Authors Electric

Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. I took part in Flash NANO for the first time in November 2022. Novelists have NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) where the idea is to write 50,000 words over the month of November.  The flash fiction equivalent sets thirty prompts for the same period. The idea is to have thirty pieces of new flash fiction to edit, polish, and submit.  I did manage to get thirty stories written though, by the nature of these things, some prompts were easier to do than others. I normally write at least two new flash pieces a week. To write one a day was a new departure. It helps to accept you just write to the challenge. You worry about editing later.  What was interesting was finding some of my stories were coming in at the 200 word mark, others were at the higher end of flash territory (close to 1000) words. My normal “flash home” is 500 words or under so I assumed that is probably what I’d end up doing. It wasn’t alw...

I’m a flash fiction writer with two collections out with Chapeltown Books but I discovered the form by accident. I hadn’t heard of flash when I began writing seriously. I was happily writing short stories for CafeLit and Bridge House Publishing when the former issued a 100-word challenge.  My first thought was you must be kidding me, how can you tell a proper story in such a tight word count?   My second thought was they wouldn’t have issued the challenge if it was impossible. Try it.  I went with my second thought! Mind you, this is the writing accident to have, isn’t it? Discover a form new to you and be published in it. What I love about flash is setting characters anywhere and everywhere in genre and time. Pixabay image.   What I love about flash is, due to the restricted word count, it must be character led. Inventing people (or alternative species - I’ve written from a dragon’s viewpoint!) has always been my favourite aspect of storytelling.  The other ...

  As you read this it is pancake day or Shrove Tuesday which means it's almost Lent (yes I know this is a writing blog, bear with me). Every year I give up sugar, however, for the past few years I have also done a writing challenge. Before you get to be overwhelmed by my dedication to the craft of writing I should point out I failed miserably every year. What was the challenge? It was a 40 day writing prompt and you are supposed to write a piece of prose, short story, flash fiction, a blog post or even a poem every day. I think this was where I fell down - the thought of all those different pieces of writing froze my brain.  Those of you who know me well know that I would never in all my days call myself a poet. Yes, I write rhyming picture books but those appeal to the average 3-7 year old. Not really what I'd call poetry. I was thinking of giving you an example of my poetry but decided you were already suffering enough during a worldwide pandemic. Why would I make your eyes ...