Being a baby bird in writing-land is hard, and I’m not entirely sure it’s a stage anyone ever gets past. We all continue to learn and progress and come up against stumbling blocks throughout our lives, sure. But to be just starting out in this new life, you come to rely on your parents: the resources and communities you’ve found that work wonders for you. And then, suddenly, you’re pushed out of that cozy, little nest, and it’s either learn to fly really fast or go splat on the ground.

We all want to avoid the SPLAT.

My latest push to grow beyond my current situation comes in the form of Storyzine, that fabulous and up-and-coming flash-fiction publication I’ve been writing for every month. They’re taking a break. 

Per their email: “While the publication was helpful to those who submitted it was hindering my ability to work on my own craft. It is difficult to work full time, raise a family, devote time to my own goals of becoming an Independent Author, and then add to that, Storyzine.”

Obviously, these are all completely valid reasons for stopping work on a project. But from a personal viewpoint, a positive routine I’ve fallen into is once again going away, and it’s honestly a bit of a blow. They promise they’ll be back at some undetermined time in the future, “at a time when [they] can be more committed to [Storyzine’s] goal,” but that doesn’t help ME now. 

Which, to be fair, isn’t their problem. It’s mine. And I need to learn to fly—again.

I wrote a few months ago about the last time I got pushed from my too-comfortable nest, when coach Kevin T. Johns and I parted ways, and that’s when I discovered the ScottWritesStuff Twitch stream, Storyzine, and a few other resources to level up my writing life. This is just another hiccup in that road. 

Now that I know writing flash fiction is wonderful for my writing life, I should’ve been out there looking for other publications. Not as a replacement to Storyzine, but as a supplement to it (and as a potential way to earn SOME money; that would be nice). But I was more than comfortable resting on my laurels, finding solace in the easy and the known as I got back into my writing groove. From my perspective, this feels like the Universe giving me a slap upside the head and saying, “Go put yourself out there; go discover new things and get out of your comfort zone.”

Oh, but what a wonderful comfort zone it was. And how short-lived. 

I feel badly for Storyzine and its staff and subscribers; I feel for the writers who don’t have a consistent outlet every month for writing and publishing fun, little works of fiction—myself included. But mostly, I feel like this is the perfect time to start looking at other avenues, stop putting all my eggs in one nest, and learn how to fly.

I found this list of the “Top 24 Websites for Flash Fiction,” and that seems a great place to start on this new phase of my writing (flash fiction) journey! Add to that: “46 Literary Magazines to Submit To,” and a host of other resources, and I am certainly not bereft on projects to work on and places to submit. I just need to do the work and put myself out there.

As I said at the beginning, I’m not sure I’ll ever stop feeling like a baby bird in the great wide world of writing, but it would be nice. Right now, I keep getting pushed out of my routines, and it’s frustrating. Ultimately for the better, though. Perhaps I should push myself a little more and stop relying on the Universe to throw me out of that nest.

What’s a situation where you were forced into progressing to the next level? I’d love to hear about it!