Writing a short story is something I have failed at repeatedly. Well, writing a good short story is what I have failed at. Novellas and novels? They do not seem a problem to me. NeoTokyo Dead is just the second I have written, the first having drawn some interest from a publisher.

I started writing a short story called Callous Sky, and was properly into it. I had written about six chapters, and was about to wind it up, when a brain wave hit me. There was enough depth to it that a novel could be written from it. All I had to do was write a few more chapters and, presto! A new novel! In what has become a catch-phrase for my writing life: how very wrong I was.

The first thing to trip me up was my memory. I had no idea what characters looked like, because, in a short story, I prefer to leave the details to the reader. I had only vague impressions. I also had no details about the characters’ backgrounds or anything else not directly connected to the plot of Callous Sky. I soon realised the need to spend more time with the characters and flesh them out more. That also meant reading the story myself and taking notes about what decisions I had made already.

Due to my lack of memory, I also found I needed a style guide, which I had not made. It was a short story. Who the hell needs a style guide for that? I can answer that question. The idiot who decides it would be awesome and easy to turn said short story into a full-blown novel. If you have never heard of a style guide, it is a document that notes major plot decisions, spelling conventions used, punctuation choices, and a whole tonne more. While I have been reading Callous Sky again, I have been making a style guide for it.

All this has slammed home the lesson of planning. Before you start writing something, make sure you are really firm on what format it will take. Making changes part-way through the process is a pain in the butt. If you have a good idea, mull on it for awhile. Make sure you write the idea down, so you do not forget it, but do not rush into writing before you have established the desired outcome.

This might sound like the painfully obvious to many, but I am nothing, if not a slow learner. I also have deep impulse control issues, which I alluded to in a previous post. Yet, I find myself telling myself, yet again, think about it before you do it. This is also my advice to others. Learn from my idiocy.