If you haven't done so already, check out T.C.'s award-winning story "Wings" and then return here for a chat with the author.
WOW: Congratulations on placing in the Winter 2024 Flash Fiction Contest! What excited you most about writing this story?
T.C.: Usually when a story idea pops into my head, it’s like a splinter that has to come out. With “Wings”, the inspiration came from the public’s ongoing focus on bodily autonomy, especially in our current social climate. Once Amelia arrived in my brain, her big, beautiful wings shining in the sun, I knew I had to get her onto the page. But to be honest, I wrote this piece from a place of sadness and frustration rather than excitement. This story shines a spotlight on how so many people are quick to focus on and criticize differences, rather than accept the whole person.
WOW: I love that image of a story as a splinter that needs to come out, and pairs well with the frustration you felt with the social climate and this topic. What did you learn about yourself or your writing while crafting this piece?
T.C.: I usually write full-length books rather than short stories, but I’ve fallen in love with flash fiction! Flash fiction, I’ve found, is immediately cathartic—these stories are brain bursts: POP! Here’s a whole tale, in bite size! I’ve learned that flash fiction can be so many things in so few words: blunt, feathery, brutal, heartwarming, wickedly honest, kind, cruel. I’m impressed beyond words at the other writers who have mastered this craft. I absolutely haven’t gotten there yet, but I’m getting better: this is my third piece to earn recognition in this contest, and second to earn Runner Up, which is very cool!
WOW: That is very cool! I’ve found that writing flash stories improves the line-by-line writing of my longer work, so it’s both a pleasure and a useful tool for other types of writing. And speaking of your full-length books, that’s exciting news that your novel is on submission right now! Can you please tell us more about it?
T.C.: Right now, I have a middle grade spooky sci-fi out on sub— it’s a kidlit take on The Stepford Wives, with A.I.-powered mind control, a friendship breakup, and suspiciously well-dressed children. My agent, Amy Giuffrida, is the absolute best champion I could ask for, and she’s been incredible throughout my writing journey.
WOW: Good luck with the publishing process, and it’s so wonderful that you have an agent that you trust in your corner! What are you reading right now, and why did you choose to read it?
T.C.: I live on audiobooks the way other folks live on caffeine! This month, I’ve blazed through Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s Chain Gang All Stars, Jessica Khoury’s The Dark Refrain, Hannah Nicole Maehrer’s Assistant to the Villain, Paulette Kennedy’s The Devil and Mrs. Davenport, and I’m currently on TJ Klune’s In the Lives of Puppets. I read across all genres, and if someone enthusiastically recommends a book, I do everything I can to get to it!
WOW: Audiobooks are amazing, and so is this list! Thanks for sharing it with us. If you could give your younger self one piece of writing advice, what would it be and why?
T.C.: You’ll get there one day, just keep dreaming.
WOW: Anything else you’d like to add?
T.C.: Just a big thank you to the WOW team! You all are always fantastic.
WOW: Thank you for sharing your story with us! Happy writing!
Interviewed by Anne Greenawalt, founder and editor-in-chief of Sport Stories Press, which publishes sports books by, for, and about sportswomen and amateur athletes and offers developmental editing and ghostwriting services. Connect on Twitter @greenmachine459.
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