When I finally decided to write for children with the intention of becoming published, I got online. I made writing friends. And I listened to them talk.

In the fall of 2008, everyone got loud about an event: NaNoWriMo—National Novel Writing Month. Sounded great! Write a 50,000 novel in a month, join a community of writers doing the same, talk shop every day, and become immersed in the work. I’d feel like a REAL writer.

Except I didn’t write novels. And the thought of writing one? Daunting.

You see, my entire life I’ve been a fan of the short form. I prefer the brilliance in its brevity. I understand how every word must be carefully selected, how every action and scene must contribute to the “single effect,” as dubbed by Edgar Allen Poe. I studied short stories in college, I read short stories voraciously and I began my writing career…