TSS Flash 400 - Highly Commended

I am so happy to have been Highly Commended in the TSS Publishing Flash 400 competition. This is a quarterly competition which attracts a couple of hundred entries and is pretty highly-thought-of in the flash fiction world. Certainly many of the other names on the shortlist are ones who have a track record of publication and competition wins behind them, so I was delighted to find my name up there among them!

When I got the e-mail from the judges saying that I was “very, very close” to finishing in the top three, I was stunned. My story - Blame, a summary - was a complete departure for me from my usual writing. It was the first time I’d found myself inspired by an “issue” enough to write on it. I also found myself writing in quite an experimental style - short paragraphs, each starting with the same two words, never actually mentioning the subject of the story explicitly… I honestly didn’t know whether it was one of the best things I’d ever written or was weird and rubbish.

It has confirmed to me that I want to focus on short and flash fiction for the time being. My heart is definitely there and I feel as if I’m learning so much from it. By concentrating on very short fiction I think I will become a better writer so when life provides the season to make novel-writing more possible I will be ready. I may have had a novel published, but I don’t feel as if I’m a novelist. I have so much to learn about the craft of writing and I’m excited to learn it!

I wish I could share my story here with you but it will be published by TSS Publishing in due course. If you would like to read it I will let you know when and where as soon as I can!