: Re: Why can't I write something longer than a few pages? I write short stories, a lot of short-shorts. I would say the longest thing I've actually finished writing is "Lord of Snakes", which was

@Hamm6328258

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A few tidbits upon which to feast, and I hope they help:

First! Many of the greatest novels ever written were some of the shortest. For inspiration and encouragement, read these: The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, The Postman Always Rings Twice, by James M. Cain, and a lesser known but brilliant short novel by a departed friend of mine, Brian Moore, Catholics. It's worth tracking down.

Second! The amazing, unique, and mind-blowing writer who has won more writing awards than any other writer in history has written hundreds of short stories, and many, many other works, and very few novels. If you haven't heard of him, you sure as heck should have! His name is Harlan Ellison. You could look it up!

Third! The absolute easiest path to writing a novel is... (drum roll, please)... get a collaborator! If you can find someone who wants to write with you, BINGO! You write for a while, and when you don't know what to write, you hand it over to your collaborator. When he or she gets stuck, you get the manuscript back, and you take over for a while. These days, you can do it online. It's easy. The next thing you know, a whole novel is staring you in the face. Wowser.

Fourth! What many successful writers do (really) is sit in front of the writing thing (used to be pen and paper, then a typewriter, now a computer, someday something else, right?). That's it. They sit there. Every day. Doesn't matter if they have anything to write. They force themselves to sit there. It's the law. Sit. Write something. Nonsense. Doodles. Words? Not a bad idea. Make something happen on the page. Keep at it. If something good comes out, hey, that's gravy. Keep going. Every day. Same time, same station.

See you on the bestseller list.

Oh, and by the way. Here's the hidden message. For every million people who are trying to get published, the one who does succeed has a secret weapon, and it's (shhhh, don't tell) not talent, charm, good looks, or a friend in a publishing house. It's PERSEVERANCE. All the way from sitting in front of the computer every day to rewriting a million times to sending your manuscript to every possible place it can be sold in the universe and never ever giving up. Now go out there and be a star!

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