# Stop writing that epic!



## Lorna (Sep 8, 2012)

I can't figure out how to post in the comment section to the articles so I thought I'd post here instead:

Benjamin, that is so true. I sold my horse and my car for the time it took to plan a trilogy and write my first novel. And it sucks. 

I would advise anybody else to start small. Write some stories. Perfect your craft. Seek critiques from other writers. See what responses you get from publishers. Do not make my mistake and lock yourself in a room and think you're capable of writing an epic alone. You will waste your life.


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## Reaver (Sep 8, 2012)

To post a comment in the articles, you have to sign in through livefyre.


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## Sheilawisz (Sep 10, 2012)

I would like to add that we don't need to write a zillion-words twenty brick-size books series to be a good Fantasy writer =)

Many people believe that only giant books are good, that only super long so-called "epics" can be good stories that are worth reading by a smart and adult _target audience_ but I disagree with that: Shorter stories can be just as good and maybe even better than the really long ones, and they can be for adult readers as well.

As a beginner writer you don't have to aim for really short stories... I would suggest to write what is known as a novella (maybe 35k words long?) and then you can write a Fantasy series composed by novellas, which is a great and very underestimated form of literature =)

The novella is easier and faster to write, and it allows you to be in a much more intense contact with your characters, your Magic and your worlds...


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## ThinkerX (Sep 10, 2012)

> As a beginner writer you don't have to aim for really short stories... I would suggest to write what is known as a novella (maybe 35k words long?) and then you can write a Fantasy series composed by novellas, which is a great and very underestimated form of literature =



Which is more or less what I'm doing.  Novella format means you're not quite as squeezed as is the case with short stories, but they are also nowhere near as freaking long as full novels.


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## Mindfire (Sep 10, 2012)

I have a story I want to tell. It'll be as long or as short as it will be. If it turns out to be a series of novellas, so be it. If it turns out to be an epic, so be it. But the story shall be told.


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