just minishorts.

Boy, have I been on a extra-daily basis, these days. While I have left the obscene Bedtime Stories behind for a while, I've been talking about pretty deep stuff, eh? But I digress and we shall talk about writers today, and how you can 'get that chance'.

I must first direct you to Sharon Bakar's site, and her insightful discussions and ideas regarding the writing profession. Bloggers, and readers, who still hold the faith that their work and style are good enough to be noticed, and published one day, should visit Sharon's site on a regular basis. Not many writers are as generous as her, you see.

Not too long ago, Sharon posted a 'kick-up-the-butt' post, 'A Lazy Colony of Silverfish??' calling for aspiring writers to move out of the Short Story shell and proceed to 'bigger' things such as The Novel. I raised my opinions regarding writers who are Raman's 'lazies', and in that comment, I said

Sometimes, all it takes is a small recognition from a significant publishing house to fuel a spirited writer/author.

'Giving Writers a Chance' is Sharon's very long and thought-provoking response to my comment. In this poignant piece, a must-read for aspiring talents, Sharons tells people with dreams, yes, you, you, and you, that

The best way to learn is simply by reading enough quality writing. If you want to learn how to write short fiction, immerse yourself in the best short story writers and learn from the masters.

… and then,

We do need to fuel our new writers, as you say Minishorts, but it does not have to be the responsibility of a publishing house.

And then after a bit, she handed the podium to me.

Personally I feel that many aspiring writers are sadly being pushed down by the bigger 'greats', who hold on to their own thrones like a possessed lord, afraid to share the fruits of their own successes.

In my very, very long response to Sharon, I said, 'Many unplucked talents are still seedlings in a jungle where the huge, taller tropical kings reign supreme while jealously blocking the sunlight from reaching the ground.'

The rest of the comment can be read here, but please do read, first, the entire post by Sharon before jumping to see what I've said there.

I am still young (a line that Eric tells me, is not good enough to justify being 'complacent' in life), and my buckets of thoughts may not hold very heavy waters. But if you are a hopeful talent waiting to be plucked, heed Sharon's call, please. It isn't the responsibility of publishing houses to beg you to write for them, we're not worthy of beggars yet. The duty is a collective one, and sometimes, it takes you to take out your pen before they give you a blank manuscript.

The end product isn't yours alone either. True success begins when you acknowledge that you are were not alone.

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