Flash Fiction Competitions...

Did you know that there is a National Flash Fiction Day this year?

Well there is. Don't worry you haven't missed it, it isn't until May the 16th, but you can read more about it here on the website.

You'll find a list of competitions on this page too. Most have a closing date of April, so you have time to get your entries in if you're interested.

There's even a blog where you'll find news and discussions.

As I've done a few pieces of flash fiction before I might have a go at some of the competitions listed.

If you want high profile, the Bridport Prize has a section for flash fiction. Their maximum is 250 words, though there is a £6 entry fee; but Bridport is a prestigious competition and wining would be good for the writing CV. (Do note the slightly earlier closing date for this year.)

Flash fiction takes skill, and just like a longer story, 250 words still need a beginning, middle and end. But that shouldn't be hard for a writer...

So if you enter any of the competitions listed, I wish you luck.

If you've written or read any flash fiction, what do you think of it?

Editing and Motherhood...

You may wonder what editing has to do with motherhood, but for me they're interchangeable at the moment.

I'm having a short break from the novel to work on a short story-it's been waiting for me to get back to it for over a year. I knew it wasn't quite right, and I think I was lacking confidence in my ability to produce a saleable story, so the more I tried, the more the story went into reverse or that was how it felt. So I left it, believing it was never going to work.

I've also felt like that whenever I've gone to the parents consultation evenings at school. But yesterday (Wednesday) the milestone of the last ever consultation evening was reached. Never again will I have to go with my long list of teachers to talk to (would I ever get through them all), with my notebook and pen to record the comments from each one, so I could then report back the (correct) details to the appropriate son...

(This is the one aspect of multiple birth families that never gets mentioned in books- parents evenings post primary school are long, tiring and require a lot of brain energy.)

In a few months the GCSE exams will be in full spate- in fact next week it's the art exam. With all the revision classes coming up, stress is building, but there is, as they say, light at the end of the tunnel...

I'm making the most of any calm spells to concentrate on shorter projects, hence the short story editing.

I can now see the light in the story too. The structure problems that I couldn't solve previously are resolving themselves as I change sentences, choose a different word here, adjust a description there, and take lines out- or put them back in.

I'm finally starting to gain that confidence I previously lacked.

I know I'm competing in a tough market with a high standard, so my story will have to be as good as I can make it.

Then it will be up to the sifting readers/editor whether it's a yes or no.

My previous attempts have always received the standard rejection letter, so I can either improve or get the same rejection letter again.

I'll let you know when I finally send it out, and no matter how long I have to wait- and I know it will be months-which type of reply I get. :-)