Congratulations to Anne Muccino for her flash fiction piece, "A Preponderance of Hope," which was a runner up in the Summer 2011 contest. If you haven't checked it out yet, you can read it here.
Anne lives in the Kansas City area with her two sons—Daniel and Jack. She is currently pursuing her BA in English with an emphasis in creative writing while drafting her second novel. Anne is a member of several writing groups and is the writing group coordinator for The Writers Place in Kansas City, Missouri, www.writersplace.org.
WOW: Congratulations, Anne, on being a runner-up. What gave you the idea for "A Preponderance of Hope"?
Anne: The piece was born out of an exercise from the 3AM Epiphany book by Brian Kiteley, which involved taking two unrelated photographs or paintings and weaving a story between the two, one of which was a barn collapsing and the other a picture of Henri Matisse, which I didn't realize until I had chosen it. Both came from a book of LIFE magazine photos. I simply crafted a story from my imagination with the help of these photos.
WOW: What a great exercise that really paid off! Tell us a little about your writing process for flash fiction. Do you tend to write it quickly, revise, and then you are done? Or are you a tweaker, where you are constantly playing with the words by deleting and adding and so on?
Anne: I do tend to write it quickly, but polish it with a number of drafts before I get it to where I want it.
WOW: Where did you come up with the title for your piece? Do you feel the title is important in flash fiction?
Anne: The piece I wrote was about hope, so that fits the description, preponderance meaning weight--the weight of hope. I liked that. Titles can be important--I know I am drawn to books or short stories (even flash fiction) when the title is intriguing or unusual. But I think the body of the flash fiction is the most important--especially a compelling first sentence.
WOW: In your bio, it says you are pursuing a degree in English with an emphasis in creative writing. Do you feel this degree is making you a better writer? If so, how?
Anne: I feel that once I get into the heart of the core creative writing classes it will further me as a writer, yes. But I think any time spent writing is an exercise in perfecting your craft. I belong to several groups--writing exercise group, free writing group, and a couple critique groups. Each time I am held to deadlines and put pen to paper I am improving my writing.
WOW: That is so true! You are also the writing group coordinator for The Writers Place in Kansas City, MO. Tell us a little more about The Writers Place, and what your position entails.
Anne: It's The Writers Place, based in the Westport district of Kansas City, Missouri, which serves as a literary community center, library, and gathering place for writers and readers since 1992. They provide support, resources, guidance and inspiration for those in the KC area who care about the written word as art. I am responsible for forming writing groups from pools of writers who contact The Writers Place looking for connections.
WOW: It sounds like a great place to meet other writers and network! Why do you think it is important to belong to a writing group?
Anne: I think it's invaluable as a tool for improving your writing. Many writers tell me they don't have the time to write or can't seem to make time to devote to their craft. When you are part of a group, you have deadlines and obligations to have your writing prepared, so in that way it keeps you churning out those manuscripts and keeps you writing.
WOW:I completely agree with you. My writing group definitely keeps me writing and working on my novel. Thank you, Anne, for sharing your writing life with us today. Best of luck to you in the future!
Anne: Thank you!
interview conducted by Margo L. Dill
