When I first began writing fiction, I thought I needed to write a traditional novel from beginning to end, with long chapters, developing plots, and enough words to fill an entire book.
Sounds simple enough, right?!?!
Well….not exactly.
I discovered that while I loved creating characters, imagining places, and bringing stories to life, I sometimes struggled with expanding one storyline into a full-length novel. I would have an idea, begin writing, and then find myself wondering how to stretch it further without losing the heart of the story.
For a while, I questioned whether novel writing was really my strength. Then I began looking at storytelling differently.
What if I didn’t have to tell the entire story in one continuous journey?
What if I could tell it through several smaller stories that eventually connected?
That question changed the way I approached writing. I discovered that I enjoyed writing short stories, each with its own beginning, middle, and ending. I also loved idea of characters returning, relationships growing, and little pieces of one story finding their way into another. And that’s when I began exploring the idea of writing seven interconnected short stories that could eventually become one complete book!
Each story could stand on its own while quietly building toward something larger. A character introduced in one story might return in another or not. An unanswered question might find its answer several stories later. Something that seemed insignificant in the beginning could become meaningful by the final pages of the book.
Suddenly, writing felt different! I wasn’t struggling to stretch a story simply to make it longer. I was allowing each story the space it needed while creating connections that brought everything together. It was like gathering seven individual pieces of a puzzle and discovering that, once connected, they revealed a much bigger picture for me. And perhaps the most important thing I learned was that there isn’t just one right way to write a book.
Some authors are wonderful at writing long, traditional novels. Others tell powerful stories in fewer words. I began realizing that my strength might be somewhere in between.
Seven stories. Different experiences. Familiar characters. One connected journey.
I’m still learning and growing as a writer, and I know there will be other challenges along the way, but discovering this approach has given me a new sense of creative freedom!!!!! Sometimes finding your niche isn’t about becoming the writer you thought you were supposed to be. It’s about discovering the storyteller you’ve been all along. For me, that discovery happened somewhere between seven short stories and one bigger story waiting to be told.
Until the next page,
Malia K Johnson