Even Shorter

A few months ago I had a conversation with a young man who is starting a novel. What kind, I asked? He frowned. It’s not a kind, he said, it’s literary.

Ah yes, literary. Anyone who writes knows what that means. I don’t write genre. I write literary. High class. Smart. The Good Stuff.

Sigh. I could argue the merits of genre writing but why? You either like it or you don’t. Humans, a good number anyway, like to rate things. Try to “outsmart” one another. And if you have read any of my posts you will know one thing I despise is intellectual snobbery.

And alas, some genre writers are not exempt from this sad trend. I read an article in which a genre writer pooh-poohed short stories. Only those who can’t complete a novel write those. Really? I wonder what Asimov would have said about that. Wait. I think I know. He was somewhat of a curmudgeon.

But I digress. So I know what some writers say about genre. About shorts. What do you think they would say about writing greeting card verse???

Yes, I’ve gotten into that too. I’ve always been pretty good at light poetry…rhyming, structured, and free flow. In fact, I love to add them into stories. Spells are fun. And greeting card companies pay, per word, better than any other writing outlet. Some as much as 300 bucks a verse. They also allow artwork submission and I’m going to try that as well.

Of course, the big companies either have staff or…surprise…you have to have an agent. But small to middle sized ones welcome submissions. So…while waiting to hear back on my novels and writing short stories I’ve also completed my first round of verse and sent it in.

As far as I’m concerned, writing is writing.

And a check is a check. :-)