Several months ago I attended a workshop on short stories. It was incredibly informative, run by local author Karenlee Thompson, and involved a number of inspiration and development exercises for writing short stories. We were handed a number of photos, one per table, and had to decide how the person in the photo felt, and why, give them a distinguishing scar or tattoo, and a name. The story I created from this exercise was a simple one, about a man who regretted the choices he’d made in life – taking wealth and security over love.
The piece was a little over 500 words, so when Queensland Writers’ Centre ran a competition for Flash Fiction, I pared it down to the requisite number and submitted it.
Much to my delight, I was short-listed! “A Life Lived” can be read on the QWC Website.
In other news, I’ve had a hiatus from writing “Renaissance Woman” over the last two months due to the arrival of my second child, but a release date of November 2018 is still the plan!