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Blog Post: Love, Christmas

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New blog post by Claire G – discussions in this thread, please
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The Long and Short of It

I enjoy writing short stories, which is a complete one-eighty compared to how I used to feel. I used to wonder how an author could convey so much meaning in so few words. It took practice and the motivation of entering competitions to change my mind.

Love, Christmas is my first attempt at a collection. Some of you may know that one of the genres I write in is romance, and I chose this genre to explore through short stories because there are so many tropes to play with: enemies-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, brother’s best friend, office romance, unrequited love (or is it?), forced proximity, single parents…the list goes on!

Screenshot-2024-09-10-020526-195x300.png


So, I’d decided to write a short story collection and I’d decided on the genre, but I needed a context, a thread to tie them together. I chose Christmas. Why? Because I bloody love it, that’s why! Is there any better reason?

It was also approaching the season of goodwill, so I was full of festive spirit. To me, Christmas is magical, Christmas brings people together, Christmas reminds you to think of others besides yourself. What better time to fall in love?

I’ll admit, writing this collection was extremely self-indulgent. I enjoyed escaping into the feel-good world of Yuletide romance every day. I lived vicariously through my characters when Christmas of 2023 was over and the world returned to normal. In my head, while the daffodils and tulips blossomed and the grey skies of winter turned blue, I was still building snowmen and drinking hot chocolate next to an open fire. I got the best of both worlds. And isn’t that the beauty of writing, whatever the genre?



Experience


I self-published Love, Christmas in the full knowledge that I would only get sales for part of the year. So what? I enjoyed writing it and I enjoy the thought that others are getting to escape for a while when they read about Noelle’s secret love for her editor; Annie’s healing after heartbreak; or Sylvia’s unexpected and life-changing encounter with a handsome-but-annoying stranger (yes, reader, I went there and I’m not sorry!).

So I guess the moral of my story is: be self-indulgent. Write what excites, interests or inspires you – or, like me, what gives you that warm, fuzzy feeling and makes you smile every morning when you power up your laptop.



Final Thoughts

Do you write short stories? Why/why not?

If you could set a novel during Christmas, what genre would it be and why?

Is self-indulgence a key trait for an author to possess?



If you’d like to read Love, Christmas or check out any of my other romance novels, here’s the link:

Claire Gallagher: books, biography, latest update
---

Get the discussion going – post your thoughts & comments in the thread below…
For more posts by Claire G click here Love, Christmas – Litopia
 
Hi Claire,

First thing first, just been to buy your book, and it's the US amazon site which wouldn't let me ('this title is not available for purchase'), so here's the link to the UK site for anyone like me who needs this immediately: Love, Christmas

Secondly - I was just thinking about your Dear Santa story yesterday and wondering about the rest of the book, so this has more than answered my question - thanks.

Now, I have to confess, I'm really not a fan of Christmas. I have good reasons, but I won't spoil your post by going into them now. I'm all for escapism, though, and maybe your stories will cure my Bah Humbug. I loved the one you put up in the Lab a while back.

I've got two books on how to write short stories: Short Circuit by Vanessa Gebbie, and Writing Short Stories by Ailsa Cox. I haven't read the second one yet, though.

I had never written a short story until recently, but I thought I should have a go. I cheated rather, because it's a spin-off from my main novel. It's from the POV of a few of the minor characters (the lads in Hannah's band), and because I know the characters so well already, it didn't feel difficult. A very different experience, however. And I wrote it in first person, which was another departure for me. I really did enjoy writing it, but nobody has read it, so yes, totally self-indulgent.
The test for me will be if I ever manage to get out of Hannah's world and write a short story about something new.

And now to find out what Noelle is getting up to...
 
New blog post by Claire G – discussions in this thread, please
---

The Long and Short of It

I enjoy writing short stories, which is a complete one-eighty compared to how I used to feel. I used to wonder how an author could convey so much meaning in so few words. It took practice and the motivation of entering competitions to change my mind.

Love, Christmas is my first attempt at a collection. Some of you may know that one of the genres I write in is romance, and I chose this genre to explore through short stories because there are so many tropes to play with: enemies-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, brother’s best friend, office romance, unrequited love (or is it?), forced proximity, single parents…the list goes on!

Screenshot-2024-09-10-020526-195x300.png


So, I’d decided to write a short story collection and I’d decided on the genre, but I needed a context, a thread to tie them together. I chose Christmas. Why? Because I bloody love it, that’s why! Is there any better reason?

It was also approaching the season of goodwill, so I was full of festive spirit. To me, Christmas is magical, Christmas brings people together, Christmas reminds you to think of others besides yourself. What better time to fall in love?

I’ll admit, writing this collection was extremely self-indulgent. I enjoyed escaping into the feel-good world of Yuletide romance every day. I lived vicariously through my characters when Christmas of 2023 was over and the world returned to normal. In my head, while the daffodils and tulips blossomed and the grey skies of winter turned blue, I was still building snowmen and drinking hot chocolate next to an open fire. I got the best of both worlds. And isn’t that the beauty of writing, whatever the genre?



Experience


I self-published Love, Christmas in the full knowledge that I would only get sales for part of the year. So what? I enjoyed writing it and I enjoy the thought that others are getting to escape for a while when they read about Noelle’s secret love for her editor; Annie’s healing after heartbreak; or Sylvia’s unexpected and life-changing encounter with a handsome-but-annoying stranger (yes, reader, I went there and I’m not sorry!).

So I guess the moral of my story is: be self-indulgent. Write what excites, interests or inspires you – or, like me, what gives you that warm, fuzzy feeling and makes you smile every morning when you power up your laptop.



Final Thoughts

Do you write short stories? Why/why not?

If you could set a novel during Christmas, what genre would it be and why?

Is self-indulgence a key trait for an author to possess?



If you’d like to read Love, Christmas or check out any of my other romance novels, here’s the link:

Claire Gallagher: books, biography, latest update
---

Get the discussion going – post your thoughts & comments in the thread below…
For more posts by Claire G click here Love, Christmas – Litopia
Kudos to you, Claire, for indulging your writerly desires! I have written a few, not many, short stories and very much like the format as a reader, especially if they are linked in some way. Confession: I had a similar idea of doing a Christmas story collection a few years ago but sadly it got left by the wayside. In the meantime I have fallen out of love with Christmas of late. Will definitely get a copy of your book to see if can help me get the glow back. x
 
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