Part of the hangup is that the short story is self-contained. I can see writing something in the same universe with the same characters, but I have a mental block about expanding and existing idea (although I'm told some of my short stories should be).

A novel with the same characters and a different plot? Sure!

A novel with the same characters and the same plot, but longer and more detailed . . . it feels like eating cold leftovers when a nice, piping hot lasagna is there for the taking. Mind you, depending on the leftover, it could still be tempting.

Part of the problem is that I'm a pantser. While the original flowed out of me, expanding it requires planning, and hence, it's not as much fun.

But, if I ever try, thanks for the tips.

And it was a lot of fun, right? LOL! It's really how you look at it.

Thanks, Denise!

Lisa, it's very doable. The first time I did it, I was "forced." There was a contest I was required to enter for a class I was taking and I was on a tight time limit. I ended up simply taking a short scene from an existing book, where my characters resolved a problem (one of the many, many conflicts from the larger story), and tweaking the beginning to set it up properly, then the end to have it make sense. A LOT easier than I thought it would be!

I love that challenge!

You're very welcome, Jennifer! The reason I really like the shorter stories is that I learn to "write tight." It forces me to tell a clean, clear story, because of the word count limitation.

But it's also great to find a long story in the shorter ones, so I don't have to give up my beloved characters. LOL!

Go for it! It's like the spearmint in my garden, they will take over! LOL!

Thanks, Beth!

You're very welcome, Jane! There are so many really, really good long stories that come from short ones, it's a good place to be!