Francelia Belton writes crime stories because committing a real one would disappoint her family. As a kid, she got hooked on shows like Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone. Inspired by what amazing tales could be told in half an hour, she was naturally drawn to short fiction. Now, she’s on a mission to write 1,001 stories before she dies—an audacious goal for a notoriously slow writer. She published a collection titled Crime & Passion: Three Short Stories, and her work has appeared in various anthologies.
I was in a writing rut.
The last short story I finished writing was one year ago. It was for my Sisters in Crime chapter’s inaugural anthology, Colorado Mystery Merge. Then, a few months later, I could only eke out a 100-word micro fiction for Punk Noir’s My Bloody Valentine special. After that, zilch, nada, nothing—in the frying pan or baking in the oven. A few stories started but never finished.
And being unable to finish anything, I thought I’d lost it. I believed I would be unable to write another story again.
That scared me more than anything. I had wanted to be a writer ever since I was a little girl in elementary school. I used to take homework assignments like turning vocabulary words into ordinary sentences, but instead turned the assignment into a full-blown short story.
Like the protagonist in my story, “Knife Girl,” I asked myself, Who am I if I’m not a writer? I had been pursuing this writing dream for so long, I didn’t know what I would do with my life instead.
So, I decided to take a couple of writing classes to break me out of my paralysis. And it worked. In one of the classes, I came away from it learning I needed to treat my writing as a practice. Stop trying to achieve perfection in the first draft. If I approached the page with the idea of practicing, it would take away the pressure of having to be “good.”
The second class I signed up for turned out to be serendipity at its best. This class emphasized working on a writing exercise every time you sat down to write. You needed to trust a story would appear. And to my astonishment, that worked! I worked on one of the writing exercises, and out of nowhere, interesting characters appeared. A story idea would start to develop.
Hallelujah! I felt like I was finding myself in the world again.
But as fate would have it, the universe was not finished with me yet. As this second class was finishing up, an email arrived in my inbox about a 90-day writing challenge. In it, all we had to do was write a minimum of 400 words a day, and our names would be entered in a drawing to win a free writing class. So, I told myself, all I needed to do was work on a writing exercise every day. I could get to those 400 words, no problem. Bonus if I did more than that.
But the real prize from this experience is that I came up with an idea for a flash fiction series. I started it on Substack and called it, A Character Picks Up a Gun. Since I would work on a writing exercise every day, I figured, why not have each writing practice centered on a recurring theme? By focusing on different writing elements through the various exercises, I would get many ideas that I could turn into stories. Potentially 90 ideas, which is great for a short story writer like myself.
So, long story short, it all worked out. I was no longer in a writing rut. I have been writing every day. By the time this post is published, I will have written for 43 days straight; about halfway to my goal of 90 days. What’s more, I will not stop there. I will keep practicing my writing, and I will keep my writing dream alive.
Francelia’s work often explores the tangled motives behind love, loss, and betrayal. Her story, “Knife Girl,” is one such story and you can download a free copy here: https://FreeStory.link/Knife-Girl
Find her free Substack series, A Character Picks Up a Gun — a collection of quick, gripping stories (each under 1000 words) that all start with the same spark: someone picks up a gun. From there, every world, character, and consequence shifts, revealing how one simple action can lead to infinite, unexpected outcomes.
Discover more of her work at: https://Francel.Be/Writing-Stories
Memberships:
Sisters in Crime – Colorado
Sisters in Crime: National and Guppies
Mysteries Writers of America: National and Rocky Mountain
Crime Writers of Color
Short Mystery Fiction Society
Since I’ve read and LOVED many of your stories, I’m delighted to hear that you’re back in the saddle! Best wishes for those 1001 stories –
Thank you, Galit! I appreciate the support. 😁
Hi George! Thank you for hosting me on your blog today. Guest posting was out of the picture for me to, but I’m happy to be starting again. Thanks for taking a chance on me and your patience. 😀
Francelia, It’s great to have you with us today and for sharing your story.
Thank you, George! 😁
Francelia, you are such a fantastic writer. So glad you’re slinging words again!!
Thank you, Barbara! ☺️
So glad you’re back! You’re a fabulous story writer!
Thank you, Margaret! ☺️
Ah, the deadly writer’s block! Glad you found a way to work around it! Those classes sound as amazing as you are!!! Will check out your Substack page!
I’m glad you overcame your writer’s block!
Thank you for writing THIS 🙂 I found it really interesting, both the writing classes and the Substack use. I, to date, have plunged into neither! Now I’m asking myself why I am being such a chicken about it. I’m going to try both out – that’s my goal now.
I’ll have to check out your work, Francelia. I love short stories and your dedication to the craft is impressive. Good luck.
Hurrah, Francelia! Glad you got jumpstarted. I like the goal of the first class to treat writing as a practice. That’s what they teach in yoga. It’s a yoga practice–always. Anyway, I hope we cross paths again. Are you coming to Left Coast Crime in San Francisco?
This is wonderful, Francelia (and George). I love that your instincts led you to learning more, and it worked to free your writing juices from their temporary paralysis. Growth mindset with a double payoff… perfect!
I laughed out loud about your having to write about crime rather than committing one!
Very interesting, Francelia. I’m intrigued and like what I’ve read so far. I look forward to see where your adventure takes you. Good luck and keep writing.
Dave
Wow, what a great journey. It inspires me a lot: I’ve written books and they’ve been published, but I’ve been in a really dry spell for a couple of years. I like your idea of turning writing practice into potential short little stories. Meanwhile, congratulations on the turnaround.
You’ve made my heart happy. I don’t think you realize what an inspiration you are. Happy writing, my friend.
Wonderful, inspirational piece. Thanks, Francelia and George!
Love this! Especially the idea of “trust a story would appear!”