Interview with Sophie Niell: Runner-Up Winter 2025 Flash Fiction Contest

Sophie's Bio: Sophie lives on the South Coast of England and has taught Drama in state High Schools and Colleges for over 20 years. After stepping away from the classroom a few years ago, Sophie completed a Post Graduate course in Creative Arts and Mental Health at Queen Mary University of London and has since explored 1:1 work with vulnerable young people using creative writing as a therapeutic tool. Sophie also works with older adults on the recording of their memoirs, providing prompts and exploring different connections in their lives. The story 'Downsizing' explores the connection between grief and place and the overlapping thought pattern between mother and daughter.

If you haven't already read "Downsizing," take a moment to do so and then come back here for an interview you don't want to miss. 

WOW: What was the inspiration for “Downsizing?” 

Sophie: I was thinking about places I used to visit and how my late parents’ house was now gone with all its memories. It has left a huge gap in my life and I was talking with friends about how, if you don’t think too carefully, you can imagine your parents still there (as it is in a different town that I don’t visit often) continuing to live some other kind of life. Mrs. Bolton’s voice is inspired by my mothers and I started to imagine her looking out at the garden and musing on her life. I let her speak to see where it went. 

I think I was aware that my voice needed to be there all along, as Stef's voice, but I waited for the right moment to bring her in to expose the fact that this wasn’t real, it was a flight of fancy and Mrs. Bolton had died some time before that. I started getting really interested in what was real and what wasn’t and how the presence of someone in your life doesn’t end when they die. 

WOW: I'm going to go back and reread the story knowing so much more about the voices involved. Revision is such a big part of the writing process. How did “Downsizing” change from first draft to final piece? 

Sophie: There are a few versions of this story, some which are up to 2500 words and the shortest being this one at 750 words. The longer story contains more background to the character of Mrs. Bolton, where she was before that house, how it used to be a B&B and her reflections on how she tried to lift herself beyond the mundanity of some of her life (where she is now trapped). Mrs. Bolton is more frustrated in the longer story and Stef’s voice at the end contains more detail of the trauma of Mrs. Bolton’s death. I think it is sadder and a bit darker. 

I actually started with the shorter version rather than the other way round, so I was occupied with what detail to add rather than remove. The shorter story is more suggestive of the deeper emotions with some reference to a complicated relationship with her daughter, but this is not fully explored. It was difficult to decide how much space to give to Mrs. Bolton and how much to give Stef. It could have been more evenly divided but Mrs. Bolton’s voice was very strong and references Stef quite often throughout, making that relationship front and centre whoever was speaking. 

WOW: This piece is so rich in detail. How did you decide what deserved a spot in such a short story? I feel like this is even more important, knowing the story was originally much longer.

Sophie: I spent a lot of time removing details when I was writing the initial version but I felt it was essential that some remained. The details I chose to include had to contribute to Mrs. Bolton’s relationship with Stef and offer something new to her character. I tried to use the senses to give colour to the story with things they could both see and touch and voices they could hear. As the whole story takes place in one location, I wanted the reader to be able to see and feel it. 

I also drew the perspective in and out with the immediate details in the room contrasting with what was outside the window. Other members of the family like Mr. Bolton and Stef’s brother seem to only exist outside the house, which is interesting, and adds to the feeling of otherworldliness in the world Mrs. Bolton inhabits. And I’m happy with that as it led to me deciding on a clear division between the real memories and the vaguer ‘life’ that Mrs. Bolton was living upstairs. 

One could think about interior and exterior lives and how we live both and I think there was an awareness of this although I’m not sure I could fully express it. Ultimately I was led by Mrs. Bolton’s interior world, and she provided me with the detail as I imagined her looking around. I’m always telling students to use the senses and it really works! 

WOW:  It worked very well. This story has such an amazing twist! What advice do you have for writers who are trying to work surprises into their own work? 

Sophie: I didn’t intentionally set out to have a twist, but I am drawn to multi-narrator writing where each narrator reveals a new perspective. As a tip I think it is worth thinking about what voices surround the central character. By zooming out and looking at what else might be happening to influence the whole story you might find a surprise angle, but I’m no expert! 

WOW:  What a great way to look for just the right twist. In your bio, you relate that you encourage young people to use writing as a therapeutic tool. What do you tell these young people that might be of use to our readers? 

Sophie: As a drama teacher I am driven by character and story and I found that the process of creating a character who is ‘other’ but might hold some of the young person’s own feelings and thoughts gives them the freedom to explore their own identity. The process of writing, as I’m sure your readers know, is therapeutic itself, and there has been much research done into what happens to us in a creative holding space where we can explore versions of ourselves. I would say that although the writing itself is the expression, much of the ‘therapy’ comes in the 1:1 interaction between the young person and their mentor; it is in the prompts given and the questions asked that gently encourage them to question why they hold the opinions they do that much of the exploration and discovery is done.

WOW:  Mentorship is so critical in the creative world!  Thank you so much for taking time to share with our readers.  And good luck with bringing more of your stories to life!

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Bring Forward the Bits and Pieces of Your Creative Fiction

 

Over the weekend, I had an opportunity to sit down and read through a short story draft of mine. It had lingered in the archives of my Google Drive folder for a couple of years before I retrieved it. Only recently, in an attempt to get myself digitally organized, did I even find it.

At first, when I read through it, I thought, "Well, it needs work." 

I'm no stranger to the revision process. Once you get started, you can begin to get into the groove and make improvements. 

For this story, though, I couldn't get myself going. Finally, I asked myself, "What about this story do I not like?"

I realized that, while I knew the writing needed polishing, I just didn't like the plot. It ended up being a murder mystery, and don't get me wrong, I love mysteries. I love reading them and listening to mystery-based podcasts. I love watching mystery movies.

Writing them, though? I just couldn't imagine doing it. I reconsidered directing the plot line in a different direction, but instead decided to let the story unfold completely.

Sometimes we get there as writers. A sign of growth is knowing when to let go. 

Yet, I didn't just click the archive button or put it into the folder where stories go to no longer see the virtual light of day. 

I went through it. I grabbed snippets of phrasing I liked and saved them in my OneNote app. Later, I plan to do the same with other stories I've had to let go. 

This myriad of creative sentences could spark a new story. These are fragments that I hope will become a mosaic of inspiration. It's like starting a garden. You have to put the seed in the soil, right? Sometimes, a sentence or a phrase can inspire a completely new story.

So if you have bid adieu to old stories, don't be afraid to grab the fragments that you love. You never know what might come next.

Nicole Pyles is an overworked writer. She loves the Lord and spending time with her family. She dreams vividly and loves writing metaphors in her fiction. When she's not checking her email obsessively, she enjoys watching old episodes of Twilight Zone and black-and-white monster movies. If you ever want to be on podcasts, let her know. And if you have a podcast, you could be her new best friend.

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Leave a Comment Creative Fiction, Nicole Pyles

Interview With Winter 2025 Flash Fiction Contest Runner Up Susan Kammeraad-Campbell

I'm excited to interview Susan Kammeraad-Campbell, one of our runner-up winners in our Winter 2025 Flash Fiction contest. Before reading our interview, be sure to check out her story, "Louboutins." Then, return here to read our conversation.

Here's a bit more about Susan Kammeraad-Campbell:

Susan Kammeraad-Campbell is an award-winning author, editor, publisher and literary mentor who has spent four decades helping writers tap into the deepest reserves of their creativity. As publisher and editor in chief of Joggling Board Press, she has curated and championed books that celebrate the spirit of the South – titles that have earned nearly 100 national awards and wide acclaim.

Her path from newspaper reporter to nationally recognized publisher has been anything but traditional, shaped by a rare fusion of creative writing, neuroscience, and a deep belief in the power of story to connect, heal and reveal. Susan’s innovative teaching methods – shaped in part by her work as a medical journalist exploring how memory and creativity are sparked in the brain – bypass conventional writing formulas to help writers access the raw, resonant truths that live beneath the surface.

A dedicated mentor, she has guided more than 40 interns and apprentices and taught hundreds through workshops, retreats and master classes designed to cultivate original voices. Beyond publishing, Susan has contributed to national efforts in community resilience, serving as a researcher, analyst and core writer for federal initiatives focused on long-term disaster recovery. Her book Doc: The Story of Dennis Littky and His Fight for a Better School was adapted into an NBC movie, and her collaborative nonfiction Edisto River: Black Water Crown Jewel won seven national awards including Foreword Review’s Best Non-fiction Book of the Year. Her short story, Lead Soldier, was a 2023 Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival finalist.

Named one of South Carolina’s Top 50 Women Leaders in 2022 for her contributions to publishing, education and civic leadership, Susan lives in Summerville, S.C.

---  Interview by Nicole Pyles

WOW: First off, I loved your story, Louboutins. You have a way of bringing the story to life, and I especially loved how you used sound. What inspired this story?

Susan: One of the methods I use in my creative writing workshops involves visual prompts that challenge participants to respond using all five senses. I never assign a prompt I won’t do myself—so this story was born from a piece of visual art.

Here it is!

WOW: That's beautiful! And I really appreciate you do your own prompts too. Your character came across so brave and so daring in this story, right from the start. How did she come to life in your mind before she was written?

Susan: She came to life as I was writing. In the painting that sparked the piece, a woman is seated at a desk wearing sensible shoes. This made me think of a dear friend who does the opposite. She was visiting recently. When I picked her up from her hotel, she appeared wearing dazzling heels that made her tower like a skyscraper. I had never seen shoes like that—had never even heard of Louboutins. Despite having suffered permanent impairment to one of her feet when she was hit by a truck in a traffic accident, she put on those shoes like a proclamation and walked in them that day until she could not. I would later learn that the grueling and protracted divorce from her lawyer husband had devastated her finances, such that she was selling anything of value, including the Louboutins.

That friend—her complexities, her contradictions, her courage—became the seed for the character.

WOW: Great visuals! What is your preferred writing process: are you a pantser, plotter, or a mix of both? And why?

Susan: Oh, I am at my core a pantser! It’s why I write—to experience the sheer joy of discovery. I never cease to be amazed by what emerges when I tap the wellspring of creativity.

I become a plotter after the flurry, once I’ve laid down enough raw material to shape it into a narrative with structure and pacing. That’s when writing begins to feel more like sculpting. And I do love to sculpt. But the timing has to be right—the discovery always comes first.

WOW: That's a great balance. I love that you are a publisher as well as a writer! What have you learned in your career that you have applied to your writing life?

That could be a long answer. A very long answer. But here’s the short version:

I love making books—concepting, art directing, elevating new voices, editing experienced ones, creating work designed to last. The business side of publishing? Not so much. But the mentoring? That’s when the magic happens. For me, teaching and mentoring are among the highest forms of engagement. When I help others break through their resistance—whether it’s fear of the blank page or a lack of experience in the literary arts—I’m discovering too. It’s a mutuality loop. The joy I give returns in kind, and I leave every encounter enlivened.

What I’ve learned across the diverse career paths I’ve followed—publishing, reportage, medical journalism, community resilience, housing, strategic planning, teaching—is this: every single one of those opportunities came about because of my writing skills, directly or indirectly. That’s the throughline. Writing well means thinking well. And thinking well opens doors to everything else.

WOW: I agree! I find it fascinating that you also have a science background. How does your knowledge of neuroscience appear in your stories, whether intentional or otherwise?

Susan: Ah, neuroscience. If I hadn’t made my way as a writer, I would have become a neuroscientist exploring how the brain works. Creativity often happens when we take well-traveled synaptic pathways—those rooted in knowledge and experience—and purposefully detour into less-traveled terrain. I design exercises to make that happen. For example, I might ask you to close your eyes and imagine a color. Then name it. Then describe its sound. Its taste. Its texture. You don’t have honed reference points for that—so you reach inward, into memory and imagination. That’s when the original, meaningful stuff emerges. That’s where story lives.

WOW: Great prompt. What is your editing process like?

Susan: Language, structure, punctuation, syntax, pacing—these are powerful tools when used intentionally.

When I teach editing, I break it into levels: developmental, line editing, proofreading. But I always push for understanding. For example, it’s not enough to say, “This comma feels right.” I ask my writers and interns to name the rule. The more you know about why something works, the more precise and powerful your writing becomes.

WOW: I love that approach. How do you know when a story is done?

Susan: If you’re in “plotter” mode, you’ll test it, prod it, question it: Is this a memoir or an essay? A novel or a drabble? Do I have the bandwidth to grow it long, or should I let it live small?

But when you’re in the zone and the story feels like it’s writing itself—it will tell you when it’s done.

WOW: Oh what fantastic insight! How did you come about the WOW contests and why did you decide to enter your story?

Susan: I discovered WOW! while searching for ways to help aspiring writers find outlets and community for their work. It felt like a good place to land—and it is!

WOW: I agree! You have impressive successes under your belt! What words of wisdom or encouragement do you have for other writers who have similar goals or dreams?

Good writers are good thinkers. The more you sharpen your skills as a writer—especially your ability to see from multiple points of view—the more deeply you understand the world.

WOW: I love that. What are you working on that you can tell us about?

For the first time in my long career, I’m focusing wholly on teaching and my own writing. I’ve fallen in love with short-form fiction and am reveling in its precision and punch.

Meanwhile, a novel titled It Snowed in Hollywood has been waiting in the wings for 27 years. I wrote it in a creative heat but set it aside when life and work took over. That novel chose me. And now, at long last, it’s time. 

WOW: I can't wait to see it come out in print! Thank you so much for your time and writing such wonderful stories. 

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Leave a Comment flash fiction, Nicole Pyles, runner up , Susan Kammeraad-Campbell, Winter 2025 Flash Fiction Contest

Interview with Hannah Andrews, Runner Up in the Q2 Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest with "Trickle Down Silence"

 

Congratulations to Hannah Andrews from San Diego, California  for her amazing nonfiction essay titled:

Trickle Down Silence ! 

Check out Hannah's submission, Trickle Down Silence as well as all the other winning entries and then stop back here to read Katherine's enlightening interview with Crystal J. Casavant-Otto from WOW! Women on Writing. 

Hannah's Bio: 

Hannah Andrews writes poetry, CNF, and short fiction. Her work has been selected for the print versions of 2025 Gold Man Review West Coast Literary, San Diego’s A Year in Ink (2024), Shaking the Tree (Volumes 5 and 6 ) and performed onstage at the San Diego Memoir Showcase. Her essays and flash fiction can be found online at Imogene's Notebook, Adoptee Voices E-Zine, and The Narrative Arc, among others. She’s currently on the umpteenth draft of her adoptee memoir, None of This is Yours. Originally from the midwest, she now resides on the west coast, with her faithful Lab mix Josie, three resident cats, and a rotating cast of foster felines.  

WOW: Hannah- thank you so much for taking time today to chat with me. Thank you also for your personal and touching entry into the Nonfiction Essay Contest and Congratulations! We have just a bit of time today so let's get to it! 

Thank you for writing such a personal essay - what is the take-away you'd like readers to gain from Trickle Down Silence? 

Hannah: Too often, we stand up for others (as we should), but fail to extend that same compassion and empathy to ourselves. We may see our experiences as “not so bad” or not as traumatic as those of others, and perhaps they aren’t, but then, trauma isn’t a contest. Negative experiences leave their marks on us, often cumulatively. That’s part of the reason I wrote this essay in the second person, as if I were speaking to someone else, though, of course, that person is also me. It was just enough distance to be really honest with both my younger and current self, to say, “Yes, you’ll be okay, but this stuff is always going to sting. It will always be there.” You wouldn’t brush off a friend who told you these things. Don’t brush off yourself. My hope is that readers empathize not with me, but with themselves. 

WOW: That was heavy and hit a bit close to home. I'll just say thank you and move on.

Where do you write? What does your space look like? I’d love to know more about your adoptee memoir if you’d like to share? 

Hannah:  My writing space is a sort of repurposed bonus room. It’s now a cove with bookshelves and window seats I made myself. I’m not crafty, but I cut foam and covered it with fluffy white blankets and throw pillows. Immediately, my dog jumped in and claimed one seat and my cats the other, so I don’t sit and write in those window seats as I’d imagined, but in my chair at the desk in front of them. Tucked in with my favorite authors are 4 anthologies I’ve been honored to have essays included in, in case I ever try to tell myself I’m not a “real” writer. It’s cozy and quiet, filled with my favorite words and my faithful furry friends. 

As for the memoir, well, it’s a work in progress. I’m currently on the third (maybe fifth) draft. I had a great editor helping me with this last draft, and all my writing groups weighing in along the way. It began when I met a birth mother and author at a writing conference. I was writing fiction only back then, but wandered into a memoir group. I’d never met a birthmother and meeting her immediately sparked my own journey to find my origin story. 

We adoptees begin our known existence in “chapter two” most often. So, “None of This is Yours” is the story of my search for my chapter one, maybe even my prologue. But what began as a search for my first mother, for history, for answers, turned into so much more. And led to more questions. I found I’d buried so many feelings about being relinquished, about not having biological connections, about so many things. It was not the fun reunion story I'd hoped for, but it has changed my life. And it all began with meeting another woman (Laura Engel, author of “You’ll Forget This Ever Happened") sharing her story. Her story led me to mine. I’m so glad I walked into that writing conference. 

WOW: You've given me so much to think about today. Thank you. I love how you explained beginning in chapter 2 as an adoptee. It makes sense but I had never looked at it that way.

Do you have advice for your younger self when it comes to making decisions, believing in yourself, and/or writing? What would your current self say to the younger you? 

Hannah: Well, I doubt my younger self would listen to me. She was pretty headstrong. But, I’d tell her that she’s going to make some epically bad decisions, and that’s okay. I’d beg her to not stop writing for those two and a half decades I stopped writing for. Other than that, I’d just encourage her to live life to the fullest– to live life out loud, to travel, dance, sing, whatever, be young. Make some bad decisions, learn from them, forgive yourself. And write it all down. It may not seem worth remembering, or noting, but it is. 

WOW: I feel like our younger selves are incredibly similar and oh yes, those epically bad decisions - we should write a book about those!

What role has journaling and/or writer's groups played in your life? 

Hannah: I don’t journal, though I start most days writing– either part of a project or just random clearing out the cobwebs of my brain. My goal is always 1000 words a day, which I achieve about a third of the time. As for writers groups, I rotate between a few- all online. I have a local San Diego read-and-critique group that has been incredibly helpful with both fiction and nonfiction for the past four years. I have also been part of several writing groups that are all made up of adopted persons. Their insight, lived experience, and support is invaluable. I also write and share short fiction with a group I met through a prompts fiction contest. 

WOW: Sounds like you have a wonderful system in place to keep you forging ahead with your writing - love it!

What is your history with writing contests? - tell us what prompted you to submit to this particular contest? What would you like to tell other authors concerning contests and submitting their work? 

Hannah: A good friend of mine told me about WOW (Jean Widner, who was a runner-up with her piece, “The Flame,” in 2023’s Q4 CNF). My history isn’t long. I’ve entered a couple of dozen in the last two years: poetry, fiction, memoir, and CNF. My first was the 2021 San Diego Memoir Showcase, and I wrote about my disastrous first marriage. My piece was in the top 10 and selected for stage performance (by an actor, not me) and publication. After that, I was hooked. I entered more, both locally and online. And mostly lost. But I keep entering. I’m not really competitive, but the contests have deadlines, guidelines, and structure. I need that discipline. Competitions keep me writing, re-writing, editing, and polishing. 

My advice to authors considering entering this or other contests or submitting to online or print publications is – do it. Dive in! It’s a great opportunity for exposure and a valuable learning experience. And you never know who needs to read your words, whose life you may touch. And also, it’s just pretty darn cool to see your words in print.

WOW: Thank you Hannah for your great advice to others when it comes to writing and writing contests, and thank you for sharing with us in today's interview! You're a bright light for all of us writers and readers! I look forward to our paths crossing again and until then - keep writing (and smiling)! 

Today's post was penned by Crystal J. Casavant-Otto

Crystal Casavant writes. 

Everything. 

If you follow her blog you have likely laid eyes on every thought she has ever had. Her debut novel, It Was Never About Me, Was It? is still a work in progress and shall be fully worthy sometime in 2025. She has written for WOW! Women on Writing, Bring on Lemons, and has been featured in several magazines and ezines relating to credit and collections as well as religious collections for confessional Lutherans. She runs a busy household full of intelligent, recalcitrant, and delightful humans who give her breath and keep her heart beating day after day. 

Crystal wears many hats (and not just the one in this photo) and fully believes in being in the moment and doing everything she can to improve the lives of those around her! The world may never know her name, but she prays that because of her, someone may smile a little brighter. She prides herself on doing nice things - yes, even for strangers! 

Check out the latest Contests: 

www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php

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Is It Time to Reevaluate Your Goals?

“I’ve been in a writing funk.” 

“I just can’t get anywhere with my fiction.” 

“I haven’t written in weeks.” 

Writing friends and writers on social media have been making statements like these. Everyone seems to be in the doldrums. I know that I haven’t made any progress on the nonfiction proposal that was my primary writing goal for the year. 

What’s the reason? It is easy to blame politics. Or the economy. But any change can be unbalancing. We have a family wedding in less than a month. I’m not the principal organizer but I am working on several wedding-related projects. And updating the kitchen. And digitizing a library catalogue. And I’ve got contracted projects. 

There are a lot of good things on that list, but even good things require energy. And, let’s face it, we each only have so much energy. So, if you are in a funk and not meeting your writing goals, it is time to reevaluate those goals and reenergize. 

Here are some questions you might ask yourself. 

Is there too much on my plate? 

 My own answer to this is YES. And that’s why some of the above things are being pushed back. It’s the only way that I have the energy to do the things I really want or need to do. Now for those writing goals. 

Are they things I really want to do? Or are they things I think I should do? 

There is a difference between things you want to do and things you think you should do. For the things on the should do list, is this because there’s a deadline? Or is it because someone said, “You know you really should get that done?” Maybe you put “finish writing my novel” on your list but what you really enjoy is essay writing or flash? If that’s the case, maybe the novel needs to be deprioritized. 

Have important circumstances changed? 

Maybe you made something into a goal but now you need the energy for something else? Or the market for the piece of writing you wanted to do is no longer viable? Or, as you’ve gotten into the project, you realize that you hate that type of writing? That’s happened to me before. I took a job writing leveled readers. Although I friend of mine loves doing them, I found it tedious beyond belief. I finished the contract and then ran for the hills. It was not an experience I wanted to repeat. 

And perhaps most importantly, is there something I need out of my writing that I’m not getting?

If you want to write or feel like you need to write, but nothing is catching your attention, maybe you aren't down on writing but simply need to find something new to write. Try Jodi’s writing challenge here on WOW! . By sampling new types of writing, you may well find the thing that pulls you back into writing. 

There is no single solution to not wanting to write or not being able to write.  But answering these questions might set you on the path to a solution.  Does anyone else have a solution to suggest?

--SueBE

Sue Bradford Edwards' is the author of over 60 books for young readers.  

• To find out more about her writing, visit her site and blog, One Writer's Journey.  

• Click here to find her newsletter.

She is also the instructor for 3 WOW classes which begin on the first Monday of every month. She teaches:

• Pitching, Querying and Submitting Your Work 

• Research: Prepping to Write Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults 

• Writing Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults 

 

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Interview with Isabel Cristina Legarda: Winter 2025 Flash Fiction Contest Third Place Winner

Isabel’s Bio: Isabel Cristina Legarda was born in the Philippines and spent her early childhood there before moving to the U.S. She is currently a practicing physician in Boston. Her work has appeared in the New York Quarterly, The Dewdrop, The Ekphrastic Review, Cleaver, Ruminate, Qu, and others. Her poetry chapbook Beyond the Galleons was published in April 2024 by Yellow Arrow Publishing. She can be visited at www.ilegarda.com or on Instagram (@poetintheOR). 

If you haven't done so already, check out Isabel's award-winning story "The Dress" and then return here for a chat with the author. 

WOW: Congratulations on placing third in the Winer 2025 Flash Fiction Contest! What excited you most about writing this story? 

Isabel: I was both excited and intimidated by the risk it entailed. Magical realism isn’t for everyone, and it can sometimes be devalued as a narrative mode, by both readers and writers. I hoped to do something meaningful with it, as so many writers I admire do—express something about the relationship between mothers and daughters in a way that was both unusual and enjoyable. 

WOW: Thank you for sharing that. Your risk has paid off! What did you learn about yourself or your writing while crafting this piece? 

Isabel: I learned that each piece has its own energy, and if we try to control it instead of working with it, we can end up down the wrong path. I originally tried to write this piece as a longer short story with a larger cast of characters, wedding prep, discovery of a betrayal, and all this extra prose, but really it wanted to be a flash piece. I’m glad I threw out the longer version. It wasn’t working. As one of my writing instructors (Judah Leblang) once said, “Follow the energy.” 

WOW: I had never thought of it before as each piece having its own energy, but that’s so true. I see that you’re a poet and have published your poetry, including a chapbook titled Beyond the Galleons. What connections do you see between writing flash fiction and poetry? 

Isabel: The short forms are in many ways the hardest. Distilling things down to their essence takes so much work! I love the way Flannery O’Connor defined story: "A story is a way to say something that can't be said any other way, and it takes every word in the story to say what the meaning is." The same can be said for a poem. In both flash fiction and poetry, I see imagery and precision with language as key elements for creating that meaning. I think having a poetry practice has made me a better fiction writer and essayist, because there’s always a voice inside trying to get rid of the extraneous and really hone in on what’s vital, in every sense of the word. 

WOW: That’s an excellent quote, and a very poignant connection between poetry and prose. What are you reading right now, and why did you choose to read it? 

Isabel: I just finished The Testaments by Margaret Atwood, which I loved even more than The Handmaid’s Tale, and I just started the short story collection The Missing Morningstar by Stacie Shannon Denetsosie. I came across it while browsing online for short story collections, and when I went to check out the opening pages, I had that OMG feeling—the one that makes you HAVE to read a book because of the voice you encounter, and the gorgeous writing. I went to the publisher’s site to order a copy right away. 

WOW: That HAVE TO feeling is every reader’s dream! Thank you for those recommendations. If you could give your younger self one piece of writing advice, what would it be and why? 

Isabel: Stop worrying about whether or not you have talent. Grit is more important. There are many writers more gifted than you who won’t connect with the readers they might want to connect with, because they don’t keep submitting or, even worse, don’t keep writing. If you believe in the work, KEEP WORKING. Don’t give up. There’s room for everyone’s voice—not necessarily on the NYTBSL, but somewhere. Find the spaces that are meaningful for you and don’t worry about everyone else. 

WOW: Excellent advice! Anything else you’d like to add? 

Isabel: For some people, writing is an identity, not just an activity. If this is you, find people who get that about you, and support it, and celebrate it. We need those voices in our lives. 

WOW: Thank you so much for sharing your story and your thoughtful responses 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. Connect on IG or Twitter @greenmachine459.

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Leave a Comment Anne Greenawalt, Isabel Cristina Legarda, Third Place Winner, Winter 2025 Flash Fiction Contest

Interview with Shama Shams - WOW! Q2 Creative Nonfiction Essay Runner Up

I'm excited to talk with Shama Shams, a writer who has traveled a long road to become a runner up with "What Does It Take to Be American?"  in the Q2 2025 Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest. You can learn more about Shama at https://www.writershama.com/ 

Shama Shams is a Seattle writer, speaker, and nonprofit advocate with an MA from Florida State University. Her memoir, She Called Me Throwaway (March 2024), details her journey from a challenging childhood to healing. She is currently working on The Dreamers, a collection of immigrant stories about the American Dream. In addition to her literary accomplishments, Shama has dedicated over two decades to the nonprofit sector—advocating for marginalized communities, raising vital funds, and sharing her expertise through her book Nonprofit Fundraising—Lessons from the Trenches and the podcast From Passion to Purpose. Her commitment to community impact extends to her roles on various nonprofit boards and as an educator at North Seattle College, Edmonds College, and the Hugo House.

WOW: Congratulations on being a runner up in the Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest. "What Does It Take to Be American?" addresses the negative reactions to their "otherness" that immigrants face. What made you decide that this piece was the one to enter in the contest?

Shama: I chose to submit What Does It Take to Be American? because I believe that storytelling is one of the most powerful tools we have to challenge harmful narratives and provoke meaningful dialogue. Given the current political climate—where xenophobia and anti-immigrant rhetoric are becoming increasingly normalized—I felt compelled to use my voice to advocate for those of us who are often viewed as "other." Writing, for me, is an act of resistance. It allows me to shine a light on lived experiences that are frequently overlooked or misunderstood, and to humanize the complexities of identity, belonging, and the immigrant experience. This piece, in particular, felt urgent. It not only reflects my personal journey but also speaks to a larger truth shared by many immigrants: that being American is not about how we look or where we come from, but about how we show up, contribute, and care for our communities.

WOW:  You came to the United States as a child. Can you tell us about a moment when you began to feel that you were truly American?

Shama: With all honesty, I can't say that I’ve ever truly felt like I was fully American. While I’ve lived in the U.S. for most of my life, built my career here, raised my children here, and contributed to my community in countless ways, there’s still a lingering sense of unbelonging. It’s the feeling that no matter how much I achieve or how long I stay, I can still be seen as an outsider. There’s always a quiet fear that someone, somewhere, will tell me to “go back home”—as if I don’t already belong here, as if my roots are conditional.

For many immigrants, “being American” isn’t just about citizenship or years lived in this country; it’s about whether others accept you as one of their own. And when that acceptance is always in question, it’s hard to fully claim an identity that doesn’t always claim you back.

WOW: Tell us a little about how you became a writer.

Shama: I became a writer long before I ever learned how to read or write. As a child, I was left alone often, and in that solitude, I created entire worlds in my mind. I would draw wavy lines on paper and pretend I was writing—telling stories only I could see. It was my way of making sense of the world around me, of giving voice to thoughts and feelings I didn’t yet have the language for. Storytelling became my safe space, a place where I could be my truest self without fear or interruption. Over time, as I learned the actual mechanics of writing, I realized I already knew the heart of it: the desire to be heard, to be understood, and to connect. Writing has always been my refuge, my rebellion, and my way of reaching out.

WOW: You've revisited your past with your writing, such as your memoir She Called Me Throwaway. Do you find it difficult to write about your past challenges?

Shama: It used to be incredibly challenging to write about my past. Revisiting painful memories often felt like reopening wounds that had never fully healed. But over time—through years of therapy, self-reflection, and personal growth—I’ve reached a place where writing about those experiences feels less like reliving the pain and more like reclaiming my story. It’s no longer something I avoid; it’s something I do with intention. Now, writing about my past has become a form of clarity, empowerment, and even healing—not just for me, but I hope for others who see themselves reflected in my words.

WOW: You work in the nonprofit sector and teach, as well as serving various organizations in your community. Do you feel these activities influence/improve your writing?

Shama: Absolutely. Working in the nonprofit sector and teaching have deeply influenced and strengthened my storytelling, both in writing and in how I communicate with others. Every day, I encounter real stories—stories of struggle, resilience, injustice, and hope. These experiences constantly remind me of the power of narrative to connect, to heal, and to advocate. Whether I’m writing a grant proposal, teaching students how to find their voice, or helping a community member share their journey, I’m always practicing the art of translating truth into something that moves people. These roles have sharpened my ability to listen deeply and write with empathy and purpose. They’ve taught me that storytelling isn’t just a craft—it’s a responsibility.

WOW: Are there any other topics, genres or types of writing you'd like to explore?

Shama: Yes, absolutely. I recently completed a new manuscript titled Dreamers, which explores the pursuit of the American Dream through the voices of over twenty immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. Each story reflects a different path—some filled with hope, others marked by heartbreak—but all connected by a shared longing for safety, opportunity, and belonging. It was an incredibly meaningful project for me, both as a writer and as an immigrant myself. I’m currently in the process of finding the right publisher to bring this book into the world. Beyond that, I’m always open to exploring new genres, particularly those that center marginalized voices and challenge dominant narratives—whether that’s through essays, short fiction, or even a return to poetry.

WOW: Good luck with Dreamers and we hope to read more of your work in the future.

Check out the latest WOW writing contests:

www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php

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Leave a Comment Jodi M. Webb contestant interview, Shama Shams, WOW! Q2 2025 Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest

Webb Writing Challenge

Several years ago, my daughter introduced me to reading challenges and I have been loving them ever since. True, I don’t always complete them but I have fun trying. Reading challenges often led me to books, authors and genres I never would have chosen. Some I loved, some I didn’t but it did open me up to new things. And we all could use a little touch of the unexpected in our lives.

Instead of a reading challenge, I’m offering you a writing challenge. A list of writing suggestions and a year to complete 12 of them – one a month or all twelve in one month, whatever strikes your fancy. You can even do all 15! Don’t restrict yourself – if the challenge doesn’t specify, try fiction, nonfiction, memoir, essays, children’s, poetry. So, in the next year, whenever you’re feeling uninspired pull up this writing challenge and give one a try.

Let’s not tackle this writing challenge as a solitary endeavor. Feel free to share how you’re doing with the writing challenge in my future Muffin posts or on my blog Words by Webb. Did the writing challenge lead you to a new type of writing, publication, or maybe an idea for a longer piece? Let's begin the Webb Writing Challenge!

1. Write a poem. Rhyming not necessary. If poetry is a challenge for you, try a haiku.

2. Use your name as a writing prompt. My surname is Webb so I could write about spiderwebs, spiders, Spiderman or even weaving (webb means weaver). How about you?

3. Pen a flash fiction(1000 words or less) in a genre you don’t usually write.

4. Find inspiration in a favorite song – either the lyrics or memories connected to the song.

5. Everyone loves a surprise ending. Write something with a twist.

6. Try some epistolary writing – tell a story through other writing (letters, texts, emails, diary entries, police blotter, etc.)

7. Learn something new and use it in your writing. What plants are poisonous? Who created the first hot air balloon? How do you juggle? Here’s your chance to learn something you’ve always been curious about and use it to enrich your writing.

8. Write about a place you’ve never been – an actual place or an imaginary world you create.

9. Create a random question (or use a question generator) then answer it with a piece of writing. When did things go wrong? Why did she come to town? What happened to the missing shoe? The crazier the better.
10. Condense the time period of your piece – have it happen in 24 hours or less.

11. Be someone new! Write from a viewpoint different from yours – different age, gender, religion, politics, financial situation, time period, profession, etc.

12. Choose another piece of writing as your jumping off point, anything from a novel to a news story to a birthday card from your Aunt Marion.

13. Berkley researchers pinpointed 27 emotions: admiration, adoration, aesthetic appreciation, amusement, anger, anxiety, awe, awkwardness, boredom, calmness, confusion, craving, disgust, empathic pain, entrancement, excitement, fear, horror, interest, joy, nostalgia, relief, romance, sadness, satisfaction, sexual desire, surprise. Focus on one in your next writing.

14. Allow the next person you eat a meal with to suggest a writing topic.

15. Infuse an inherently unlikable character with traits that make your readers root for them.

Have fun and don't forget to let all your fellow writers know how you're doing with the challenge!

Jodi M. Webb writes from her home in the Pennsylvania mountains about everything from DIY projects to tea to butterflies.  She's also a blog tour manager for WOW-Women on Writing. Get to know her @jodiwebbwrites,  Facebook and blogging at Words by Webb. 

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3 comments Jodi M. Webb, reading challenge, writing prompts

Interview with Betsy Andrews Etchart: 2025 Q2 Essay Contest Runner Up

Betsy’s Bio: Betsy Andrews Etchart’s award-winning articles have been featured in magazines throughout the Mountain West, and several poems for children have appeared in Cricket Magazine. She’s led large-scale public art projects with high schoolers, and teaches multimedia sculpture to elementary students through her company, ColorWheels, which focuses on building confidence and community through the visual arts. She also teaches adult workshops in memoir, journaling in clay, and bookmaking. Betsy’s currently working on a graphic memoir based on a daily sculpture journal she initiated to help her navigate her departure from a traumatic marriage. She lives in Arizona with her teenage sons and a dog named Eloise. To connect with Betsy, visit her at ColorWheels, BlueSky @Betsyauthorartist, or Instagram @BetsyEtchart 

If you haven't done so already, check out Betsy's award-winning essay "My Marriage, in Five Tables" and then return here for a chat with the author. 

WOW: Congratulations on placing second in the Q2 2025 Essay Contest! How did you begin writing your essay and how did it and your writing processes evolve as you wrote? 

Betsy: I’ve known I needed to write about the first table for over ten years, when I first realized I saw myself in it. As a new wife and then mother, I developed a strong empathy with these fundamental objects of daily life—they stood at the center of community, rituals, meals, creative acts, yet went largely unseen. But the tables’ history was so entangled with my own, it seemed too daunting a task to write the story. The small container WOW offered—1,000 words, and about ten days—was what I needed to finally get it down on paper. I gave myself even tighter boundaries: five tables, 200 words apiece. Suddenly, writing about this huge, difficult thing seemed possible. 

WOW: It’s fascinating to hear how constraints can actually open up a world of possibility in our writing. What did you learn about yourself or your writing by creating this essay? 

Betsy: I reconnected with the joy I find in lyrical writing that’s concise and true to my experience. I learned I can write—on a short deadline—an essay that resonates with readers. I was reminded that I work well with tight boundaries. I tell my art students every day that boundaries are their friends, but it’s easy to forget it in regard to my own seemingly enormous projects. When I discovered Maggie Smith’s You Could Make This Place Beautiful a few weeks after writing the essay, the sentiment in the title made me think of my last few lines, and I realized how widespread that urge and that belief are, among women, among humans—to make our place beautiful. And so, creating this essay strengthened my sense of community, and belonging. 

WOW: The graphic memoir you describe in your bio sounds exciting! Please tell us more about that project and your process. I’m interested in learning more about your sculpture journal and how you draw story ideas from it. 

Betsy: Thank you for this question! Aside from entering a series of the sculptures in a gallery exhibition, I’ve only shared them with friends and fellow writers/artists, and students of my Journaling in Clay workshops, which they inspired. I’ve recently begun in earnest to focus on the graphic memoir based on photos of them. The journal began as a way of processing the cognitive dissonance around my attempt to remove myself and my children from an unhealthy marriage. There was so much uncertainty, so much to fear. The State and my husband were telling me it would be safer to go back. Everyone and everything else was telling me it would be safer to keep moving forward. The stakes were so high, and of course, I’d learned so well not to trust myself. Before I'd married, I'd been a professional magazine writer for a decade. I scribble down all the funny things my sons have said over the years—piles and piles of scraps—and writing has always been a part of how I make sense of myself and the world. But through the course of my marriage, I lost my words. I lost the ability to write about my emotional reality. I was overwhelmed. But I’d become an art educator, and I had clay. One night, ten weeks after the boys and I had moved out, I sculpted a little figure with its legs wide in an attempt to keep its balance, and its arms thrown up as though to protect itself from an invisible hurricane. That’s how I felt. It was hugely therapeutic to see it—to give literal shape to my internal reality, to give literal weight and space to something that I was being told didn’t or shouldn’t exist or if it did, didn’t matter. In making the sculpture, I literally made it matter. Creating a small, expressionistic sculpture—often a self-portrait—at the end of each day became a moving meditation, and eventually led me back to words. Now, as I manipulate clay, or wire, or beads, or magazine scraps or half a plastic Easter egg, the work of my fingers connects my thoughts to experiences, relationships, gives me time to mull over strong emotions, fears, helps me connect with my body—many of the sculptures reflect my posture, which I’ve learned is a physical manifestation of deep emotions and beliefs. And they’ve allowed me to connect to possible futures that were so long hidden from me. 

WOW: Thank you for sharing an intimate part of your process. It’s so wonderful to hear how it has helped you to find your voice, your confidence, yourself, again. This is very powerful. Which creative nonfiction essays or writers have inspired you the most, and in what ways did they inspire you? 

Betsy: Oh, so many! I’m a huge fan of great science writing—I discovered Stephen Jay Gould in high school and marveled at the precision, humor, refusal to accept preconceived notions, and the sheer joy he expresses at truth, whatever it may be. I love the beautiful, probing essays of Jill Sisson Quinn, and essays that distill wisdom from widely disparate sources, like those of Maria Popova. Leslie Rubinkowski, a mentor in grad school, was famous for asking, “What’s it REALLY about?” But it was ten years after I met her that I began figuring out what my personal writing was really about. Only when my marriage had deteriorated so badly that the only way out was through a door marked “self-awareness: enter at your own risk.” The poet, essayist, and activist Diana Hume George, another mentor, taught me that it’s okay to write and choose to not publish. So, while I thrive on connecting with others through writing, there’s great liberty in recognizing I have a choice. 

WOW: That’s such an excellent point – there are so many purposes for writing that don’t relate to or lead to publication. If you could tell your younger self anything about writing, what would it be? 

Betsy: Oh my goodness, so much. But she wouldn’t have listened! Or rather, she wouldn’t have been able to hear. I would have said: you are stronger than you think you are. You are better at taking criticism than you think you are. Say yes to opportunities, even if they’re not in exactly the direction you think you want to go. I would say: make choices and take responsibility for them and move boldly forward through the consequences. And most of all, nurture friendships with those whose paths you cross. Because one plus one is always way more than two. Now, these things may not seem to have to do with writing. But for writers, everything has to do with writing. 

WOW: Thank you for that advice! And yes, writers do seem to be able to equate anything with their writing. Thank you for sharing your writing with us and for your thoughtful responses. 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. Engage on Twitter or Instagram @GreenMachine459.

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Leave a Comment Anne Greenawalt, Betsy Andrews Etchart, runner up , WOW! 2025 Q2 CNF Essay Contest

Interview with Mihaela Stoicovici, WOW! Winter 2025 Flash Fiction Contest First Place Winner

Originally from Romania, Mihaela has been living in Tokyo and the US for the past 15 years. A former management consultant, she discovered her passion for creative writing quite recently after trying to encourage her own children to improve their language abilities. She admires the work Melissa Uchiyama is doing in Tokyo with children, eatenjapan.com. She is fascinated by myths, old tales, dreams and everything that hints toward the old archetypes of the human mind.

--interview by Marcia Peterson

WOW: Congratulations on winning first place in our Winter 2025 Flash Fiction competition. What prompted you to enter the contest?

Mihaela: I have been playing with some ideas for a long time now, for a few years, but I never had the courage to finalize anything on paper. I had half stories or bits written everywhere but never finished. My intention was to use the contest as a way to discipline myself. I realized I need a lot of discipline. I'm actually afraid to finish a story, I keep going back and forth.

WOW: Can you tell us what encouraged the idea behind your story, “The Snow Woman?”

Mihaela: The idea has been brewing for a long time in a very unclear way, connected to my life experiences. I was trying to make sense of what was happening to me. Over time I became very sensitive to some ideas and paid attention in a different way to things that were happening around me in real life. When I read the original Japanese tale of Yuki Onna for the first time, everything started to make sense. I could see a path forward. I loved the idea of finding magic and the sacred in ordinary life.

WOW: What advice would you give to someone wanting to try writing flash fiction for the first time?

Mihaela: I don't think I could give advice to anyone when it comes to writing, I'm a beginner myself. What I like doing and it works for me is to start with a feeling, connected to what happened in real life or to something I read. And then I follow that feeling, I give it space and I listen to it. Sometimes it's a dream I have at night, I like to pay attention to the dreams, it's amazing how they can have a language of their own.

WOW: You mentioned that you discovered your passion for creative writing quite recently. What’s next for you on writing journey?

Mihaela: I want to have more discipline, write more and finish the stories I think about. I bought some books on creative writing and I plan to study more about technicals and the inner workings of writing.

WOW: Thanks so much for chatting with us today, Mihaela. Before you go, do you have a favorite writing tip or piece of advice you can share?

Mihaela: I like how little, apparently ordinary daily things can have a deeper meaning than I initially thought. When I find that magic thread behind a small thing, that's when I feel I can write a story about it.

***

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Interview with Brigid Boettler, Runner Up in the WOW! 2025 Q2 CNF Essay Contest

 

Brigid is a global health professional turned stay-at-home mom to twins. When she isn’t chipping playdough from couches or chauffeuring kids to ninja class Brigid works on women-led grassroots initiatives in Northeast Ohio. Creative writing is her throughline as she navigates motherhood in an era of chaos and climate change. Her children’s stories have made the shortlist in the 2024 WriteMentor Novel & Picture Book Awards and the 2025 Cheshire Novel Prize Kids Top 100. 

 ----------Interview by Renee Roberson 

WOW: Hello, Brigid, and welcome! Your essay, “A Silent Explosion,” is a great example of a braided essay. How did you get the idea to weave the recollection of your dream about the moon explosion with preparing your Thanksgiving turkey while processing your mother’s terminal illness? 

Brigid: This is the first creative nonfiction essay I’ve written, so honestly, I’m not well versed on essay techniques and I wrote this without a specific format in mind. I knew that I wanted to write about my mom and this big, heavy, existential loss in my life, but grief on its own is intangible. I needed a hook to snag the grief from the swirling ether and anchor it in the realm of the everyday. That’s where the turkey came in. I’d become the family’s new holiday host because my mom would soon be gone, and the turkey prep – organ bag and all – was a physical manifestation of the anguish I felt. It was only once I started writing that I recalled my moon dream, which I’d had around the time of my mom’s cancer diagnosis a year earlier. The silence of the explosion and the jarring realization that nothing is ever permanent stayed with me and weaved itself into my current narrative. Like the moon, women set the rhythm of family tides in a way that’s often invisible until they’re gone. And in the chaos that follows we find their presence in the smallest things, like handwritten recipes and holiday dinner traditions. 

I think most women can relate to a life braided with abstract dreams, ethereal emotions, and mundane earthly demands. My mom passed peacefully a few weeks ago, and even now I fold away my grief like laundry as I head to the kitchen to talk yogurt flavors with a beguiling kindergartner. 

WOW: I am so sorry for your loss and I understand what you mean about folding away the grief. I feel like it's something women and mothers have become used to doing in so many ways. What was the process of drafting this piece like? Are you a fan of revision or not? 

Brigid: I used to view revision as a sign of failure. I naively felt that if I poured my heart onto paper and it wasn’t perfect, then it wasn’t worth writing. That held me back from ever putting my writing out into the world. But then I read Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, and I found the wonderfully empowering concept of the ‘shitty first draft’. Now when I feel the urge to write I let my brain dump words onto paper with little restraint. Then I set about shaping them into something more meaningful, and as I do, I often surprise myself with new connections to unexpected things (like a moon dream from a year earlier). After that I walk away for a few days and come back to tighten everything into a third and final draft. Giving my brain that break between revisions makes it so much easier to kill stubborn darlings and stay true to my throughline. An added bonus of the ‘shitty first draft’ technique is that I can always go back later and mine it for future topics and twists. No writing is ever wasted! 

WOW: As much as I hate revision, I'm happy you had that shift in mindset after reading Anne's book! You mention in your bio that you also write stories for children, and it looks like they have been very well received! What are some of the topics you’ve explored in those works? 

Brigid: I started writing children’s stories for my twin toddlers during those mind-numbing days of the pandemic lockdown. My background is a mix of marine biology and global health, and my stories mirror that a bit. Recently I’ve been using examples of symbiosis in nature to discuss social/emotional issues: Woolly bats and pitcher plants show us how new beginnings can bloom in unexpected ways; Pom pom crabs and anemones show us that when we lift someone up, we lift ourselves too. Life on Earth is only possible with teamwork, and the natural world is full of clever teams solving tough problems! 

These little stories started as something fun to do with my kids, but they’ve had a profound impact on my writing. I tend to take on topics that are far too broad and hard for a reader to connect with. But a picture book demands that you whittle a concept down to its innermost core – and use very few words to do it. It’s a great writing exercise! 

WOW: Selecting a unique topic can be one of the most difficult things to nail down when writing creative nonfiction. What would you suggest to writers seeking advice on selecting themes to write about in essay form? 

Brigid: A good theme is like the ocean. At first glance it’s this solid-looking thing, but when you zoom in, you find that it’s liquid – ever shifting, ever flowing. It looks different every time you approach it because it’s teeming with life. But I think we can get overwhelmed with the idea that a good writing concept must be something no one has ever thought of before. The human experience is defined by common themes (i.e. mother-daughter relationships, death and loss) and most readers want to see or feel something of themselves in the work. 

Coming back to the wisdom of Anne Lamott, she has an anecdote about a student who wrote an essay on loss by describing her painstaking attempt to sew a button onto her dead mother’s burial coat. Death may be a common theme but anchoring its profoundness with the unexpected simplicity of sewing a button is what made the essay great. To me, it’s the unexpected anchor that makes a topic worth writing. It grounds the reader in something real while they sip on the existential questions that haunt us all. 

Another great example of this is Irish poet Doireann Ní Ghríofa’s exquisite memoir, A Ghost in the Throat. She takes the soaring topic of the historical erasure of female narratives and anchors it in the quiet domestic moments of her life as a stay-at-home mother. And so many of the essays published by WOW! find equally eye-opening ways to give shape to the invisible burdens of women. 

WOW: These are all excellent examples and I love your point about how the human experience is defined by common themes--it's the way we approach those themes that can make for a stellar essay. What is your favorite time of day to write and why? 

Brigid: As a mom of six-year-old twins, I have no control over my own schedule! In a perfect world I would spend my nights forming creative possibilities and then spend my mornings putting actual words to paper, but in real life I just jot my ideas down in a never-ending Google doc and squeeze in some actual writing when I can. It’s chaotic and messy…but then again so is life.

WOW: Ah, so true! Brigid, thank you again for stopping by today. We wish you continued success in your writing endeavors. 

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Leave a Comment Brigid Boettler, Contestant interview, Renee Roberson, runner up , WOW! Q2 CNF Contest, writing advice

What if a Favorite Work is in the Public Domain?

The Dover cover.

I recently discovered that one of my favorite childhood books is in the public domain. The book in question is the 1924 The Box-Car Children by Gertrude C. Warner. In 1942, a shorter version of the book was reissued by Albert Whitman and Company, and a whole series of books followed. Since 2023, Penguin Random House has published the series. 

Only the first book is in the public domain but I quickly pulled out my copy.  Do I have the 1924 title?  No.  I have the 1942 book, but I want to see how different the original is.  Fortunately it has been reissued by Dover. 

Beyond reading both versions, what can I do? I wasn’t sure so I did a bit of research. 

When a book is no longer under copyright, it is in the public domain. It can be reprinted, produced as an ebook, sold and adapted by you, me, or anyone else reading this post. You can even sell your new creation on Kindle. But it has to be differentiated which means that you have somehow made it different from the original. 

There are several ways that you can, according to Kindle, go about this. 

• Translation: If you are fluent enough to translate The Box-Car Children into another language, feel free to do so. You could even create a series with the book translated into Spanish, French, Mandarin, or Twi. 

• Annotation: Not qualified to translate? You could also annotate the book. Annotations are any commentary or explanation added to the original text. Annotations could include historical information such as “At the time this book was published…” Or they could be biographical information about the author and how the book parallels the author’s life. Note: I don’t know that this is the case with The Box-Car Children. I simply used that as an example. 

• Illustration: Are you a skilled illustrator? You can publish a Kindle book in which you have added at least 10 of your own illustrations to the original story. These could be photographs that you have taken, drawings, or digital artwork. 

You can copyright your differentiated work, but there’s a catch. You cannot copyright the original text. This is because it was already copyrighted by someone else. That means that if I were to annotate The Box-Car Children, I would include a note with the copyright statement. “The original children’s novel, The Box-Car Children, is in the public domain. The annotations are my original work and are copyrighted . . ."  

Do I plan to differentiate The Box-Car Children? I do not. But maybe just maybe I’ll differentiate something else. I am curious to see how Dover has made their publication unique.

--SueBE

• To find out more about her writing, visit her site and blog, One Writer's Journey.  

• Click here to find her newsletter.

• Pitching, Querying and Submitting Your Work 

• Research: Prepping to Write Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults 

• Writing Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults 

Sue Bradford Edwards' is the author of over 60 books for young readers.  

She is also the instructor for 3 WOW classes which begin on the first Monday of every month. She teaches:

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Interview with Wendy Fontaine, WOW! Q2 2025 Creative Nonfiction Contest Runner Up

Wendy Fontaine’s work has appeared in Jet Fuel Review, Short Reads, Sweet Lit, Sunlight Press, Under The Sun and elsewhere. She has received nonfiction prizes from Identity Theory, Hunger Mountain and Tiferet Journal, as well as nominations to the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net anthologies. A native New Englander, she currently resides in southern California and serves as the flash editor at Hippocampus Magazine.

--interview by Marcia Peterson

WOW: Congratulations on placing as a runner up in our Q2 2025 Creative Nonfiction essay competition! What prompted you to enter the contest?

Wendy: I’ve entered the contest before, and I always found the winning essays to be impressive. I routinely take classes through WOW, so the contest has been on my radar for a while.

WOW: Many of us can think of instances where, as a young woman, we sensed something was off with a person or situation and thankfully acted for our own safety. Your essay, “Lucky,” is a compelling look back at your own experience and other events where luck, randomness or fate spares a person from something tragic. What inspired you to write this piece?

Wendy: That moment in the parking lot has stuck with me for 35 years. Over the decades, I’ve wondered, why not me? Why do bad things happen to some people but not others? There are answers to that question and yet, at the same time, there are no answers to that question. This moment and many others, including 9-11 and the Boston Marathon bombing, make me think of how close we all come to tragedy every day, whether we know about it or not. And when we do know about it, we try to make sense of it. We try to give it a narrative or some kind of explanation, but of course there are times when no explanation can be made. We just “got lucky,” as they say.

WOW: How do you find or make time to write? What works best for you?

Wendy: I wish I could say that I have a regular writing practice, or that I have the discipline to set aside time and abide by any kind of writing schedule. But I just don’t. I’m sort of a mad scientist writer. When an idea takes hold, I go to the page. I write and write and write, then I stop. I tell myself that I’m done for the day but within minutes, I’m back – drafting and redrafting. Then I might go weeks without writing again. It’s cyclical. I write whenever the mood strikes. I’m also in a writers’ group that meets monthly, which means I’m on the hook for new or revised material every time we meet. That really helps. My writing group keeps me generating new work.

WOW: Are you working on any writing projects right now? What’s next for you?

Wendy: I’ve been writing shorter pieces these days, usually flash CNF. Part of this is because of how my attention span changed during and after the pandemic. The other part is that I’m really interested in the heat and power that comes in the flash nonfiction form. I have a few essays that I’ve been submitting and a few that I’ve been revising. I also wrote a murder mystery novel, which I hope to revisit and send out to some new agents this summer.

WOW: Best of luck to you with your novel! Thanks so much for chatting with us today, Wendy. Before you go, can you share a favorite writing tip or piece of advice?

Wendy: Whenever I’m struggling to find writing time, or I need some inspiration, I sign up for a writing class. I find Chelsey Clammer’s classes to be particularly generative. Most writing courses are online now and easy to fit into a working person’s schedule. I also rely on Sonja Livingston’s book “Fifty-Two Snapshots,” which has 52 writing prompts for nonfiction and memoir. I’ll flip to a random page, then set a timer on my phone for 15 minutes. Fifteen minutes is usually enough time to get something on the page, but not so much time that you start editing yourself. This feels like a good way to get something true on the page without second-guessing what it is that you’re writing.

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Leave a Comment contest runner up, Contestant interview, Marcia Peterson, Wendy Fontaine, WOW! Q2 2025 Creative Nonfiction Contest, writer inspiration