Even though I've written hundreds of them and published dozens, at this point, I have no idea how to sit down and write a short story. That ability seems almost entirely gone. I wonder if I could get it back and what form it would take.
It's been maybe three years since I even attempted to write a short story, longer than that since I've completed a satisfactory one, so my confusion about how to write one could easily be a matter of lack of practice.
I played hockey in one form or another through college, but then had 13 years where I didn't even skate.When I first got back on the ice, I fell on my face. Ultimately, I got back to what passed for personal competency, fairly quickly. Would the same happen with short stories?
Or, is it that I've rewired my writing brain so as to have lost whatever ability I had to write short stories. When I write fiction, it's been attempts at novels, but most of my time has been on other types of writing. It's like only the grooves for certain forms remain.
Thinking about this reinforces how complicated and difficult writing is, and how "competency" is a bad way to measure progress or knowledge. Imposing competency on students just seems like a lousy framework for helping them become writers. Competency is ephemeral.
