Juniper Ink.

I finished my story for the Writers Weekly 24-hour short story contest with about 20 minutes to spare. Fortunately, I realized that 2pm Central time is actually 1pm local time, not noon as I originally thought. I did come up with an idea early–actually, immediately after reading the topic for the story. Within about an hour, I had a “first draft” done, short an ending. But I struggled to find the ending, or to get it out. I spent a lot of time on Saturday night and Sunday morning trying variations. The contest rules specifically stated “have a good ending,” so I wanted to get it right. I agree with their thoughts that short stories often start out with a bang, and then fade out at the end.

I had my husband read it over a few times and he pointed out some continuity and clarity issues. Actually, he didn’t get what the story was about at all the first time he read it, which indicated some obvious gaps. But I think I was able to fill them effectively, while remaining within the 900-word limit. I think my style tends to leave too much to the reader to assume. I really try to live by the “show, don’t tell” mantra, but once in a while, it is actually better to just tell, because the reader might not see what you show the same way you see it.

Immediately after clicking Send, I thought of a few simple changes that would have helped, but, it was too late, and they were probably sufficiently minor to not be an issue. If I resubmit the story elsewhere, I’ll make those changes. I’m generally happy with the story. It’s a bit darker than what I would normally write– I believe “creepy” was the term my husband used, and I was thrilled with that descriptor. I think my stories, although generally well-constructed, tend to be a bit boring and predictable.

But I’m working on that, and the contest this weekend was a good exercise. It did take up more time than I had expected it to, but it got me writing. I think a 48-hour contest might be better for me than a 24-hour short story so I don’t have to give up a whole Saturday and Sunday morning. But, then I might just end up doing even more tweaking and lose two whole days!