Tuesdays are one of my favorite days spent at The Muffin because we get to hear from our flash fiction winners. This helps us create a community of writers bonded together by our love of flash. Here are a few pearls of wisdom from last season's winners. 

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Emmanuelle de Maupassant on taking risks:

I think 'flash' gives you license to be more experimental with structure, combining poetry and prose. Readers are tolerant of this in 'flash' form where they wouldn't be in a longer work. And, at the end of the day, you're writing to capture your reader's attention. That's the most thrilling part of writing, for me: imagining the reader at the other end. I want to play with emotions, provoke a response. This seems so much easier to do in 'flash' form, where you can be a daredevil.

So, my advice is to take risks and give your reader something surprising: in style and content. Dazzle them.

Read the entire interview here.

I try to cram as much writing time into the hours my children are in school as I can so that I can spend my late afternoons on mom duty. I block two hours every weekday morning as untouchable time. I don't schedule appointments, answer the phone, check email or social networks and instead focus exclusively on my work in progress. I find that by protecting that time I have become more productive in the hours that surround it. I may get to my desk and start work earlier or stay longer if I'm in a good flow. That leaves my afternoons, before the boys get home from school, for research, new projects or that really important Target run for all those things I didn't know I needed. 

Read the entire interview here.

Cheryl Fines cautions on seeking feedback from others:

What I like least about writing is having grave misgivings about something I've written, or how I've written it. These don't tend to come from within, but rather when I seek feedback from others. For instance, I've been strongly advised against "head hopping" (switching narrators throughout the piece), and was cautioned not to use a flashback format. Both of these pieces of advice stopped my writing dead in its tracks. Once I've doubted a piece, and set it aside - or worse, scrapped it and started over - it's never quite the same. I'm not essentially a blind rule-follower. I wish I'd never had these particular pieces of advice, because when I step back and think about the creative process of writing, I prefer to think that there are no hard-and-fast rules in writing. As an expression of one's imagination, surely there can't be rigid rules like those to follow. 

Read the entire interview here.

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Megan Waters on throwing word count out the window:

When writing a first draft, throw word count out the window. Write as much as you can so you, as the writer, understand your characters, plot, setting, etc. Once you have a firm grasp on the main theme of your story, whittle away the extraneous fluff. Also, if you get stuck, don't get discouraged. Put the story away for a day or two and don't think about it. When you go back to re-read it, you will see it with fresh eyes and find it easier to edit--or at least I do!

Read the entire interview here.

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Marie Mazur on why she used to detest short stories and why she likes them now:

I find it amusing that for most of my life I really detested short stories. I think I can still hear my groans when I'd sign up for a literature class in college and discovered that there was an anthology of short stories on the reading list. I enjoyed burying my life for weeks under the weight of voluminous novels, to live the characters' lives as I was living my own. I loved the ups and downs of novels and the long build up to the climax. Nothing that I loved seemed to exist in short stories, and certainly not in flash fiction. Yet, as a wanna-be-writer, I had so many bits and pieces in my head that could be turned into flash fiction stories. So my choice of flash fiction was simply to clear my head of swirling chaos, but I quickly discovered that I loved writing them. For one thing, there was no slogging through the mud trying to move from one point to the next that exists when you are trying to hash out a novel. Flash fiction pours out of you. And most pleasurably, you get to an ending. If you are a writing that never-ending novel, writing a story that comes to an end is nirvana. If this isn't enough incentive, the inevitable editing that is required to get your story under the word limit is one of the best writing exercise you will ever experience. So, I would recommend every writer give it a try.

Read the entire interview here.

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Michelle Rene on working with agent(s):

As for my publishing journey, I had an agent a while back. We were not a good fit, so we went our separate ways. I sold my first two novels, a novella, a novelette, and several short stories myself to indie publishers and magazines. My novel, I Once Knew Vincent, won a few indie awards, so I decided to look for a new agent. I signed with RO Literary in early 2016, and they sold Hour Glass to Amberjack Publishing last year. Hour Glass will release in February 2018. 

This sounds super easy all condensed like that, but to all you authors out there who are trying to get agents and trying to get published, it wasn't easy. There are pros and cons to all aspects of publishing whether you're agented, unagented, indie published, self published, or traditionally published. I've done all of these. The only thing I think I've done right is believe, with unwavering tenacity, that Hour Glass deserved a good home. I found that with Amberjack.

Read the entire interview here.

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Danielle Dreger shares some tips for library users (she's a librarian, folks!):

I'm currently the Teen Services Coordinator for Sno-Isle Libraries in Marysville, WA. One of the best tips I have for library users is, if you don't see the book you want on the shelf (or in the catalog), ask the librarian to order it! Libraries rely on recommendations, especially when it comes to books by indie authors and small presses. If they don't have the funds to purchase it, they can always ask another library system to mail the book! Another tip: people forget that libraries offer more than free books and movies. Many libraries now have access to streaming services like Freegal or Hoopla for brand new music and TV shows, offer cutting edge programs like ukulele lessons or home brewing talks, and have online resources to help entrepreneurs start small businesses, teach travelers new languages, and provide free practice tests for SATs, ACTs, and professional exams.

Read the entire interview here.

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Lew Gibb on The Book Project at The Lighthouse Writer's Workshop:

I have learned so much at the Lighthouse. The teachers are fantastic and I can't say enough about all the really creative writers who are participating in the Book Project program. It's a two year program, during which students take classes and work with a mentor to produce a full-length book. Along the way our mentors guide us through the process and help with the mechanics of getting started, keeping it going, revising, and ultimately publishing.

Read the entire interview here.

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Meg O'Connor on writing from an emotional experience and on "failing":

I'm not sure I feel qualified to give advice, but here I go anyway... I think "Lost Soul" was successful in part because it sprung from an experience that was very emotional and powerful, and I attempted to capture those feelings. However, I have written many other stories that felt important and emotional to me but did not "succeed" in contests or resonate with a broader group of readers. "Be willing to fail" is a fairly common piece of writing advice, but I'd like to add to that: fail quickly and in rapid succession. I tend to be more successful putting a "failed" story away for a while and generating new material than trying to continually edit a piece that maybe didn't have the spark or emotional impact I desired to begin with. I put "failed" in quotations because, like most writers I know, I have gained something from each piece I've written. Especially the awful ones.

Read the entire interview here.

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Heidi Scholes on writing flash and killing darlings:

I think anyone considering writing a flash fiction should just jump right in and do it. What do they have to lose? Absolutely nothing but a little time. And they might be pleasantly surprised with the result. I think the most important thing is to figure out your story (beginning, middle and end) before you start. Think of it as a road map. 

The other important thing is be prepared to edit, edit, edit. In small word count pieces like Flash Fiction, every single word has to earn its keep, meaning it has to either move the story forward, or it has to show character important to the story. You don't have the luxury of overwriting. And also be prepared to kill a lot of "darlings" - those beautiful little gems that you write and love but don't add a whole lot to the story.

Read the entire interview here.

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Stay tuned for the Spring '17 season's winners' interviews! Stop by on Tuesdays at The Muffin very soon for more tips from fellow writers! 

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Deadline: August 31, 2017

QUICK GUIDELINES:

Open Prompt: You can write about anything in any genre as long as it's fiction.

Word Count: 250 words minimum; 750 words maximum

Submission Types: Electronic submissions via e-mail only; no postal submissions; reprints are okay; multiple submissions are okay as long as they are submitted in their own individual e-mail.

Entry Fee: $10 per story; option to purchase a critique for an additional $10

GUEST JUDGE:

Literary Agent Quressa Robinson

Quressa Robinson joined the D4EO Literary Agency in 2016 after working for five years as an acquiring editor at St. Martin's Press, where she edited both fiction and non-fiction. Her acquisitions include CERTAIN DARK THINGS (a Publishers Weekly Fall Announcement Top 10 Pick and October B&N Staff Pick) and THE BEAUTIFUL ONES. Both by Locus, World Fantasy, Sunburst, and Aurora Award-nominated author Silvia Moreno-Garcia; SPELLS OF BLOOD AND KIN (which received a starred PW review) by Claire Humphrey; and THE ATLAS OF FORGOTTEN PLACES by Jenny D. Williams among others. She is an alumnus of the University of California Santa Cruz, Columbia University's MFA program, and House Slytherin. There is power in the dark side.

Quressa represents a wide range of literature in the adult and YA market and is actively building her client list. Connect with her @qnrisawesome on Twitter. 

Visit the D4EO Literary Agency: http://www.d4eoliteraryagency.com/ 

PRIZES:

20 Winners Total! We raised the cash prizes this season!

1st Place: $400 cash prize; $25 Amazon Gift Certificate; Published on WOW!; Interview on The Muffin

2nd Place: $300 cash prize; $25 Amazon Gift Certificate; Published on WOW!; Interview on The Muffin 

3rd Place: $200 cash prize; $25 Amazon Gift Certificate; Published on WOW!; Interview on The Muffin

7 Runners Up: $25 Amazon Gift Certificate; Published on WOW!; Interview on The Muffin 

10 Honorable Mentions: $20 Amazon Gift Certificate; Name and title of story published on WOW!

How to Enter: Visit the Contest Page and download the Summer 2017 Flash Fiction Contest PDF for full guidelines, pay the entry fee on the contest page (link below), and submit via e-mail to contest[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com.

Visit: http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php