Short-story writing requires an exquisite sense of balance. Novelists, frankly, can get away with more. A novel can have a dull spot or two, because the reader has made a different commitment. Lynn Abbey
I do have a small collection of traditional SF ideas which I've never been able to sell. I'm known as a fantasy writer and neither my agent nor my editors want to risk my brand by jumping genre. Lynn Abbey
My writing has to support more than my research habit, but I love to curl up with a book about some dusty corner of history. Lynn Abbey
It took me about 12 years to reach my million-word mark. The challenge now is to continue to challenge myself. Lynn Abbey
A good short-story writer has an instinct for sketching in just enough background to ground the specific story. Lynn Abbey
If you write, one of the questions you're always trying to answer is, Where do you get your ideas? And, if you write, you know how pointless a question this is and how difficult it is to answer. Lynn Abbey
Editors of open anthologies actively seek submissions from all comers, established and unknown. They are willing to read whatever the tide washes up at their feet. Lynn Abbey
The money can be decent, but I really don't recommend the work-for-hire route as an entry into publishing. Too many things can go wrong. Lynn Abbey
It's possible to become so comfortable with one's style and structure that one ceases to grow. Lynn Abbey
I've read short stories that are as dense as a 19th century novel and novels that really are short stories filled with a lot of helium. Lynn Abbey
When I'm not writing or tweaking my computer, I do embroidery. When I'm not plunging into the past, tweaking, or embroidering, I'm reading books about history, computers, or embroidery. Lynn Abbey
Ideas aren't magical; the only tricky part is holding on to one long enough to get it written down. Lynn Abbey
I abhor a hoe. I am fond of flowers but not of dirt, and had rather buy them than cultivate them. Lyman Abbott