A really helpful, enlightening and encouraging talk on Flash Fiction. Thank you @bridportprize @barbaradiggswrites @tania_hershman_writes and @jellecauwenberghs for your insight and advice - and for sharing your stories. What shone out to me was that there are no rules, write what you want to write, not everyone will like it but some will. Give yourself permission to experiment. #writing #bridportprize #bridportflashfiction #writer #flashfiction #bridportshortstoryprize #writersofinstagram #writingspace #writerscommunity #experimentwithwriting #writingcompetition #writinginspiration
A really insightful evening courtesy of @bridportprize ! Thank you to @epchiew @seanluskauthor and Ben Hinshaw for their incredibly useful advice on short story writing. I can't wait to put what I learned tonight into practice ✍️ #bridportprize #elainechiew #seanlusk #benhinshaw #writing #shortstory #shortstorywriter #bookfairy #shortstories #shortstorywriting #bookfairies #shortstorychallenge #writer #shortstorycompetition #writersofinstagram #writerscommunity #writingcompetition #writinginspiration #readingrecommendations #reading #bridportshortstoryprize
I’ve achieved a writing milestone: my short story, ‘Sick Ground’, about urban exploration and apathy in the face of climate breakdown, has been shortlisted for this year’s Bridport Short Story Prize. This is the furthest any of my stories have made it in any competition. I have lots of thoughts around the external validation we as writers seek from prizes, and my main focus has always been on developing my craft and following my own creative interests and instincts, regardless of what judges of a writing competition might think. That said, making it into the top 2% of thousands of entrants feels well worth celebrating. ‘Sick Ground’ will be included in the new collection of short stories I’ve started to work on, approaching climate change through different societal and cultural lenses. I basically can’t write anything that doesn’t somehow touch on the climate crisis these days, so why not make it the focus of my work? I hope you’ll all one day get to read this story and others. Congratulations to all the other shortlisted, highly commended and prize-winning writers, as well as all those who took a punt ⭐️ @bridportprize #bridportshortstoryprize #shortstorywriter #writingcommunity #amwriting #writinglife #shortstory #writersofinstagram #literarylife #mywritinglife #bookstagram #shortstorywriter #igwriters #womenwritingfiction