Why I Keep Bringing That Up…

My Short Story Articles Yeah, What Dean Said

Why I Keep Bringing That Up…

By "that" I mean: A Short Story a Day. People who've known me a while hear about "ASSAD" somewhat regularly. I even mentioned it earlier today.

ASSAD was one of the most significant events in my writing life. ASSAD *was* the year 2006 for me.

The bulk of my indie publishing so far came out of ASSAD:

The Summoning Fire – written in November 2006 (for NaNoWriMo).
The Door to the Sky – written in September 2006 (my "warmup" for The Summoning Fire)
Nasty, Brutish & Short Short and Serene Morning & Other Tales of a Little Girl – both of these are collections of short shorts and flash fiction written throughout that year.

All told, those novels and collections represent about 1/3 of what I wrote during ASSAD. (The other 2/3′s was, well, educational. :-)

)

During ASSAD, I wrote more, faster than I had ever written in my life to that point.

ASSAD is what made me love short stories, both writing them and reading them.

ASSAD taught me how to write "on the fly" *and* how to structure both short and long story arcs.

ASSAD showed me that I can do horror–and just about anything else I decide to write.

ASSAD was the first time I took writing seriously and made a concentrated effort to improve. I have no doubt I'm a better writer now than I was at the end of ASSAD in December 2006, but it was ASSAD that got me furthest-fastest up the learning curve. ASSAD got me moving.

Of course, I then rather squandered that momentum in the second half of 2007 and all of 2008, but, hey, that wasn't ASSAD's fault. ;-)

I do have other Big Moments in David's Writing Life, of course. Finishing my first short story as an adult (early 1990′s). Finishing my first nonfiction book (2003). Finishing my first novel as an adult (2005). And, more recently, becoming an indie publisher (2010). But, so far, none of those compare with the impact ASSAD had on me.

One of my goals for 2011 is to create a new Memorable Year in Writing for myself. Something to put up on the wall beside the shining plaque that is my memory of ASSAD. To outdo myself. I'm too young to be stuck in my Glory Days.

I'll never forget A Short Story a Day. But maybe, after 2011, I'll mention it less often. :-)