Hey, writers.  I’ve been asked, essentially, “Yo, Alvin.  It’s been a while.  Where you been?“

Hit the jump, writers, and let’s discuss. 

First thing’s first.   Yes, I have been writing.  Actually, I’ve been writing my butt off.  Things are going well, writers.

So the next thing is…where have I been?  Well, I have been writing things that weren’t set for AlohaAlvin.com.  Lately, I have been targeting writing contests.  There’s a couple of writing contests that exist that I would be proud to win.  (Monetary winnings aside, I would love to just be a part of the contest.)

Fighting the Good Fight 

Writers, I have to say some things about short story writing contests.  On one hand, a short story is…well, short.  It isn’t a novel and it isn’t an AlohaAlvin article.  For the most part, I have avoided them.

Only recently have I really started setting my sights on writing contests.  I’ve been working on various novels for a while and thus haven’t put much energy into the writing contests.

I will say that they are NOT the same animal. The thing I used to say to people about novels was this:  “A lot of people think, ‘Hey, I can write a three paragraph e-mail, I’m sure I can write a 300 page novel.’”  Bruh.  No.  Seriously, that’s just not how it works.

Without really getting into my quote, I’m going to continue on my previous thought.

Apples and Oranges 

I’ve written novels and I’ve written short stories.  They are absolutely not the same thing.  Not at all.

Having said that, I recommend that all novel writers spend time writing short stories.  It’s healthy to tackle both.  It just…it just is.

I’m intentionally doing shorter articles these days, writers. So I’m not going to flesh this one out.

Bowling pins, tennis balls, and machetes 

Regarding short stories, I have to mention something else.  Writers, in my brain, I think of novels as something that’s once a year.  In the past, that was a normal standard.  Having said that, I know for sure that that isn’t how all writers roll.

I’ve heard of writers doing two novels a year, and, in one extreme case, there’s someone that targets FOUR novels a year. (Yowza.)

Juggling multiple short stories is a taste of what the professionals do, writers.  I’ve heard of authors doing a novel, a blog, and a newsletter.  Also occasional work on short stories.  All while working on his/her next novel. 

I think of my website as a home for aspiring writers so I can’t stress this enough.  The pros juggle many, many things.  We can work as hard as we want, but that’s how the big boys roll.

Pretty trippy.

Echo…echo…echo… 

Alright, writers, I’m curious on this one.

How many stories do you work on at a time? 
What is your record? 

Sound off in the comments!  🙂 

Aloha,
Alvin

P.S. Tune in tomorrow to really see how I’m backed up…Oi… >.>