End of the experiment

I want to thank all of you who read, and commented, on my last three posts.  It was a personal experiment to see if I could actually write something that people wanted to read.  The feedback I received was very inspirational and it was very gratifying to me that I could write something that captured peoples imagination.

Unfortunately, I won't be writing any more about Janine and her late night visitor - partly because I'm not sure what will happen next and partly because I want to start thinking about the reason for this experiment.

Those who know me well enough know I am an avid reader.  I devour books at a stupid rate and I get an obscene amount of pleasure sitting with a cup of tea early in the morning and losing myself in a good book.  I have always been attracted to a good story, and I think I have quite a good way with words and language.  These things, coupled with the inspiration I have got from a writer friend of mine, have led me to think about writing my own fiction.  At the moment, I'm not sure what form this will take.  These are the questions I'm asking myself at the moment:
Do I actually have any ideas worth exploring, and are they original enough to be interesting?
Do I write a short story or two first, or do I jump straight in tackle a large piece of work?
Do I write something that is to be published, (as per Jules Lucton's book, which you can find out about here)
or do I write something in chapters on a blog?

I mention the last point because I really did enjoy getting instant feedback on what I'd written but I don't know if this format would work.

As tempting as it is to just start writing something and see what comes out of my imagination, I know this is a bad way to do things.  Not that I am an expert, but I think without a solid idea and a clear story path, the whole project would just fizzle out and come to nothing.
A writer asks something of his audience - that they invest something far more precious than mere money in the project they undertake.  He asks them to invest their time.  Do I have the imagination, and the ability to interpret those images, in a way that will make people want to spend some of their precious time in the world of my own making?  I don't know.  But judging by the feedback I received for my last little effort I think I may have enough to give it a go.

So - for those of you who are interested, I'll keep you up to date with what I decide.  At the moment, I'm leaning toward the short story route first, probably issued on a new blog so I can garner some instant feedback and comments.  But I'll let you all know what happens.

Thank you again all those who read and commented on my very first little effort.  And as always...

Peace.