Best #Friday Flash of the Month for August.

Over the course of a month, I figure I read at least 100 flash fiction stories from wonderful bloggers like you all. Some of them are good, some (not yours) are not quite as good. But others are fantastic and I think they should be noted. That's why I decided to start giving out a little award for the best Friday Flash of each month.

There is one judge (me) and the criteria for entering is I need to go to your blog and read your story. The rest is pretty much hard to describe, other than the story needs to really work for me.

Before I get to the winner, I want to give an honorable mention out to Icy Sedgwick's An Unlikely Hero which was a very amusing tale about a zombie superhero. But alas it is down because she sent it out for submission. I wish her the best.

Now for the drumroll...And The winner of the inaugural Friday Flash of the Month Award goes to Helen Howell's for her amusing horror piece, Oh Jack.

I think the reason I found this story so wonderful because it read really quick, but in no way did it feel like a flash piece with how much world building was done and character development was done. I felt like I was there and overall it was just wonderful.

Helen graciously allowed me to interview her and loan some of her wisdom to my little corner of the internet. And without further delay, Helen Howell!

Your blog states that you’ve been writing for 3 years now. Has this always been a passion that you finally got around to?

I had often thought about writing but thought I wouldn't be able to do it. I have always been creative, starting out as a child in ballet classes, then going on in my twenties to be a ballet teacher. So dance was my first creative expression. Later on in my life I got into art and learned how to paint with water colour. I actually exhibited my work for around 18 years. When I stopped doing this there was a gap in my life. So one day I decided to try writing and looked on the internet and came across the BBC's page, 'Lets write,' where they said write about anything. So I went for a walk that day and came back and wrote a small piece about that walk. I sent that piece off to my author friend in the US and she liked it. She encouraged me to continue. I think for me writing is like painting pictures with words. It is an expression of thought, feeling and imagination all drawn together to form one glorious vision, of an initial idea. I have found that I love writing more than I did painting, so it has for me, become a passion.

I also see you have a novel that you are shopping around right now, can you tell us a little about that?

The novel is a fantasy fiction aimed at independent readers of nine years and upwards. It was an idea that came to me one night and I just had to get it down. It's an adventure where a young girl finds out about her ancestors and a story about good defeats the evil of a man's greed.  The initial writing of the first draft took me around about a year, then the editing and rewriting, sometimes certain chapters several times, took me around another year.  I have submitted this to a few publishers, but decided to get another fresh perspective on it, and asked for another beta reading. That has resulted in me doing more edits, which I am undertaking now, and then I will attempt to get it published again or maybe even consider self-publishing.  Here's a teaser for you:

'Jumping at Shadows:   

 

When Belle discovers the secret of a family heirloom, she and her friend Rosy are propelled into the world of the shadows—the same shadows that have been haunting Belle all her life. Soon Belle realises that the future rests in her hands, and only she can keep the magic of her ancestors from falling into the clutches of a dangerous mad man. 

 

Fantasy Fiction.'

What would you say your writing style is?

That's a difficult one for me to answer. I think it's probably a mixture of styles that changes depending on the genre I am writing in. However, I would say that I try to be economical in my style and try not to use more words than are necessary. Perhaps this collection might described me; lively, informal, articulate and easy to read.  Maybe when I write Noir it is more stylistic, as in creating the speech relevant to that genre.  As you can see from my answer, I, myself am not really sure what it is.
 
You seem to have a strong voice in your writing. What do you think characterizes your voice?

I would say that my voice is characterized by a natural, friendly, matter-of-fact tone that draws readers in and hopefully makes them want to continue the journey with me. 

What do you find most challenging about writing flash fiction?

I think the challenge in writing flash fiction lies in delivering a complete story with a middle, beginning and end in a limited amount of words.  I have just faced the challenge of writing an adaptation of a fairytale in five hundred words. Now I did find that difficult to keep the story entertaining, give the characters some substance and deliver the twist in the end.

What do you find most enjoyable about writing flash fiction?

I enjoy creating a story that is complete in no more than one thousand words. Stretching myself to write economically, so as not to waste words and capture my reader from beginning to end. I also love that it affords me the chance to try out my hand at different genres.  I like to write humour, fantasy, horror, noir. I'm sure there are others I may well try in the future.

Where did the idea for ‘Oh Jack’ come from?

This is an easy one to answer. It was a photo writing prompt from Maria Kelly's blog. 'Oh Jack' is her title and if I remember right I think she said something like 'see if you can scare me.' So I had a go.

Were there any particularly difficult challengers in writing this piece?

I think getting the pace right in this piece was the challenge. Building up  the tension so that the reader wants to keep reading to see what happens next and then delivering an ending that hopefully doesn't disappoint.

Have you spent a lot of time in toy shops?

No not at all, certainly not since my own son grew up. Maybe if he has children one day, I might frequent them again. 

Are there any ‘easter eggs’ or inside jokes in that piece that most people would not have caught?

No, none that I am aware of or that I intentionally created. 

What would your ultimate goal as a writer be?

I think my main aim as a writer is to enjoy myself. Be true to myself and write only what I love writing. Of course I would love to see my novel published and also the one I am working on now. But ultimately, it is to enjoy what I do, then hopefully I will do it well and maybe other opportunities will present themselves. 

Do you have any words of wisdom for our readers?

I think the only thing I would say, is write because you love to write, rather than write to be published. Because if you write what you love and because you love it, you will do it well and the rest will follow. The other thing is try to write everyday even if what you write is not good, the more you write, the more your imagination kicks in and becomes a constant supply of ideas for you to follow up.

Thank you again to Helen Howell and congratulations for winning the first edition of this award. Go visit her blog, again at http://helen-scribbles.com/ and follow this up and coming writer.