Meet Flash Fiction Top Ten Winner, Elizabeth Maggio

Elizabeth’s Bio: I still have the Tom Thumb typewriter on which I pecked out simple stories in childhood. It reminds me of when my writing career began. I never set out to be a fiction writer but looking back, telling stories and an imagination were always a part of me. I got a degree in geology—I love science—but that didn’t get in the way of my writing. I simply turned that degree into a rewarding career in science writing. Switching to fiction was hard. I built my science writing achievements on factual accuracy, and it took a while to give myself permission to make up the facts.

I’m retired now and thoroughly love spending time on my fiction. I’ve been working on a novel since the Pleistocene and switching to flash fiction when I’m in a dry spell helps me move the novel ahead.

I live in Clifton, Virginia, with my husband Ike Ghozeil and a dear old cat named Bailey.

interview by Marcia Peterson

WOW: Congratulations on your top ten win in our Summer 2017 Flash Fiction competition! What inspired you to enter the contest?

Elizabeth: Years ago a writer friend introduced me to WOW. I enjoyed its articles and I was intrigued by this thing called “flash fiction.” I had no idea what that was but after researching the genre and reading a few winning entries I decided to try my hand. As a former newspaper reporter, I was used to dashing out 1,000-word stories before deadline. So, 750 words would be a piece of cake, right? Was I wrong! It's tough to write a complete story with protagonist, story arc, etc. in so few words. But I found that doing so allowed my creativity to blossom.

WOW: Can you tell us what inspired your story, "A Touching Compromise?"

Elizabeth: This story is a dark departure from my usual genre that touches on magic realism. But I had to get it out of my system. It started as a scene in my novel that I had to jettison because it just didn't work. Still, the scene haunted me. How would such a story line play out? What solace could be offered to a young mother when the body of her murdered daughter is too gruesome to view? I wondered if a compromise solution was even possible. Letting my imagination run free, without the constraints imposed by my novel, I ended up writing "A Touching Compromise."

WOW: What do you enjoy about flash fiction writing versus the other kinds of writing that you do?

Elizabeth: Flash fiction is my go-to therapy for writing blocks. I've been working on my novel for ages, and it's frustrating. But flash fiction is concise and I see a result relatively quickly.

WOW: Describe a typical day spent writing. Do you have any unusual writing habits?

Elizabeth: I wish I had writing habits! I do meet with my writing group every Wednesday but other than that, writing habits are nonexistent. I've tried writing at a set time each day or producing a specific amount of text, but it just doesn't work for me. I have finally accepted, after trying all of the aforementioned good-writing habits, that my muse is unpredictable and unstructured. So I write when she moves me. Often that's triggered by something I read in the newspaper (I still read the print version of the Washington Post every morning). I do have one writing trick that has helped me: While reading an ebook on my Nook, I'm constantly highlighting passages that trigger an idea for a scene, a piece of dialog, or a new flash fiction story. I add a note to the highlighted text, sketch a snippet of possible scene/dialog, and then email it to myself. When I see the email, I'm moved to flesh out the snippet. In this way I move my novel or flash fiction piece forward. The downside is that it takes me forever to get through reading a book!

WOW: Thanks so much for chatting with us today, Elizabeth. Before you go, do you have any tips for our readers who may be thinking about entering writing contests?

Elizabeth: Oh yes. Don't be afraid to put your writing out there. It's not about winning but about being brave with what you write. And ask for a critique, if offered, which the WOW flash fiction contest does. I always do. It's an invaluable add-on to the entry free, both of which are modest. The critiques are always helpful and not put downs. I'm amazed at how perceptive those editor eyes can be. "A Touching Compromise" was dinged in one spot (I'm not telling), which I had felt needed addressing but which I ignored. I've learned now to trust my gut.

****

WE NOW HAVE TWO CONTESTS!

WOW! Women On Writing now hosts two quarterly contests: one for fiction writers and one for nonfiction writers. Click on the links below for information and entry:

Quarterly Flash Fiction Contest

Quarterly Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest

Read More »

1 comment contest interview, elizabeth maggio, flash fiction runner up, Marcia Peterson, Summer 2017 Flash Fiction Contest, tips for writers, writer inspiration

Interview with Kathy Joyce, Summer 2017 Flash Fiction Runner Up

Today we are talking with Kathy Joyce, one of the runner's up in the Summer 2017 Flash Fiction contest. If you haven’t had the chance, make sure you read her incredible story, “Secrets of an Old Maid” and then come back over and read her interview below. 

Kathy’s Bio:

With a certain plan for her life, Kathy started serious fiction writing nineteen years ago. A couple of months later she met her husband. (...plan a wedding, have a family, adopt a few pets, renovate a house, build a business, care for aging parents...) She wrote all those years in between, as President of M. Kathleen Joyce & Associates, serving clients as an organization development consultant, facilitator, and educator.

The fiction laid fallow, but the seeds took root; they now insist on flowering. So, Kathy is pruning a domestic thriller, fertilizing a mystery, and planting other literary seeds. On especially sunny days, she propagates short stories and flash, or sows creative nonfiction. America Magazine has published her essays, and her fiction has won prizes from WriterAdvice.com, Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition (forthcoming), and Pulp Literature (forthcoming).

Kathy lives in Michigan with her teenaged son and daughter, bossy poodle, and very patient husband.

WOW: Thank you for taking the time to talk with us today. Your story was so moving and incredibly sad, but so well told. What inspired this story?

Kathy: Thank you! I loved writing this story. Years ago, I saw a newspaper article about a young couple who bought a home from two elderly sisters. They found an infant’s skeleton hidden in a box. The story stuck with me. Did one of the women have the child? Why did they leave the skeleton in the house? I always assumed that they both knew about the pregnancy, but later, I wondered.

Overlaid on this story is my family history, (which relates to the setting, not the incident). My dad’s family homesteaded in the Dakotas in the late 1800s, and that era and location has always fascinated me. Add a familial propensity for storytelling over generations, and I have so much imagination about that time and place.

WOW: I love that you based this on something you read in the newspaper as well as your family history! I can see you are a busy writer and seem to be working on quite a couple of different books right now. How do you handle these projects on top of everything else in your life?

Kathy: Honestly, this is not something that serves me well. I love spinning a yarn, letting the novel flow. That’s the fun part. But I’ve learned that the payoff writing, the part that gets you to publication, comes in revisions, which don’t enthrall me. So, I start new stories to avoid revising the ones I have! My goal for 2018 is to finish the revisions on my first two manuscripts.

In terms of handling projects, I set goals. A lot of advice says to write every day, but getting daily words on a page is difficult with a business, a family, an elderly parent. So, I’ve expanded the definition of ‘writing’ to include making notes about stories, reading, connecting with other writers, and thinking through plotlines and characters. I let it all matter. So, I feel accomplished, even if word count doesn’t rise every day.

WOW: I can completely relate to avoiding revisions! I struggle with that myself. What is your greatest source of inspiration for your stories?

Kathy: My stories are mostly based on experiences or observations of people. I wonder about why something happened, and create a story. For personal experiences, I try to tell the story from the perspective of someone else in the situation, not me. For example, a man once asked me to buy him a loaf of bread. He had spent the last of his money on medicine, and had no food for his family. When I came out of the store with a bag of groceries, he cried. What must it have been like for him to realize his situation, and make the decision to become a beggar for his family’s sake? That question turned into a nice short story that I’m submitting now.

WOW: I love how you write stories from real experiences, but from another person’s perspective. What is your advice for new writers looking to make their way in short fiction? What is the best advice you've ever been told?

Kathy: I feel like such a new writer myself! I’m not an expert, but I can offer inspiration. First, writing short fiction has honed my writing skills so much! It is very different than writing a novel, but the revising and editing needed for short fiction benefits my longer work. It also gives me encouragement and a sense of accomplishment. I would advise any writer to try a variety of writing. Second, almost every story that I’ve had published or rewarded was rejected somewhere else first. Keep writing and keep submitting.

In the best writing class I ever took, the professor would have us write something, then say, “cut it by half,” or “add fifty words.” I still do that with my work. Once a story is ‘finished,’ I try to reduce the number of words by at least twenty-five percent. The stories always improve. Then I reduce or add words, based on submission guidelines.

WOW: What great advice that professor shared with you! And I couldn't help but notice the gardening metaphors in your bio. Do you like to garden or spend time in nature? How does that inspire you?

Kathy: As a concept, gardening is a life philosophy for me. The truth that things die and come back to life holds so much hope. Winter comes, and spring follows. Always. If plants die, there are infinite other plots to sow. That’s such a powerful idea when things seem lost or hopeless. It applies to writing too. How often do we bury a story because it’s not working, then a little idea sprouts, and soon that same dead story is blooming and growing? Same with rejection. It feels so lousy, but you plant the story somewhere else, and it thrives. I love the idea of growing words into stories, and ideas into plots and characters. Writing can be discouraging, but, in the end, like gardening, it’s lifegiving.

Thank you again Kathy for taking the time to chat with us and for your beautiful story!

Make sure you can find Kathy over at her blog and Twitter @Kathyjoycewrite and her website.

Interview by Nicole Pyles

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2 comments contest winner, Kathy Joyce, Runner up, Summer 2017 Flash Fiction Contest

Meet First Place Flash Fiction Winner, Ezzy Languzzi

Ezzy Languzzi is a Latinx writer of speculative short fiction and contemporary MG/YA. Her fantasy short story “Naranjas Inmortales” appeared in Strange California: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction. Her second story to be accepted for publication, ‘Viva La Muñeca,’ will appear in the Upper Rubber Boot Books anthology titled Broad Knowledge: 35 Women Up to No Good. She’s an MFA candidate in Popular Fiction Writing and Publishing at Emerson College and a 2017 Las Dos Brujas Writers Workshop participant. Her contemporary MG novel Where Hazard Meets Newhope was chosen as a finalist in the 2016 Pitch América competition. Ezzy holds a M.Ed. in School Counseling and B.S. in Public Administration. She lives in MA with her husband, son, and two crazy Labradoodles. Only her mother calls her Esmeralda.

Connect with her online:
Twitter: @EzzyLanguzzi
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/ezzylanguzzi
Instagram: @ezzylanguzzi
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ezzylanguzzi

interview by Marcia Peterson

WOW: Congratulations on your first place win in our Summer 2017 Flash Fiction competition! What inspired you to enter the contest?

Ezzy: Thank you! I can't even express how happy and surprised I was when the announcement email arrived in my inbox. I happened to be on a field trip and was sitting with colleagues at the time. They were so happy for me. Many learned for the first time that I write. To think that I almost didn't submit my story. Seeing that entries would be anonymized and judged on merit, only, gave me the courage I needed. From my experience, it's not uncommon for writers to lack confidence or fear rejection. It's human nature. It's also something I've been working to overcome. We don't know what we're capable of until we try.

WOW: Can you tell us what encouraged the idea behind your story, "Los Espantos?"

Ezzy: Experiences I had in the neighborhood where I grew up in Southern California influenced my writing of Los Espantos. My community experienced terrible gang violence during the late seventies. When I was in the fourth grade my family was nearly killed in a drive-by shooting. That incident led to my sisters and I not being able to step foot in our home for several days, due to trauma. A few years later, my father's barber shop was set on fire by the neighborhood gang. I was sixteen when I watched my family's livelihood burn to the ground in the middle of the night. Not a day of my childhood passed that I didn't dream of one day "escaping" to a safer community. I recognized the value of pursuing an education from a young age, because it would provide me with access to a professional career. There were times that I doubted my ability to achieve my goals, but I persevered. Even writing the answer to this question I remember the terrible feeling of being trapped and bidding my time with an eye toward the future. It's when I started writing that I examined my life and made a midlife career change. I returned to school for a graduate degree in school counseling, so that I could be the resource I'd needed most as a child.

WOW: You've been through a lot, and are a true success story.  Thank you for sharing your experiences. What key elements do you think make a great piece of flash fiction?

Ezzy: A great piece of flash fiction should tell a story. It's a moment in time that reveals a characters' dreams, wants, desires, while evoking a sense of place. It should have a beginning, middle, and end. Writing flash is an exercise in discerning the utility of every word used. In a lot of ways, flash fiction is more difficult to write than a short story. I think it's a wonderful way to learn how to tighten one's writing. I liken flash pieces to morsels that can be written anytime, anyplace. For example, I wrote "Los Espantos" using the Notes application on my iPhone. It started as a fleeting memory and over time developed into a story of unrealized dreams and loss.

WOW: I love the idea of using the Notes app on the phone to build a story in bits and pieces. You’re currently pursuing an MFA in Popular Fiction Writing and Publishing. Could share a bit about that experience, and why you chose to pursue that path?

Ezzy: I've come by most of my writing education through books and online courses. I started with Writer's Digest online workshops a few years ago, then enrolled in a WOW! fiction workshop with Gila Green. I wanted to further develop my writing skills and began to explore an MFA, but feared the amount of time spent away from home, sitting in class and commuting. My husband was diagnosed two years ago with a rare form of blood cancer and we have a fifteen-year-old son. Because I work full-time during the day, being home is important to me. I happened upon Emerson's online MFA in Popular Fiction Writing and Publishing while searching low-residency programs and applied. I'm enrolled full-time and survived my first term this past fall. The key benefit of Emerson's program is that lessons are delivered through Canvas asynchronously, which allows me complete my schoolwork anytime. My first term I took a course in utopian, dystopian, and apocalyptic literature and a writer's workshop, where I read and critiqued others' work, while sharing my own. I've never worked so hard in my life. The program is rigorous and as much as I complained, I loved every minute of it, ending the term with an A in each class. The flexible, online format is the best fit for my lifestyle.

WOW: Congratulations on the A that you earned, and good luck with your next courses! Thanks so much for chatting with us today, Ezzy. Before you go, do you have any tips for our readers who may be thinking about entering writing contests?

Ezzy: Absolutely! First, it's critical to find a writer's group who can offer feedback on our work. Family and friends are wonderful first readers, but it's better to have writers critique our writing. They're better able to impartially comment on elements such as structure, plotting, point-of-view, and pacing. Second, read read read. Read fiction and non-fiction. Read classics, memoirs, genre. I read quite a bit more than I write. Third, take writing classes, enroll in workshops, read books on the craft. We learn as much, if not more, from critiquing other's work as we do from writing our own. Lastly, don't self-reject!

****

WE NOW HAVE TWO CONTESTS!

WOW! Women On Writing now hosts two quarterly contests: one for fiction writers and one for nonfiction writers. Click on the links below for information and entry:

Quarterly Flash Fiction Contest

Quarterly Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest

Read More »

1 comment contest interview, Ezzy Languzzi, first place winner, flash fiction, Marcia Peterson, MFA, Summer 2017 Flash Fiction Contest, writer inspiration, writer tips

Interview with Joy Givens, Summer 2017 Flash Fiction Contest Runner Up

Joy Givens is an award-winning author who mostly writes fiction for young adults and children. Joy’s debut novel, Ugly Stick, was published in 2013, followed by a short story collection titled April’s Roots. In 2016 Joy released a nonfiction guide, The New SAT Handbook, which she co-authored with Andrew Cole. Her latest print publication credit is “The Shot Shared Round the World,” a humorous short story included in the forthcoming Beach Life anthology from Cat & Mouse Press.

Joy resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with her fantastic husband, their two remarkable sons, and an impossibly lovable dog. In addition to her writing, Joy is the owner and lead tutor of Givens Academic and Preparatory Tutoring, a company serving the greater Pittsburgh area. She also enjoys singing and listening to most genres of music, cooking for family and friends, and curling up with a good book and good coffee. Please catch up with Joy on social media!

Twitter: @JoyEilene
Instagram: @JoyEilene
Facebook: www.facebook.com/JoyGivensBooks
Website: www.joygivens.wordpress.com

Read Joy's heartfelt story about family dynamics many of us can relate to and then return to learn more about how Joy'w writing habits and some of her favorite children's/young adult authors!

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

WOW: Welcome, Joy! We would love to hear the inspiration behind your story, "Million-Dollar Burrito." And thank you for making those of us with slightly dysfunctional families feel much more normal now!

Joy: Well, all stories begin with a kernel of the truth, right? :) The kernel of inspiration for this story came from a similar kind of situation within my own family. In thinking about how we process family "announcements" and relate to the people closest to us, I wanted to explore a fictional situation (fraught with more drama than my own) as a close pair of sisters might handle it. I have been blessed with many wonderful sisterly relationships (sisters, stepsisters, a sister-in-law, and close friends who often feel like sisters), and I've definitely seen those relationships emerging more in my own work lately. And whenever and however families are expanded, no matter the happy reason, there are also many angles of human drama to explore as a result! That's what I was going for with "Million-Dollar Burrito," and I hope I found the middle ground between humor and heartstrings in a relatable way.

WOW: I'd say you most certainly did. Looking at your bio, you mostly write for young adult readers, and have recently branched out into picture books. Can you give us an overview of a few of the works of fiction you've published in the past few years?

Joy: My most recently published work is "The Shot Shared Round the World," a short story selected for inclusion in the "Beach Life" anthology from Cat & Mouse Press (Nov 2017). In that story, a girl named Leigh discovers on the way to a big family vacation that a photo of her at a concert she sneaked out to attend has gone viral! Leigh and her net-savvy cousins try to keep her parents from finding out, and in the process their family finds new ways to bridge the generation gap. It was a big story to tell in a short format, but I was pleased with how it turned out. My previously published work also includes several self-pub credits: Ugly Stick, a young adult urban fantasy novel that tells the story of a mother-daughter curse; April's Roots, a short story collection that serves as a serial "prequel" to Ugly Stick; and The New SAT Handbook, a guide that I co-wrote with Andrew Cole and released in 2016. I'm currently working on several projects that all revolve around fairy tale and folktale retellings, including a YA spin on Rapunzel that incorporates a Snow White revamp (as the villain!) and picture book texts that update folktales like "The Gingerbread Man" and "Stone Soup" in contemporary, fem-STEM settings. I love taking something classic and widely recognized and turning it into something new!

WOW: The New SAT Handbook piqued my interest because I remember how much I struggled with the test and worry for my kids who will have to take it in the few years. With so many "test prep" guides out there, how did you and your co-author work to present the material in a much more user-friendly format?

Joy: That's a great question! I had been teaching and tutoring for several years when the College Board announced the "new" SAT that would be implemented in Spring 2016. Andrew Cole and I banded together to develop a sort of workbook that we could use with our own students, and the idea grew from there. We definitely came at the Handbook with the perspective of tutors who have seen what works (and doesn't) with a range of students. The first thing we considered was brevity, not only because we didn't have an army of interns to create pages of filler, but also because so much of the content in the big test prep guides is just that: filler. As a tutor, I've walked into first lessons with SAT students and seen their faces fall when they see the three-inch-thick books I've brought. In my experience, it's intimidating and ultimately counterproductive to give students a thousand bloated pages of test prep when the essentials can be condensed into a "little" book! My frame of reference for this is the classic writing guide The Elements of Style by Strunk and White, which was originally developed by Will Strunk as his "little book" on composition for his college students (one of whom was E.B. White). It's concise, clear, and easy to navigate, with even a few pops of dry wit as a bonus. We tried to follow that path with our book... though we went with an intentionally kitschy cartoon pencil and pop culture references in lieu of dry wit. The second thing we considered was readability: making sure a student could use it alone or with a tutor. We included a full topical index at the back and a grammar glossary for that purpose, as well as a brick-by-brick math content review and a slew of grammar modules. It's very much a workbook approach, which leads to the third consideration for The New SAT Handbook: applicability. We didn't want to make a "test tips and tricks" book that teaches the magic formula to the SAT. We wanted to make a book that provides content that will be valuable to high school students long after test day. Things like reading comprehension, grammar and composition, and fundamentals of math sometimes get overlooked in the rush to "beat" the test. Focusing on those valuable skills is the core of how I teach and tutor, so it was only natural to make that the core of the book as well.

WOW: I love it. I will definitely check this out for my daughter in the next few years. As the owner and lead tutor at an academic preparatory company, how do you balance a full work schedule (and motherhood!) with your writing projects?

Joy: I'm a fairly busy person, and I'd like to say that "balance" is my middle name, but it's not. It's Eilene. Which actually makes for a terrific pun, because it sounds very unbalanced! But honestly, that's often how I feel in my day-to-day: like I'm leaning too far towards one thing and falling short on something else. A common feeling among women in our current society for sure! I wish I could say that there's some magic equation I've found to balance my writing life with my day job and motherhood, but there's just NOT. There are weeks when I crank out chapters and short stories, and then there are weeks when I just can't find the time and head-space to put together even a paragraph because one of my kids has the stomach flu or I have a particularly full work schedule. I don't have a "method," though I certainly admire those who do. I just make time for writing whenever I can. I bring a notepad or my laptop with me anytime I think I might be able to get some words in. I plot out loud to myself in the car when I'm driving to work. And given the choice between writing and sleep at 11pm, I usually choose writing; I'm a born night owl. That being said, I have gotten (slightly) better in recent months about making time for decompressing as well. I worked through a lot of anxiety after becoming a mother for the first time, so I tried to be proactive about giving myself some space when our second little angel arrived in 2016. Yoga, baking, TV competition shows, gardening, and arts and crafts are all my de-stressing friends when I need a recharge.
There's no key to how I "balance" my life. I guess I've just made a measure of peace with the fact that I'm perennially unbalanced and found happiness within that.

WOW: I hear you loud and clear on that! Who are some of your favorite children's authors and what are a few books you'd recommend for middle-grade and young adult readers?

Joy: This is my favorite question! I love talking about what I'm reading, because from childhood I was a reader first and a writer second. Here are my favorite reads of 2017:

It Ain't So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas (or anything by Firoozeh Dumas; she's incredible and hilarious and heartwarming.)
All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by Leslie Connor (This story was utterly original, and the conclusion's emotional pay-off brought tears to my eyes.)
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (This story made me ugly-cry after I finished it. For several hours. Seriously.)
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (He's just brilliant; I previously never gave much thought to novels in verse, and he completely converted me!)
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (This book should be required reading in every high school in America. It's gripping and heartbreaking and raw and real, and you should set aside a day to read it and be changed by it.)
The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters (This book is fascinating, feminist, dark but not too dark, and so enjoyable to read!)

My perennial favorite authors are Madeleine L'Engle, JK Rowling, Mark Dunn, Malcolm Gladwell, Charles Dickens, L.M. Montgomery, Lois Lowry, Gail Carson Levine, and Linda Sue Park.
I have also been fortunate to befriend a ton of talented writers through organizations and networking! Some of my top personal-friend recommendations for middle grade and YA are Stephanie Keyes, Joshua David Bellin, Wende Dikec, Laura Lee Anderson, and Dee Romito.

WOW: Looks like I have some new books to check out and recommend to my kids. Thank you again and you are an inspiration to all the women out there making it happen every day, one day at a time.

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1 comment Contestant interview, Joy Givens, Renee Roberson, Runner up, Summer 2017 Flash Fiction Contest

Interview with Tracy Maxwell, Summer 2017 Flash Fiction Runner Up

Today we are talking with Tracy Maxwell, one of the runner's up in the Summer 2017 Flash Fiction contest. If you haven't had the chance, make sure you check out her fascinating story, "Mazes" and then come back by and read her interview below.

Tracy’s Bio:

Tracy Maxwell is a lover of all things short-form—especially her children. Her poetry and short fiction have been published and prized in anthology and competition, and she recently won Best International Script in the 2017 Tas Gothic Short Screenplay Challenge. As an Addy-winning advertising creative, Tracy’s also written commercials you’ve probably fast-forwarded through. Attempting to extend her word counts, she’s hard at work coaxing a wicked beast of a novel from her stubborn brain, while also tinkering with her first hour-long drama.

WOW: Thank you for taking the time to chat with us and congrats on your story! What was the inspiration behind, "Mazes"? Did it start with an image, a sentence, an idea, research...or?

Tracy: It stems in part from a longstanding aversion to writing romance. I don’t read the genre much, and haven’t found romantic relationships all that compelling in the fiction and content I enjoy. The idea started percolating when I remembered an interview with David Byrne of the Talking Heads I’d read years ago, where he expressed similar sentiments about love songs. His attempt to challenge himself resulted in “Naïve Melody,” one of my very favorite tracks. It’s a romantic song, yes, but it feels almost like a love song for aliens. It was that idea of ‘love songs for aliens’ – along with getting out of my comfort zone – that really sparked “Mazes.”

WOW: I love that you challenged yourself to write in a genre you aren't comfortable in. And I love how Carmen uses her mazes to communicate with the great beyond and the supernatural elements you've included in the story. Does science fiction (or elements of it) always influence your writing? If so, how?

Tracy: Though my favorite author is well known primarily in the genre, I never thought I’d write as much sci-fi as I do! The future and supernatural worlds are freeing landscapes where rules are malleable, which is always helpful and exciting. They’re also great places to plumb how and why people change along with external advances or forces. I also write quite a bit of magical realism, which is really not where I ever thought I’d be.

WOW: Being a science fiction fan myself, I completely agree about the freeing nature of the genre! And congratulations on winning the Tas Gothic Short Screenplay Challenge! Short fiction seems to be your go to writing outlet. Why do you choose short fiction to tell your stories?

Tracy: Thank you so much! I just love the short form. I come from a copywriting background. In advertising, you have to make a tremendous impact in such a tightly defined space. I’ve spent 20 years telling stories in seven words, or 60 seconds, or sometimes in just a name. I think my background affords me a useful toolkit for short fiction, though it’s still always a challenge.

WOW:  That is so true! The need to be brief in short form marketing translates well into short form fiction! So, do you have any advice for new writers wanting to write short fiction? What is the most important thing you can tell them? What mistakes should they avoid making?

Tracy: Know your beats. Those essential moments that propel your story from beginning to end are so important to understand before you start pressing keys, because you need to tell a complete story and don’t have the luxury of word count to make your way there leisurely.

WOW: Those propellers that drive the story forward are so important to know in a short story! So, you mentioned dealing with insomniac thoughts. Can you share some tips on ways to keep track of your ideas, and any tips for insomniacs (or writers simply kept awake by their stories)?

Tracy: Oh, I wish I had the magic sleep juju. No tips there, but I’d love some if you hear any! My brain is always crackling, so I often keep an email draft open on my phone while it charges on my nightstand. With a swipe and a tap I can record the idea, and before I drift off I email the draft to myself. Most of the time.

WOW: Keeping your phone handy to record the idea helps so much! And how did your story change from initial draft to finished form?

The tone changed as I stripped out the extraneous. It was not intentional, but ended up serving the story well.

WOW: Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us and for your fantastic story.

Make sure you find Tracy over at Twitter @SeaMomster for sporadic progress updates, random insomniac thoughts, and hashtag shenanigans.

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3 comments contest winner, Runner up, Summer 2017 Flash Fiction Contest, Tracy Maxwell

Interview with Elle Marr: Summer 2017 Flash Fiction Contest Runner Up

Elle’s Bio:

Elle has been a writer since she was a kid, filling journals with short stories and sneaking into Prodigy forums for adult writers. As an adult herself, she’s graduated to full-length novels, and is probably revising for the umpteenth time at the moment you’re reading this. Her love of flash fiction was born from an appreciation for quick yarns with endings that resonate; she is lucky enough to have had her story “The Bataclan” place 4th in WOW! Women on Writing’s Fall 2015 contest.

Elle’s education includes a Master’s degree from the Sorbonne University in Paris, the setting of her second novel. Moreover, she is one of the many alumni of UC San Diego who never learned to surf. During all hours, she can be found blogging about story structure, publishing, and greenery at www.ellemarr.com or followed on Twitter @ellemarr_ and Instagram @ellemarr1. Although originally from Sacramento, California, she now calls the great Pacific Northwest home, with her fiancé and cat-baby.

If you haven’t done so already, check out Elle’s award-winning story “The Good News” and then return here for a chat with the author.

WOW: Congratulations on placing in the WOW 2017 Summer Flash Fiction Contest! What was the inspiration for your short story, or what prompted you to write it?

Elle: I actually wrote this about two years ago, and have been revising it off and on. At the time, I was interested in examining the relationship between mothers and daughters, and how those roles evolve the older we get. When we're children we view our parents as these demi-gods, then as adults we gain perspective on how our parents (mothers and fathers) are simply people who had kids. Then, if we have children ourselves that perspective takes on another layer of empathy and understanding. I've also always been fascinated with adoption, as my mother was adopted, and grew up with the mystery of her biological family lingering in the back of my mind.

WOW: How interesting—I’m sure that kind of mystery could spark many questions and stories. What do you enjoy the most and/or the least about writing?

Elle: The thrill of effective writing is what keeps me coming back! When I can read a paragraph and enjoy the rhythm of a well-written phrase, or when my own throat closes with emotion despite rereading a story for the hundredth time - that's what I love the most. The least? Probably the waiting. I am horribly impatient and the nature of the publishing industry is hurry-up-submit-your-writing-and-wait.

WOW: Ha ha, yes! I think we can all relate to that hurry-up-and-wait culture of the publishing industry. What are you reading right now, and why did you choose to read it?

Elle: I am reading China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan. It's the second book in the Crazy Rich Asians series, and I want to finish the series (three books) before the movie by director Jon Chu comes out next year. It's a hilarious and immersive story set in several countries in Asia - basically a Pride & Prejudice and Romeo & Juliet mash up (two of my favorite stories). Crazy Rich Asians is a big step in the movement We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) and a fun depiction of Chinese culture, one that I wish I would have had growing up. Representation is so important in art, and it's only recently that major progress is being made.

WOW: What an interesting concept for a mash up! And I agree—more diversity is still needed in books, but I’m glad there has been some progress with books like these. What effect has living in Paris and getting your master’s degree from Sorbonne University had on your writing and creativity?

Elle: I actually lived about thirty minutes outside of Paris, but I went into the city every chance I got. Living there realized a long-held dream of mine, and I pinched myself every day when I bought a croissant or baguette from the local bakery. It fed my creativity, as it does now, re-living the experience in certain aspects of my writing, simply knowing how much art had come from the country, and Paris, specifically. I actually lived across a cobblestone walkway from the birthplace of a major playwright from the 1700's - talk about surreal! Getting my master's degree from the Sorbonne was also surreal, in that I never imagined it was possible for me, as a kid from Sacramento, California. Beyond the historic setting of the Sorbonne, the experience taught me that story structure, knowing how to craft a sentence, and ensuring themes are consistent throughout, are essential in any form of writing - whether that's a manuscript or a twenty-paged research paper. Completing a master's degree in both English and French honed that understanding in me, and now I apply that to creative writing.

WOW: What an amazing experience! Thank you for sharing a bit of it with us. If you could give other creative writers one piece of advice, what would it be and why?

Elle: Keep writing. If it's not very good in the beginning, it will be the longer you work at it - like anything. And give yourself a break from writing. Not too long, but it's important to recharge.

WOW: Thank you for that wise advice. Anything else you’d like to add?

Elle: I'm super excited “The Good News” was chosen for the Top Ten stories this past summer! Thank you again to the WOW! team and to Quressa Robinson, the amazing literary agent and judge this round.

WOW: You are welcome! And thank you for your thoughtful responses. Happy Writing!

Interviewed by Anne Greenawalt, who keeps a blog of journal entries, memoir snippets, interviews, training logs, and profiles of writers and competitive female athletes.

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3 comments Anne Greenawalt, Elle Marr, Runner up, Summer 2017 Flash Fiction Contest

Meet Michelle Hsu, 2nd Place Winner in the Summer 2017 Flash Fiction Contest

Originally from the sleepy suburb of Downers Grove, Illinois, Michelle spent her childhood writing stories to keep herself entertained. After graduating from Northwestern University in 2016 with a double major in Environmental Science and Film, she packed her belongings into a small car and made the time-honored trek to LA to pursue a career in entertainment; she is currently working at NBC.

As a queer POC female writer, Michelle likes to think that she’s the true triple threat Hollywood is scared of. Michelle is particularly interested in writing strong, female characters in the genres of drama, grounded sci-fi, and magical realism. As a child, her role model was Mulan—today, Michelle writes female-oriented stories in the hopes that she will create empowering characters for younger generations to look up to.

Connect with Michelle through her website or Twitter.

Read Michelle's haunting story, Venus, From the Sea, and then check out our comprehensive interview with the author.

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

WOW: Congratulations on your 2nd place win, Michelle! I loved your story and wanted to read more when I was finished. Is "Venus from the Sea" part of a larger body of work you are writing? We'd love to hear more about that.

Michelle: Yes, it is! It started as a feature script. At the time, I was working with a program that takes writers and their scripts out for pitches with different management companies for representation. I completed the first draft in two and a half months--I was writing on a deadline, doing 15+ pages per week so I could have material to show managers.

By the end of that month-long process I was completely drained and beginning to hate the script. I forced myself to put it away for three weeks. When I revisited it with fresh eyes, I fell in love with the characters all over again. The second draft was easier, but it still felt like something was missing. Screenwriting is such a different process than prose because characters' internal struggles have to be manifested visually on screen. It doesn't leave much room to explore the characters in a more personal and in depth way.

I took the first ten pages of my script and wrote it into a 1k prose piece in about a week--with some editing, this was the piece I ended up submitting to WOW! I enjoyed the process so much that I'm currently in the middle of drafting a novel for "Venus from the Sea." I hope that in a little under a year, I'll have something close to a first draft done!

WOW: I love how projects like yours can take a turn for the unexpected. Best of luck with thre rest of your draft! On your website, you have a few specs you've written for TV shows. Can you explain to our readers what a spec is and things to consider when writing one?

Michelle: "Spec" just means "speculative," so when people say they have a spec, they usually mean they have an original pilot or a spec of an existing show. The "spec of an existing show" is going a little out of style these days, and is mainly used for applying to screenwriting fellowships.

When you spec an existing show, you're basically writing an episode that you think can happen. For example, in "Supernatural" there are quite a few "time jumps" where several weeks have passed between episodes. You could write a spec episode based off what you think happened during those missing weeks between episodes. In the case of non-serialized shows or anthologies like "Law and Order" or "Black Mirror," you could write a standalone episode that doesn't have to fit into a chronology.

Spec scripts are mainly used to demonstrate that you can write different character voices, and that you have a good understanding of pacing and plot. There are only 45-60 minutes (25 min, for comedy) in an episode, so writing a great spec really shows that you know how TV show writing works. The biggest thing to consider when writing a spec is whether or not you've got your character voices nailed down. Once you have that, it's easy to come up with the rest.

WOW: You are living the dream so many young writers wish they had the courage to do. Was it hard moving from the midwest to Los Angeles to pursue a career in entertainment?

Michelle: It was definitely tough. I moved out to LA two weeks after college--my friend and I took a four day road trip across the country with all of our possessions crammed into her sedan. I arrived in LA with no paying job, and only a handful of friends. My immigrant parents don't work in the entertainment industry, so career-wise, I was on my own.

I gave myself the ultimatum that if I didn't find a paying job in 'the biz' within the year, I would move back to Illinois and change career paths. I double majored in Environmental Science in college, so I would have gone into something related to that, probably working in water pollution control.

Because of the ultimatum I gave myself, I seized every moment and opportunity I had. I tutored high school kids in SAT while job hunting. I went on coffee meetings with people in the industry I admired. At the same time, I did an unpaid internship at a film production company, and made sure my performance was good enough that two months into it, they "promoted" me to assist the CFO, and were paying me. In October, four months after moving to LA, my friend gave me a referral, and I used that referral and my experience at the internship as a launching point to get into NBC.

I feel incredibly lucky that it all worked out the way it did. I recently passed my one year anniversary of being in LA. I can't believe how much I've grown, and how many talented and awesome friends I've made in the year that I've been here.

WOW: Such an inspirational story! We wish you all the continued success in your career. As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, how do you hope to make an impact in the diversity of entertainment and the media with your work as a writer?

Michelle: Media is incredibly powerful and completely shapes the way we interact with the world. Growing up, I didn't have many strong Asian female role models to look up to in films. I didn't have any queer POC role models. My "coming out" was a slow process that is, honestly, still a process. Not everybody in my life knows how I identify.

I hope that my writing will be able to give more queer POC opportunities in media, until it stops being a "novel concept." Asian representation in western media is still very limited as well--it's frustrating to hear people use "diversity" as a buzzword, but not actually champion diversity in the content they create.

I consciously work on creating accurate portrayals of queer POC characters in my own stories, and hope that some day in the future I'll be able to bring them to life on screen. The dream is to normalize queer POC in media and society--we're making progress, slowly but surely.

WOW: What are some of your favorite TV shows right now and why?

Michelle: There is so much content now that I have a hard time keeping up with it all, even though I work in entertainment and it's my job to!

I tend to write dramatic sci fi and magical realism, so in my free time I'm drawn towards grounded comedy to give myself a break.

So, to give a quick list, I'm currently watching "Orange is the New Black," "The Office," "Bojack Horseman," "Fresh Off the Boat," and "Hell's Kitchen" (it's a guilty pleasure...). There are tons of shows I haven't watched yet that are on my list, including "Sense8," "Game of Thrones," and "Stranger Things" (I know, I'm very behind on the times...). Like everyone, I'm drawn to shows that have relatable and compelling characters. Shows that are a little funny, a little serious, and a little heartbreaking are always my favorite ones!

I'm also a huge movie buff and I'm so excited about the upcoming live action Mulan movie!!

Thank you so much to all of the wonderful people who work at WOW! This experience has been absolutely lovely, and I feel very lucky and honored that I placed second! And congratulations to all of the other winners and honorable mentions as well!

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2 comments 2nd place winner, Michelle Hsu, Renee Roberson, Summer 2017 Flash Fiction Contest

Interview with Elizabeth Jones Hanley: Summer 2017 Flash Fiction Contest Third Place Winner

Elizabeth’s Bio:

Elizabeth Jones Hanley learned almost everything she knows about writing from her father, who was an English professor and poet. Together they started a quarterly poetry journal, The Mid-America Poetry Review, in 2000, and she was associate editor for ten years before the journal folded. She has two published chapbooks of poems: The Art of Making Tea and The Last Winter. Currently, she works in the children’s department of her local public library, writes fiction and poetry, and has successfully survived NaNoWriMo four times. Elizabeth enjoys science fiction, Hitchcock movies, 50’s doo-wop, knitting, and sailing, especially in the British Virgin Islands. Her son has also introduced her to some pretty cool anime. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, son, and two dogs, one of whom knows to the minute when it’s his dinner time and never fails to alert them each day at five o’clock.

If you haven’t done so already, check out Elizabeth’s award-winning story “Feeding the Witch” and then return here for a chat with the author.

WOW: Congratulations on placing third in the Summer 2017 Flash Fiction Contest! What was the inspiration for your short story, or what prompted you to write it?

Elizabeth: A few years ago there was that movie Season of the Witch with Nicholas Cage. My son and I were both intrigued by the previews, and though the movie fell pretty flat with both of us, something in the way the guards interacted with the witch in her cage struck me, and during the “pelting her with food” scene I just wondered, what if they’re really doing that so she’ll have something to eat? It was a case of paying attention to the writer inside who is always watching and listening and flashing up those little “aha” moments. The idea hung out in my head with nothing to anchor it to until this past summer when I realized it would fit nicely in a flash piece.

WOW: Thank you. I love to hear where writers find inspiration. At least something great came out of that movie! What do you enjoy the most and/or least about writing?

Elizabeth: I actually enjoy the rough draft process of discovery when there are no sensors and you just throw in everything you can think of, and I like the wordsmithing, nitty-gritty aspect of the editing process (there's that lovely quote: “I spent the morning putting in a comma and the afternoon taking it out.” Totally me!). I dread, though, the read-through of that crappy first draft and trying to wrestle with the unwieldy mess. It can be discouraging to realize the disconnect between your draft and that shining, brilliant vision you suspect you’re just not capable of.

WOW: Yes, I agree. The first read of a first draft can be very daunting. But then I suppose it’s all that wordsmithing that gets a writer to the “brilliant vision.” What are you reading right now, and why did you choose to read it?

Elizabeth: I just grabbed up Artemis by Andy Weir; Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd, which I am enjoying immensely (I recognize myself on many pages!); and James Bell’s How to Write Pulp Fiction, for an inspiring kick in the pants. I’m also prowling through Harry Potter: A Journey Through a History of Magic put together by the British Library; and I’ve just discovered Paul Anthony Jones’ The Cabinet of Linguistic Curiosities.

WOW: Nice! Quite the array of literature all at once. I read in your bio that you worked on a poetry journal with your father. What did you learn about writing from your father and/or from working on the poetry journal together? Do you think he learned anything about writing from you, too?

Elizabeth: I think the biggest, most helpful thing was witnessing his ability to hone a poem down to the essential words. He was brilliant for focusing on the nugget of a piece. He also instilled a sense of joy in playing with words, with language. His mantra when we were working on the journal was “have fun with it, because if you’re not having fun it’s not worth doing.” He also had an inquisitive mind and read widely and voraciously from everywhere: Fiction, poetry, history, biography, science, philosophy. I’m not sure there was anything he wasn’t interested in on some level.

WOW: I love that advice, to “have fun with it.” If you could give other creative writers one piece of advice, what would it be and why?

Elizabeth: Flippantly: apply the seat of your pants to the seat of your chair and keep banging out the words. Seriously, though, and I have tell myself this too: don’t worry about getting it right, worry about getting it down. Getting it right comes later. You can’t fix what’s not on the page to begin with.

WOW: Wise words! Thank you. Anything else you’d like to add?

Elizabeth: Try not to procrastinate too much. It’s easy to do all sorts of other things in your day instead of writing, but even just 500 words today, no matter how lousy, is 500 words further you’ll be tomorrow. I have to give myself this advice a lot too!

WOW: Thank you so much for your thoughtful responses! Happy Writing!

Interviewed by Anne Greenawalt, who keeps a blog of journal entries, memoir snippets, interviews, training logs, and profiles of writers and competitive female athletes.

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2 comments Anne Greenawalt, Elizabeth Jones Hanley, Summer 2017 Flash Fiction Contest, Third Place Winner