Meet Cindy Hassell, Winter 2013 Flash Fiction Runner-Up

I'm excited to introduce Cindy Hassell who was one of our runners-up in the 2013 Winter Flash Fiction contest. She wrote a touching and humorous story titled, The Sparkle Stones.

So before enjoying our wonderful chat, be sure to go over and read her story. Trust me when I say it will stay with you for awhile after reading it.

Cindy Hassell is a writer, teacher, and logophile—a true lover of words. She became a reader in her mother’s lap, a storyteller at her grandmother’s table, and a writer in Mrs. Johnson’s sixth-grade classroom.  Mrs. Johnson gave Cindy her first byline in the school newsletter. The exhilaration of that recognition, the sense of being cherished and accomplished and celebrated, has remained for decades. It is Cindy’s primary goal as a teacher to inspire those same feelings in all of her own students.

A true believer in the power of story, Cindy hopes to add “published novelist” to her profile in the near future. Her work-in-progress is Lost in the Stars, a historical novel set in the Big Bend region of Texas during the Pancho Villa days. The book was inspired by the tantalizing story of her great-grandfather’s murder at his Davis Mountains ranch in 1913. Her grandmother passed along those priceless memories over many a bowl of fresh-popped popcorn—the pre-microwave kind!

Cindy lives with her two favorite people: her husband and son, who are also true believers and connoisseurs of popcorn.

Follow Cindy on Twitter: @cindyhassell

WOW: Cindy, a huge congratulations for your story placing as a runner-up in our Winter Flash Fiction contest! We’d love to hear a little bit about you.

Cindy: I am a mother/wife/writer/teacher from the Texas Panhandle who hopes to add, “published novelist” to my bio in the near future. Like so many other busy people with the same aspirations, I try to find enough spare time to keep my book progressing. That’s often an enormous challenge, but like the tortoise in the fable, I just keep moving forward, one word at a time, toward the finish line! I was thrilled to learn that “The Sparkle Stones” was chosen as a finalist in the Winter Flash Fiction contest. Snoopy Dance!

WOW: Ha ha! Well, I see you doing that Snoopy Dance many times in the near future. Your submission, The Sparkle Stones, was a beautiful mixture of humor and heart strings being tugged. Where did this story come from?

Cindy: The story was inspired by one of my grandmother’s many tales about her life on a big cattle ranch out in far west Texas in the early 1900s. When she was a little girl, she was closer to the family’s housekeeper than to her own mother, a widow who was always busy helping the men run the ranch. Maria was a real person who had a deep influence on my grandmother’s values and sensibilities. I wish I could have known Maria, but I didn’t. So I invented a persona for her based upon my grandmother’s fond reminiscences.

WOW: What a wonderful background! We should all be so lucky to have a Maria in our lives. As you know, writing flash fiction can be more difficult than writing novels for some writers, perhaps due to having to create an entire story with a more restricted word maximum. What are your thoughts on this?

Cindy: Believe it or not, I’m the kind of person who thrives on deadlines and restrictions! I enjoy the challenge of assembling just the right set of words to convey a particular tone, but without deadline pressure, I tend to second-guess myself and spend far too much time striving for perfection. I like the shorter form because I can focus intensely for a brief time, but let it go when I must. It’s a nice break from the long haul of writing an entire novel.

WOW: That’s very interesting. I can relate to thriving on deadlines, too. Can you please tell us about what your writing routine is when you settle down to get those stories out. What are the key ‘ingredients’ you need to bring out those words?

Cindy: As I mentioned above, I am much more productive under deadline pressure. I have discovered the value of creating an outline for my novel, which keeps me much more disciplined. From the outline, I write one scene at a time. I set a goal every day, based upon the amount of time I can allot for writing. I like to write early in the morning, when both the day and I are fresh. I try to avoid cluttering my mind with anything else when I first get up, so that my best energy goes into the writing. I love listening to music, but I am more productive in a quiet room, so I save the tunes for another part of my day.  Other than that, a good cup of coffee, my laptop, and a comfortable chair are all that I need. I occasionally resort to chocolate when I need a little inspiration to keep working!

WOW: Ha ha! Well, I’m sure there are many of us who have a little stash of chocolate to keep us going during a long writing session. Cindy, we’d love to hear some of your final pearls of wisdom on writing flash fiction. What are the key things writers should keep in mind?

Cindy: Keep it simple, because flash fiction must tell a full story, conflict and all, in a single scene. I take the time to distill my vision for a scene into a sentence. That way, when I write, it’s easy to tell when I stray too far from the point I want to make.  I think of flash fiction as a snapshot rather than a “movie of the mind.” I can envision “The Sparkle Stones” as a Norman Rockwell painting—but with a whiff of apples and cinnamon added! A smattering of sensory detail makes the story much more vivid. The best writers, I think, are the ones who can evoke a realistic experience without overwhelming the reader with strings of adjectives and long lines of description. A writer can also capitalize on a just a line or two of well-chosen dialogue to unveil a character’s true nature. I guess I’m a “less is more” kind of writer, which is funny because I can be a real chatterbox in conversation!

WOW: Thank you for your advice and, again, congratulations on placing in our Winter Flash Fiction contest. Good luck with your future projects!

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2 comments 2013 winter flash fiction contest, Chynna Laird, Cindy Hassell, Contestant interview, flash fiction runner up, The Sparkle Stones

Meet Gail Randall, Winter 2013 Flash Fiction Runner-Up

Today we’re chatting with another flash fiction winner, Gail Randall. Gail made it into our top ten with her delightful, first-person story The Great Adventure. I think any of us who have been in the service industry will get a chuckle from watching Dr. Young apply all she knows and then…well, I don’t want to spoil the story for those who have not yet read it. So, please take a moment to enjoy The Great Adventure and then come for a visit with Gail.

Gail Randall lives with her husband in the crazy environment of Washington, D.C. Another lawyer turned writer, Gail enjoys writing stage plays, screen plays, and psychological mysteries. With a B.A. degree in English and theatre, she has written, directed, and acted in multiple productions in local theatres.

Gail served as a JAG on active duty in the Air Force, serving in locations from Upper Peninsula Michigan to Texas, and from California to Washington, D.C. Gail and her family have also lived overseas in Turkey and England where they took advantage of travel opportunities throughout Europe and Asia Minor. All these places proved rich grounds for story ideas.

This is Gail’s first journey into the world of flash fiction. She finds her love of dialogue fits well in the flash fiction format. She continues to learn by reading voraciously.

WOW: Hi Gail, congratulations on your contest entry! You’ve done a terrific job of showing characterization almost exclusively through dialogue. In your perception, what made this work? What did this approach provide that may have been lost if the story was written a different way?

Gail: Thank you. I wanted to write in first person for this story. I think that intimacy worked for Dr. Young’s character. I also wanted to avoid the pitfalls of the “I think,” “I saw,” observations. Rather, I wanted the story to move along concisely and with a lot of Dr. Young’s humor showing. I hoped that the best way to do that was to use dialogue to reveal her character and the characters of her patients.

I was afraid I would lose the immediacy if I wrote this story in third person. I wanted my readers to really get into the mind of Dr. Young. She’s a quirky character, and I wanted to share her.

WOW: She is a fun character! What was your inspiration for The Great Adventure?

Gail: My husband and I are currently having a discussion about sailing the “Great Loop” around the eastern half of the U.S. I thought a therapist would have a grand time getting us to agreement. Unlike my characters, we are talking out the pros and cons of the trip. But I could see a couple avoiding the conflict and trying to disagree without seeming to do so.

I have also worked with a therapist in the past, and initially I thought the questions she asked were hilarious. No one talks like that in a conversation. Later I gained great respect for the therapist’s approach as it led me to self-discovery. That’s what Dr. Young tries to do with her patients. Being human, though, she has internal reactions to her patients that I found revealing and sometimes funny.

So, my husband’s and my discussions and my great respect for the therapist’s profession inspired me to write this story.

WOW: Stage plays vs. flash fiction—they seem like two ends of the spectrum! What challenges did you face while writing The Great Adventure?

Gail: I kept wanting to put in stage directions. (Laughs). Stage plays use dialogue and stage pictures to tell the story. I think like that. So writing flash fiction made me really work to get my images on the page in such a way that the reader created the stage picture. I wanted the immediacy of the dialogue and the showing of the interactions on multiple levels. That’s easier to do in playwriting than it is in fiction writing. It’s harder to reveal your characters in fiction writing without getting caught at it by your readers. My goal was for my reader to “see” the story like an audience would see a play unfold before them. I hope that makes sense.

WOW: It makes perfect sense—I think in movies so I have a similar struggle. What writing tips would you like to share with our readers?

Gail: Don’t be afraid to write in first person. It’s fun. I was inspired by the writing of Janet Evanovich and Robert B. Parker. I wanted to see if I could show a story using that point of view. I also like the concise way Mr. Parker writes, and I wanted to see if I could tell a story mainly through dialogue.

WOW: Tell us a little about your current work in progress.

Gail: Now I’m working to see if I can sustain the first person point of view in a novel-length work. Dr. Young wants her own book, so I’m writing it. She wants to branch out into forensic psychology, so I’m researching that specialty like a fiend to get the process into my head. I’m not sure how forensic psychology and Dr. Young’s brand of humor fit together, but I’m interested enough to put in the time creating her stories.

WOW: That is an intriguing match; I’m looking forward to it! 
Thank you, Gail, for visiting with us today and sharing your tips.

Gail: Thank you, Robyn, for this chat.

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8 comments 2013 winter flash fiction contest, Contestant interview, flash fiction runner up, Gail Randall, Robyn Chausse, The Great Adventure

Denise Heinze: Runner Up in the Winter 2013 Flash Fiction Contest

Congratulations to Denise Heinze, who is one of our runners up in the Winter 2013 Flash Fiction contest with her story, "The Pact." Two women make a pact to do something--to find out, read her story! If you haven't had a chance to read "The Pact" yet, you can read it here. 

Denise doesn’t know what she loves to do more—teach literature or write it. But since the two aren’t mutually exclusive, she enjoys the best of both worlds as an English professor and an author. Whether discussing fiction or creating it, she finds the written word the Route 66 to self-discovery.

A PhD graduate of Duke University she lives in Durham, North Carolina and teaches at North Carolina State University. She writes fiction, creative nonfiction, memoirs, and poetry. She is especially partial to historical fiction and has written a novel about her ancestor, Louisa May Alcott. Her work appears in Now and Then, Thought and Action, Reunions, Short Stuff Magazine, and Gemini Magazine.

WOW: Welcome, Denise! "The Pact" is a humorous look at what could be a very serious topic--older people who want to commit suicide before illness or old age overtakes them. What made you want to give it a humorous spin?

Denise: Laughing at something disturbing seems to have the effect of generating power over it, if ever so fleeting or illusory. There’s nothing inherently funny about suicide, of course, or death. But these women choose not to be paralyzed by their fears, which is less about death than the deterioration of their bodies and eventual loss of dignity that might result. Their comical attempt to end it all is a celebration of their valiant efforts, not to die, really, but, in their fearlessness and independence, to live their lives to the hilt.

WOW: What was your inspiration for this story?

Denise: Well, I’m not exactly a spring chicken, so thoughts of my own mortality tend to seep through that brick wall of denial most of us construct against death. I wonder how I might face it once I reach that point (hopefully not for a very long time), which has led me to wonder how others do.

WOW: How do you feel entering contests helps writers with their writing and/or their career?

Denise: Contests provide writers with a deadline. Deadlines are motivating. So is the potential for monetary awards, recognition and possible publication.

WOW: Deadlines are fantastic! Besides placing in the WOW! flash fiction contest, you have quite a bio! You have a PhD and teach literature at North Carolina State University. How does teaching literature help with your own writing?

Denise: It’s a continual workshop, of sorts. I have the distinct privilege and pleasure of teaching the greatest American writers to bright and engaged students, so I am continuously analyzing what these authors write about, how, and what actually works with a 21st century audience. But on the flip side, creative writing helps me teach the literature as well, since I know first-hand what it means to compose the very phenomenon I teach. That’s a unique perspective afforded my students, one I offer in addition to my experience writing about literature, as a scholar.

WOW: And your ancestor is. . .Louisa May Alcott? That's amazing. Tell us a bit about the book you've written about her.

Denise: I take some real liberties with Louisa May—I hope she isn’t turning in her grave! It’s a kind of mash-up: I wonder what would have happened had Louisa May met and befriended Harriet Jacobs, the former slave from North Carolina whose remarkable story includes striking a secret bargain with one white man in order to avoid the licentious and perverse harassment of another. When that deal falls short, Jacobs hides out in her grandmother’s attic for nearly seven years before she finally escapes north.

WOW: That sounds like an amazing story. I would love to read that. (smiles) So, what's next for you? What are you working on?

Denise: I’m having great fun with flash fiction, and I’m trying my hand at poetry.

WOW: Thank you, Denise, for taking the time to talk with us today.

Enter our summer flash fiction contest. Details at the link:   http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php

Interview by Margo L. Dill--visit her blog at http://margodill.com/blog/

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1 comment 2013 winter flash fiction contest, flash fiction runner up, Margo L. Dill

Meet Flash Fiction Top Ten Winner, Mike Throne

Mike Throne lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and three daughters. A graduate of Goshen College, Mike spent twenty-five years running a windchime company until, in 2006, he sold the business to begin working on his new passion—fiction writing. He has been learning his new craft through courses at Northern Virginia Community College, George Mason, and Faithwriters.com, a Christian-based online writers’ resource. Other stories written by Mike can be seen at http://www.faithwriters.com/member-profile.php?id=50794. When he’s not writing, Mike enjoys camping with his family.

interview by Marcia Peterson

WOW: Congratulations on placing in the top ten in our Winter 2013 Flash Fiction competition! What inspired you to enter the contest?

Mike: I love micro-fiction and the WOW contest is the best micro-fiction contest I know of. There are a limited number of entries, the fee is reasonable, feedback is available, and the quality of the writing is excellent. Obviously, I appreciate the fact that the "Women on Writing" contest is also open to men. It is the encouragement that I receive from contests like this one that keeps me going when there isn't much other positive feedback coming.

WOW: Thanks for the kind words about the contest. Can you tell us what encouraged the idea behind your story, Boarder in an Old Green House?

Mike: Sadly, it's where I see us going as a country in the not too distant future. With our casually excessive spending and unwillingness to tax enough to cover it, I foresee serious problems for everyone, but especially for the elderly. We simply cannot afford to keep all the promises we've made and unless we admit that and resolve to fix it soon, I see a significant drop in our standard of living as the inevitable result, again, especially among the elderly. Boarding houses used to be popular in the last century and I suspect that they will be again, as a low cost option for those who can't afford a home or an apartment.

That said, life in a boarding house is still life, and there can be positives in any living arrangement. Boarder in an Old Green House is the portrayal of a couple who grow closer, despite this backdrop of a wrecked economy and their best days being behind them.

WOW: You did a great job with the story. What was your editing process like? Do you have any specific editing techniques to share?

Mike: Most of my stories get edited to a pulp. I go over each one again and again, saving a version every five or ten minutes. A friend from my old writers' group said that I sculpt my stories, starting with a block and refining them over and over again. Often the final version is very different from the original,

The most difficult part of my editing process is that I often can't tell if I have anything worth keeping for days, even weeks. After I write and edit a story, I love it and think everyone else should as well, because it's clearly one of the best stories ever written. It's only after the euphoria settles that I can read it though more realistic eyes and I can begin see the serious issues. At that point, I either dump it or go back through and edit it another two or three hours, then sit back again and see what I have.

WOW: In your bio you mention running a windchime company for twenty-five years, which you sold in order to pursue fiction writing. How did you orchestrate that change, and how would you compare your life then and now?

Mike: I started by selling windchimes at craft shows and flea markets, then, about five or six years in, began wholesaling and, eventually, grew the company into an actual factory. After many years of too many employees, I wanted out. I'd been approached by a number of brokers and even went as far as to have a contract in my hand, but the contract was written by the buyer, for the buyer, and I didn't feel optimistic about being able to resolve the issues.

In the end, I decided to sell it to a good friend of mine who was the regional manager of a larger business than my own. So one day at lunch, I brought out my laptop, showed him the spreadsheets I'd prepared, and suggested that it would be a wise decision to sign on. It helped that his wife was my HR person. Because of the situation, I was able to achieve a number of things that were important to me and allow him to buy it without putting any of his own money down, which was fortunate since he didn't have any.

That part of the transition has worked out remarkably well. My friend's doing a wonderful job and the business continues to thrive. (If you buy an Arias, Weatherland, or Corinthian Bell windchime, those were mine.)

The writing side is going a bit more slowly. I find it difficult to remain focused and come up with story ideas, and am often frustrated by my lack of production. But I trudge on and am happy to see gradual progress in my ability despite the occasional setbacks.

WOW: It's exciting that you're following your dream and we wish you the best. You also mentioning camping with your family as a favorite activity. I have to admit, I’m not a camper. What are your favorite and least favorite things about camping?

Mike: My favorite thing about camping is, at the end of the day, after my daughters have gone to sleep, sitting with my wife next to the fire and sipping a beer. I love spending time with my three daughters and find that camping gives us the chance to be together in unusual settings. We've made two cross country camping trips since I sold the business and are just about to start on our third and likely final trip. On this trip, we'll go from Virginia to Colorado to see some friends and camp in the Rockies, then go up to South Dakota to camp at our favorite place in the country, Custer State Park. Herds of buffalo roam freely throughout the park, along with other wildlife, and we love the cool, breezy air of the upper Midwest.

My least favorite thing has to be pulling the trailer. We have a hybrid, so it's not too big, but the wind plays havoc with it sometimes. On the whole, camping's always an adventure and it's always worth it.

WOW: OK, you do make camping sound better! Thanks so much for chatting with us today, Mike. Before you go, can you share your favorite writing tip or advice with our readers?

Mike: Thanks for the interview. The only advice I have is the same advice I give to myself --keep at it. Don't stop, don't give up, and good things will eventually happen.

***

Our Summer 2013 Flash Fiction contest is OPEN
Visit the contest page for details.

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2 comments 2013 winter flash fiction contest, contest interview, mike throne

Meet Joel Shulkin, Third Place Winner in the WOW! Flash Fiction Contest

Good morning, Muffin fans! It’s Tuesday, and that means we’ll be sharing a winning story from the latest WOW! Flash Fiction contest. This week, you’ll get to know more about Joel Shulkin, whose story, “Missing U,” placed third. Now, if you been super busy and haven’t had a chance to read this flash piece yet, never fear! Head over to the contest page and peruse! Yup, it’s that simple. Then come back here, grab your favorite sweet treat (I’m noshing on a strawberry-rhubarb muffin this morning) and get to know Joel.

Being a full-time Developmental-Behavior Pediatrician hasn’t stopped Joel Shulkin from pursuing an active writing career; far from it, working with children who have developmental and behavioral challenges related to autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, and adoption/foster care has provided raw material for stories that raise the reader’s awareness of these important issues. His fiction, non-fiction, and poetry have appeared in Short Story America Vol. 1, Drabblecast, Long Story Short, Vwa: Songs for Haiti, and StoryTeller Tymes, among others, and he has won writing awards from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Short Story America, SEAK Medical Fiction Writing, and an honorable mention from Writer’s Digest.

Joel lives with his wife (who works overtime as his muse, editor, and coach) in Upstate South Carolina, but they often travel together around and outside of the United States. He is currently revising an international medical thriller and seeking representation.

WOW: Joel, congratulations on placing third in the WOW! Flash Fiction Contest, and welcome to The Muffin! I'm intrigued with the untold story resting within “Missing U.” What did Jess write that has everyone on edge?

Joel: I’m not sure the people of Beason would want that dredged up all over the internet! Suffice it to say they were none too happy having all their embarrassing stories and dirty little secrets packed into a bestselling novel (especially the part about the cow, the grain silo, and the deputy).

WOW: Yikes! Yes, maybe some things are best left unsaid and left to imagination. (Smiles) Inspiration for a story intrigues me. I’m guessing the motivation for “Missing U” may have something to do with wordplay and church signs. Am I correct?

Joel: There are tons of churches where I currently live and most have message boards out front with attempts at witty sayings. When I was driving home one day, I saw one was missing a letter. I don’t recall what the sign read (something about Jesus, though), and the missing letter wasn’t that important, but I imagined what might happen if it was. By the time I got home, the whole story had formed in my head. The title came later; I originally planned to call it “The Return”, but after I had finished, I realized “Missing U” was far more effective, one that only made sense after you read the whole story.

WOW: I agree; it’s quite an effective title. When I write, one of the first story elements I work on is tone. In my opinion, tone is extremely important because it needs to be consistent and balanced. How difficult was it to balance the humorous and serious tones in the piece?

Joel: The original version was more serious. Although Frank and Martha’s characters were still apparent, I realized they needed to be a bit lighter. After all, these are resilient people who don’t linger on the past. They would’ve had to move on by now, even though they wouldn’t admit there was still lingering tensions in the community (and between Frank and Martha) since Jess left. So I gave them back their sense of humor as a way of protecting themselves against their own pain.

WOW: It works wonderfully in this piece. Your bio mentions you are seeking representation. Please share your search for an agent with our readers - what have been some of the struggles? What's been relatively easy? Anything you would change?

Joel: Finding an agent is definitely an uphill battle, even with several published short stories under my belt. I’ve pitched five or six different manuscripts (everything from picture books to non-fiction). When I started out, I had no idea what I was doing and got nowhere. It’s taken numerous books, websites, and support from online writing communities (FanStory and QueryTracker in particular) to figure out how to effectively query. If I could have a do-over, it would be to do the research on writing and querying earlier in the game. Of course, most of the time I still receive form replies (if I get anything at all), which is extremely frustrating, but does make that tidbit of useful feedback from an agent or editor all the more valuable. It takes some time to get over having someone criticize one’s “baby”, but a good writer needs to do that in order to grow.

WOW: Yes, yes, yes! It’s important for a writer to get feedback and grow as a writer. With that in mind, what's the next step in your writing career?

Joel: I’ve used the feedback from a handful of very helpful agents to overhaul my medical thriller manuscript and am now ready to resubmit; in the meantime, I’ve started work on the sequel. One of the side effects of revising one project is discovering new ways to improve others. While I’ve abandoned a few projects, I’ve gone back and identified several short stories, novellas, and novels that require substantial revision, but if they’re worth salvaging, they’re worth the effort of revising.

WOW: Sage advice! Best of luck with your writing endeavors, Joel, and once more, congratulations!

by LuAnn Schindler

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2 comments 2013 winter flash fiction contest, Contestant interview, Flash Fiction Contest, Joel Shulkin, LuAnn Schindler, Missing U