Writing fiction comes easy to me, but I don’t take it for granted, however, writing about myself is much more difficult. I suppose you’ll learn more about me as you read my blog over time, instead of on a website -About Me- page. I really don’t have a lot of fancy credentials to brag about anyway.
This writing is basically an introduction to Franchot Inspired, a blog intended to share with you what inspires me to write the fiction I write.
I love fiction, especially short stories. That’s mostly what I write. I have nothing against novels, even wrote a few myself as well as a full length non fiction book that I’ll go into much later. My love of short stories started when I was around twelve years old, simultaneously with my passion for episodic television. Mysteries and crime fiction stood out. I was obsessed with Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. It had, and still has some of the best short stories. As for television, some of my favorite shows were: Dark Shadows, Land of The Giants, Charlie’s Angels, and later in the early to mid 80’s, Dynasty and Spenser: For Hire. And there were some excellent 90 minute TV movies of the week, most notably Five Desperate Women, Bad Ronald, The Night Stalker and Trapped with James Brolin, all of what I consider early 70’s TV classics.
I already had a vivid imagination and these short stories and TV shows inspired the creativity in me. By the time I was in my mid teens, I was acting out full four act dramas, doing all the characters, improvisational style before I even knew what improv was. I was doing this in the living room of our modest tenement in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, and recording them on a tape recorder (yes, a tape recorder).
Eventually I started writing my ideas down, turning them into short stories. They meant so much to me. I tried novels, but they didn’t stick with me until many years later. I wrote a lot of short stories and soon learned how to submit them to the magazines that published short fiction. I failed miserably, most rejected by Ellery Queen Magazine. I was hurt, but learned not to take it personally. I wasn’t good at writing whodunit or locked room mysteries. My crime dramas were more reflective of real life, kind of gritty with a street element. I had to learn and grow as a writer; I’m still learning. In 1981 I sent a short story called ‘Suspicions’ to Chicago Magazine. I got rejected there too, but it came with a critique that I never forgot. The editor said, “Suspicions has its moments, but it’s not suited for our magazine.” Has its moments.
I remained a closet writer for many years while I worked a myriad of day jobs. I still have a day job (not complaining). I got serious about writing in 2000. I started a novel that year, a long, exhausting novel that I finished about two years later. I wrote two more novels during the decade. I still have them and may resurrect them someday, maybe break them down into shorts. I’m back to writing short stories, exclusively. Again, I’m not anti-novel, and at some point may tackle them again, but I’ll have to be fully inspired to do so.
I love the impact of a great short story and embrace their brevity, something you can enjoy, but finish in one or two readings. Even a novella can be read quickly. The belief is that attention spans are getting shorter, for readers as well as writers, but I can’t fully buy into it, after all, a good story will be read whether it’s a short story or a novel.
For me, short stories, especially a series, more closely resembles life. They’re told in never ending chunks of time. Stand alone shorts can be powerful too. The great ones leave a lasting impression for many years. Episodic TV shows are much like short stories, bite sized pieces of entertainment. I love it! Writing a good script for a TV show or movie is also something I’ve dreamed of, but I would’t be good with the politics it brings. I’ll post about that in the near future.
Right now I’m happy writing short stories and sharing them with you, along with my inspiration for writing them. I have a growing catalog of stand alone shorts and series of shorts. I hope you visit my blog from time to time to read them. I plan to post some of them here very soon. Please check back!
Up Next: Inspiration for: The Lip