggestions for my stories come from other people, and because I'm trying to stretch myself with this, my stories tend to fall into a broad range of genres and categories. So, if one doesn't work for you, then try another one and see how that goes.

Even so, here are some suggestions:

If you like comedy, try Foodstuffs, which is a very special story about the woes of being a vegetarian zombie.

If you're in the mood for something more subtle, try Of Growing Up and Growing Old, which is about the life and times of a sentient house.

And if you're looking for something a bit more family-friendly, try The Chipmunks of Greenwater Meadow, which has talking animals, magic, and convoluted plots to overthrow oppressive governmental systems. (Yes, it's still a kids' story. I promise.)

You misspelled something.

Thanks! Most of these stories are unedited, unreviewed first drafts, so if you see any errors in spelling or grammar, feel free to point them out. I'll usually go in and fix them.

Are you going to publish these?

That's a bit tricky. The nature of publishing things on the web is that they become free for anyone to look at and redistribute. Thus, while it might be nice to try and submit some of these things to a magazine or journal or what-have-you, most won't accept a piece that has been previously posted on a blog. However, there are a few that will still accept works previously published online (usually they're going for the first print rights) and I've begun submitting these pieces to them, so we'll see how that goes.

Occasionally, if a blog like this becomes popular enough, a publisher will approach the author and ask to put the posts together in print format, but I am not nearly in high enough demand right now for that to happen. So, if you'd like to see these in print format, then share them!

I made a comment on one of your older posts, but it's not showing up!

I have moderation on all comments for posts two weeks old and older. That means if you make a comment on an older post, I have to go through and approve it before it will show up on the site. Sorry for the inconvenience, but if I don't do this, I tend to miss comments on older posts, as they get swallowed by time. Having these comments moderated means I'm sure that I get to see them.

I have a question that's not answered here.

Then go ahead and ask it, silly! I can't know what all your questions are if you don't ask, and even if I don't answer it, you won't be any worse off than before. Unless your question is REALLY dumb. Then you will have to live with the knowledge that somewhere in the dark corners of the internet, you made a fool of yourself.