The fear before the storm

Edit note:  I have included the story I'm talking about in the link section of this site.  It's called 'Mystic Godfather'.
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I haven't posted much lately and its mainly because I've been travelling but I've also got a bad case of 'I-dunno-when-its-finished-itis'.  When I started I had two stories I was working on and now its grown to three.  I like all of them in separate ways and the funny thing is I started on all of them before any of my published work.  The only published worked I put as much time into as any of these was 'Small Town Journey' (which I desperately want to rename Small Town Boy).

I think this is common for most writers as the more time you spend with something the more you love it and the harder it is to let go as it no longer is a living/growing thing but has been released to the wolves of readers who you fear won't like it nearly as much as you.  They might even hate it.

I had inspiration last week and wrote at 20,000 word story that I just released to fictionmania.  I will probably post later when I get the link but I was able to envision, write, edit, and format the whole thing in about 20 hours of work (that's close.  I wasn't really watching a clock.)  I don't know if 1,000 words an hour is fast or slow for a story of that length/complexity but I was mostly happy with the finished result.  I'm sure I will go back later and pick apart scenes that are worded weird or wish I'd added a few comments to give added depth that few will care about but I've released my child to the world and it is up to them to fly.

The site I am posting most of my stories to these days is pretty gentle on writers as the readers desperation for good content won't allow many to criticize and those that do get shouted down.  It's a nice safe womb for a nervous writer to post their works before they take the anxious step of a wider audience.  Even then, I get nervous as I wait for the reviews to come in and that assumes anyone will even read it.  20,000 words is a lot for a site that doesn't allow for easy downloads to an e-reader and I may get no response.  People may hate it.

When you write a story it becomes part of you and it is hard to let go.  I'm sitting on three that I need to kick out of the house but they aren't ready.  Not yet. 

Fictionmania stories only get readers during the first week they are posted and then get lost in the electronic maze that I think some feel is a feature of the site.  I hope a few people read my stories and post a nice review.  It might help me let go of things I've held onto for far too long.

PS - The story is called 'Mystic Godfather' and can also be found under my name 'Sara Keltaine'.  I think it's a good read.  I liked writing it and I liked how it came together.  That doesn't happen too often.