During the many centuries that magic, here on this planet, was presumed to have worked, there were at least as many theories as to how magic worked as there were cultures and religions.

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.

That bedrock faith that I could write was what blinded me to attempts to discourage me.

Neophyte writers tend to believe that there is something magical about ideas and that if they can just get a hold of a good one, then their futures are ensured.

A good short-story writer has an instinct for sketching in just enough background to ground the specific story.

For me, writing a short story is much, much harder than writing a novel.

It's possible to become so comfortable with one's style and structure that one ceases to grow.