So, it was an interesting weekend, this one just passed. We had all manner of family plans we were trying to cram in, a schedule that sort of imploded on itself as we needed to care for a sick child (that’s an entirely separate story in its own right).
In the midst of everything, Alyssa discovered a flash fiction competition and sent me the link on Friday night: http://www.nycmidnight.com/Competitions/FFC/Challenge.htm I had to do some quick thinking, because the entry deadline was actually on Friday night. Not only that, but the first story prompt was to be sent out on Friday night, and I would have to submit a completed flash fiction by 11:00 PM CST on Sunday night.
So I did what I often do when presented with interesting writing options: I shrugged and said, “Okay, let’s do it.”
We were out of town, with no internet and no cell service, so I didn’t actually get my prompt until Saturday morning. For each stage of the competition, they give you a genre, a location, and and object. I was part of the group that had to write a horror story set on a sandbar, including a balloon.
I meditated on my prompt for most of Saturday and part of Sunday, typing out some lines that came into my head, but really didn’t get going on the story proper until Sunday evening. It wasn’t my intention to be pushing it all the way to the deadline, but that is, indeed, how it went down. I actually didn’t have time to let Alyssa read the draft until after I had already submitted the file to the contest (she did like it).
I’m going to hold back on what I did with my story, because the submission was supposed to be anonymous, and this is a public post. We’ll see what sort of info I get on the judging timeline, etc., and maybe I’ll be able to update you sometime in the next few weeks. For now, let me conclude by saying that I’m enjoying the challenge, and I’m happy with the work I’ve produced so far.