Franziska Macur places in the Spring Flash Fiction Contest with "The Unicorn"

Congratulations to Franziska Macur, a runner-up in the Spring 2014 Flash Fiction Contest. If you haven't read her story, "The Unicorn" yet, please check it out here. Franziska is a professor of communications turned homeschooling mom, a writer, a Certified Simplicity Parenting Coach, and a lover of stories. She is the author of Charlie and Noel: An Advent Calendar Story.

Franziska and her husband raise their two young daughters bilingually and are passionate about family rhythm and simplicity. Franziska blogs about the power of stories and her journey to live and parent simply, creatively, and wholesomely at www.homenaturally.org and www.facebook.com/HomeNaturally. Franziska is currently working on a middle grade novel about a 10-year-old girl who longs for just a little adventure but gets much more than she bargained for.

WOW: Congrats, Franziska, on placing in the top 10 of the Spring Flash Fiction contest! Great job. What gave you the idea to write, "The Unicorn"?

Franziska: I like the idea of making ordinary things magical. And I like the fact that we – as storytellers--get to infuse this magic into stories. It doesn’t have to be real. It just has to be believable. So I guess I wanted to show that it really doesn’t matter if you have a horn or not – as long as you believe and make others believe.

WOW: The real joy in this piece, besides it being well-written, is the twist at the end of it. What gave you the inspiration to end it this way? Did you know your ending before you finished?

Franziska: Yes, I knew the ending first. Then I created the rest around it. This is actually pretty unusual for me. I generally think of an interesting beginning and go from there. But as I said before, I do like semi-magical twists, and they generally happen closer to the end.

WOW: We talk so much about trying to balance our lives on WOW! because we all seem to be talented, passionate women with a lot of different hats. You are certainly no exception, according to your bio. How do you find time to work on your writing?

Franziska: Ha, I sometimes do and I sometimes don’t. But I try really hard to get up early and get some heads down writing done without little girls pulling on me. I can still do some editing later in the day, even when the noise level is up.

WOW: What made you want to enter this flash fiction piece in our contest?

Franziska: I am a children’s writer, but I thought that grown-ups might enjoy this piece, too. And it’s always fun to share your writing with others.

WOW: How is your novel writing going? We know you've taken a few WOW classes. Do you find classes to be helpful with your novel writing?

Franziska: I do think that classes are very helpful. They teach you something new, and they keep you on track. Win-win. The novel itself …I think that some days it’s two steps forward and one step back. Other days, it’s the other way around! But it is definitely coming together.

WOW: Great to hear! Congrats, again!