Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

So... after many years of reading Ray Bradbury's incredible output of short stories and tracking down the original printings of a good number of them (which has nothing to do with the fact that dozens of them first appeared in Playboy magazine, BTW), I set myself The Bradbury Challenge. I'm not sure if it already exists by that name (and if not then I claim ownership :-) ), but the idea is that you write 52 short stories in 52 weeks (based on Ray's assertion that it's not possible to write 52 bad short stories in a row). In fairness I have already failed as the first story took three weeks and ended up at 15,000 words because it developed into a cathartic and unexpectedly personal story about being bullied as a child. I'm going to crack on anyway as I can still manage the 52 in 52 weeks if I do 2 a week for a couple of those weeks. I'd love to know if there are any other writers here who would be prepared to have a crack at it. For me, even just planning out titles and rough ideas for new stories has prompted the most creative spell I've ever had, and made me realise that I've been too focused on genre writing, rather than just writing. It also means that I have to write every day, even after a long day at work. It may only be 50 words some days, but that's still 50 words more than no words. I'll use this discussion thread to keep y'all updated on how it's going, and if anybody else wants to have a go, please do the same. The stories I have lined up include sci-fi, ghost stories, fantasy, comedy, historical fiction and a few that I'm pleased not to be able to pigeon-hole. Since I started this, story ideas have been popping into my head faster than I can scribble rough notes for them, so if it can do that for me then I have to recommend it as something that might work for other writers, even if the short story isn't their normal vehicle. I've self-published short stories before under a pseudonym and enjoyed the process, but doing it this way has sparked something into life that I wasn't aware was dormant.

Wish me luck, and please do join me.

Nigel wrote: "So... after many years of reading Ray Bradbury's incredible output of short stories and tracking down the original printings of a good number of them (which has nothing to do with the fact that doz..."

Good luck! I probably wouldn't do it myself, as I don't write quite that fast, but I have had months where I got two or three done, anyway...

Time for an update. 52 short stories in 52 weeks isn't going to happen, but that was never likely if I'm honest with myself. Saying that, however, so far I have 8 new short stories and another 28 new short story outlines covering most genres. Setting myself this challenge has pushed me into the most creative writing period I've had in the last 30 years, so I'm going to keep going until the 52 weeks is up. I am confident now that even if I haven't completed 52 stories, I will have 52 in various states of completion ranging from done to rough outline. I can highly recommend trying this challenge, even if writing short stories isn't necessarily your thing. Not only has my output increased, that output has also been less genre-centric than is usual for me.

I'd love to hear from anybody else giving this a try - perhaps I should have a "Bradbury Challenge" group....?

That's really amazing! I have trouble enough with one story at a time!

It's been a real learning experience, and a new way of working for me. Because I knew I was going to be trying to do so many stories in such a short space of time, I found that starting with a title and working backwards was the way to go. I just listen out for interesting phrases on the news or advertising blurb (or something a small child was saying to his mum as they walked past me - the best title yet came that way) and write the title down. At the end of the day I go through the titles and put quick outlines to them, and then flesh them out as and when I can.

A few years ago, when I was first writing for Medium.com, I pushed myself to get one story posted each week, although it wasn't always fiction. I did a mix of nonfiction, mostly writing advice, and fiction, mostly flash fiction. I burned out eventually, and now am more focused on getting a few novels done. But you're right, engaging in that kind of push does teach you a lot.

Nigel wrote: "So... after many years of reading Ray Bradbury's incredible output of short stories and tracking down the original printings of a good number of them (which has nothing to do with the fact that doz..."

Excellent plan on 52 short stories.