Baz Writes a Novella? What? Is the World Ending? 😳

Published about 22 hours ago • 2 min read

July 18, 2025

Hey Friends,

About 10 years ago, I had an idea for a novel, short story, novella...I wasn't quite sure what length it would reach if I actually wrote it.

But I thought it was worth pursuing.

There was only one problem.

I'm not much of a fiction writer.

You probably know me from writing on Substack and Medium about marketing, writing books, and other nonfiction topics.

But that idea for the short story or novel never left. It nagged me in the wee hours of the night and in the doldrums of the warm summer afternoons here in the other Vancouver.

Until last week 😳

I used Charlene to help me create a structural outline format for the story arc I'd ruminated over for a decade.

As I've mentioned before, I now refer to ChatGPT as Charlene, my unpaid research assistant. And true to her nature, she rapidly assisted me in creating the outline I needed to start structuring the story.

Then, something interesting occured. I really like writing it. 🤩

Actually, I couldn't stop!

Who knew that writing fiction could be such a wonderfully freeing experience? Minimal research was necessary since it had been living in my brain for a decade. And, to my surprise, the prose just came tumbling out.

Why I'm Sharing This

Eventually, I'll share it the novella with you, but here's a working draft of the cover design.

The Story Synopsys:

Wallace Granger is a single middle-aged writer based in Portland, Oregon who self published his first novel a year ago. After pouring six years of effort into 'A Quiet Undoing,' and had high hopes for its future.

Unfortunately, it didn't fare well out in the real world. We're talking sales in the low hundreds, of which, 250 were resold to used bookstores and donated to Goodwill centers in oddly high numbers.

On the one year anniversary of its release, Wallace visits his favorite independent bookstore where he launched his debut novel by holding a public reading.

While there, he notices several copies of 'A Quiet Undoing' on the Bargain Table marked down from the full retail price of $12.99 to $1.00, accompanied by a sign encouraging customers to select several volumes of books.

"Help Us Clear the Clutter!" it read.

At that moment, something inside the usually calm, introspective Wallace Granger snapped, and he nor his immediate circle would be the same afterwards.

So begins the humor-tinged novella, 'The $1 Bestseler by Wallace Granger'. It may seem odd for a title to include an author's name, but that is part of the plot.

What About You?

What are you writing? Would care the share with me in a reply? Are you trying something new? It might just feel great like my experience writing this novella!

I'd love to hear about it!