Sometimes, a story can wait years for its moment to come.
Recently, while tidying a drawer, I came across a two-page short story I’d written back in 2005. Finding it brought back memories of how it all began.
A Story Put Away
In 2005, I was reading a short story submitted to a weekly magazine and decided to try writing one of my own. I called mine “The House” and sent it to the magazine for consideration.
A letter arrived thanking me for my submission, explaining that my story wasn’t what they were looking for, and returning my manuscript.
At the time, I didn’t understand what gothic writing was. Looking back, I realise my story simply didn’t fit the types of stories the magazine published.
So, I put it away and got on with life.
A New Beginning
Years later, finding those two pages again gave me an idea. What if I could expand the original story into a novella?
I decided to keep the story I’d written and build around it, developing the idea into something much bigger.
When planning a book, I create a spreadsheet with a separate line for each chapter. I jot down a few keywords to capture the main idea, then spend time thinking and planning how the story will unfold.
With What Remains In The Walls, I already had the scope of the story in those original two pages, so I worked through the chapters in order.
From Two Pages to a Published Book
It’s remarkable to think that a short story written in 2005, once tucked away in a drawer, would eventually become a published novella.
Bringing the finished book to life and sharing it with readers has been a wonderful experience.
Sometimes, the stories we put aside aren’t finished with us after all.
If you enjoy crime, suspense and mystery, What Remains In The Walls is available now on Amazon in paperback and ebook.
