So far, so good, I say: it’s still only January and I’ve kicked off my fiction writing year, starting out on point 3 of my resolutions. That’s a whole lot earlier than last year.
This weekend I’ve been participating in the Writers Weekly 24-Hour Short Story Contest for the first time. The concept is quite neat: the topic and word limit are emailed to participants at midday on Saturday (US time – unfortunately that’s 3am Sunday morning here). You then have 24 hours to write a short story and send it back. That’s pressure. And that’s how I get writing done!
At the moment (with 11 hours to go) I’ve got a complete story. I think I like it. I’ve written so few short stories in the past few years that it’s really hard to be sure. The contest guidelines seem to emphasise surprises and interesting endings, so I’ve tried to focus on that. I’ve got a few friends coming round for the evening so I’ll have to put it aside (that’s a good thing), then try to come back fresh late tonight and send it in before the deadline (3am). If only I lived in North America I could have a night to sleep on it, but that’s the price I pay for living Down Under.
