For our annual Flash Fiction Competition, we celebrated the art of writing small to make a big...
"To scare myself into the right mood, I wrote in the basement of my school's library late at night!" says Katie Hurley, who won our Scary Stories Competition with her spine-tingling tale 'Buzz'. "If you want to add a little bit of terror into your life, I highly recommend trying the place out."
Want to learn more about the competition winners and their strategies for writing spooky stories? Read on…
Katie Hurley, Winner (Age 18):
Where did the concept for your winning piece come from?
For the setting, I was inspired by liminal spaces: places that aren't outright terrifying, but are still creepy in their close-but-not-quite atmosphere to real, familiar places that anyone would know. I wanted a setting that was mundane and ordinary, but still spooky, and so I thought of an old empty store late at night. My first plan was to write about a paranoid employee at this store being driven mad by the buzzing of fluorescent lights – almost Tell-Tale Heart style – but then I wondered what would happen if the lights were to turn off and the noise were to continue. What else buzzes? Bugs. Or rather, one very large, very loud bug.
You did a great job building tension and intrigue throughout the story! How did you achieve this?
I wanted to convey a feeling of the buzzing lights slowly growing more and more unbearable so that the audience could experience it alongside the character. As the sound persisted, I tried to describe it more vividly and more frequently, and eventually had it begin to cut through the character's internal monologue. I also referenced several different types of bugs throughout the story, creating a creepy-crawly atmosphere and hinting at the plot twist to come. Finally, to scare myself into the right mood, I wrote in the basement of my school's library late at night! It's dead-silent down there and feels like a horrible suffocating tomb. If you want to add a little bit of terror into your life, I highly recommend trying the place out.
Kshipra Kashyap, Runner-Up (Age 15):
Guest Judge Katherine Arden commended the "strong opening line" and images which immediately drew her into your winning piece. Do you have any tips for fellow writers on creating a powerful opening to a short story?
The human train of thought moves extremely fast. As writers, our goal is to get as much substance as possible on board before it leaves the station (i.e. the reader loses interest.) To do that, get the reader to ask questions - not just have them, but to buzz with them. Write the World shows you the first couple of lines of every piece as a preview. In 'Ghosts of Regret', I used that to depict my piece as something different (with the second person POV) and create a breeding ground for questions. Which funeral? Wait, is this character dead? Who's narrating? And so on. I also experimented with putting the ending at the beginning, which keeps the reader on their toes as they wait for the hat to drop.
What is your favorite genre to write in?
Suspense and tragedy. Currently, I've been working a lot with historical fiction and alternate history, while my shorter pieces tend towards literary fiction.
Cheyenne Demorest, Best Peer Review (Age 16):
What was the process for writing your winning peer review?
When I first read The Forest, I enjoyed the story but saw some parts I felt needed a bit more oomph. There were some parts where I had ideas that I felt would enhance the story. I read it twice to make sure I understood the flow and each part of the story. I then wrote down what I liked and what I would develop on a piece of paper. I always find that when I'm writing, it makes it easier if I note down everything multiple times to make sure I get my ideas across clearly. Even with things like long essays, I always have to write down everything on paper to revisit. I tried my best not to focus on just things I would change in the story, and I also made notes of what made me love the story. I saved most of my praise for the actual question part of the peer review, and put my suggestions for improvement as comments. That way I could highlight specific edits.
Do you find that giving others feedback helps you improve your writing? Why?
I do find that reviewing other people's work and giving them feedback helps me improve my own. I find it helps after finishing writing to think in the constructive voice you would use when reviewing a stranger's piece. You don't have to just use your own critical voice either – if you're writing fiction, it's fun to try to think like an author who writes in that genre. When writing something like an essay, I like to try and think like the teacher I'm submitting the essay would. It's hard not to be biased about your own work, but once you get the hang of it, it really helps. Reviewing other people's work helps you develop a feel for how someone else would review yours; you try to remember your feelings and thoughts you felt when reviewing someone else's work, and use them to edit your own.
