Tag: creative writing retreats

Flash writing tips from Kathy Fish

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Flash fiction writing tips from Kathy Fish

Delighted to welcome Kathy Fish to the blog for the first time today. Kathy is judging the 2018 RW Flash Fiction Prize and I got to ask her all about what she loves about flashing.

Kathy, thanks for coming. As an award-winning flash fiction writer yourself, what’s the best advice you can give to writers looking to master the form?

Read a lot of flash fiction. There’s a wealth of excellent flash fiction online. Read such journals as Wigleaf, Pidgeonholes, Jellyfish Review, Smokelong Quarterly, Cheap Pop, Whiskey Paper, and more. Read Best Small Fictions. I also think my Fast Flash Workshop is a great, fun, supportive place for flash experts and beginners alike.

What kinds of stories do you hope to see when reading the shortlist for the RW Flash Fiction Prize?

I am most drawn to stories that move me without being maudlin. I’m a sucker for a mix of sad and funny. I love innovation and experimentation, but the story must also have a strong emotional core to really win me over.

What makes a story stand out for you when you receive the shortlist to read?

Freshness of language and approach. A powerful, emotionally resonant ending.

What flash fiction story do you wish you’d written and why?

Most recently, “Dear David” by Yael van der Wouden in Longleaf Review. I love it so much. That flash is to me, everything I mentioned above. It’s so strange and unexpectedly tender. And it’s completely new. I’m still thinking about it.

Which flash fiction writers writing today do you admire and why?

I’m asked that question so often. And there are so many! I’d say right now it’s the newer writers of flash that are really impressing me. The new work is more daring, more hybrid, more unexpected in the best possible ways.

***

Thanks so much, Kathy. I just read Dear David and it really is fantastic.

So, flash writers get writing and submitting your stories for Kathy to read. The deadline is 28th october and there is £755 in cash prizes available, plus all winning and shortlisted writers get published in the anthology by Retreat West Books.

If you’d like to hone your flash skills alongside other writers we’re running 3 online flash workshops this Autumn where you’ll get to create up 42 new stories in two intensive weeks. Or there’s 1 space left to join us at the Flash Fiction Retreat we’re running in November.

 

Win a place at the Creating Complex Characters Retreat

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The Creating Complex Characters Retreat

12-16 March 2018, Sheepwash, Devon

You could win a free place at this writing retreat, which has 3 character-focused masterclasses and a 1-1 with author and Retreat West founder, Amanda Saint. Get all the retreat info here.

All you have to do to enter is write a short story up to 1500 words set in the Devon countryside in which you make us see, hear, smell and feel your characters. Make them come alive for us.

Prize: The winner gets 4 nights in their own room with all food, drink, classes and 1-1 included.

Entry fee: £15

Deadline: 5th November 2017

Competition Rules

  • Submit stories written in English through Submittable using the button below by 23.45 GMT on the deadline date (sorry late entries will not be included)
  • The maximum word count is 1500 but there is no minimum
  • Do not include your name on the story document or submission title but provide a short bio in the body of the email. All entries are read anonymously so any submissions showing the author’s name will be disqualified.
  • Stories must be your own original work and not have been published online or in print, or have won any other competitions (longlisted and shortlisted places in other competitions is fine)
  • By entering the competition you agree to attend the retreat and your story being published on the Retreat West website
  • Simultaneous submissions are allowed but if your story wins a prize or is published prior to the winner’s announcement your entry will become ineligible and entry fees will not be refunded
  • Stories can be in any genre apart from children’s fiction
  • You can enter as many times as you like but must pay the entry fee and make a separate submission each time
  • The judge’s decision is final
  • There is no cash alternative for the prize and the winner cannot transfer to a different retreat


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January ’16 Sale!

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Happy New Year everyone!

As ever, Retreat West is kicking the year off with a January sale. You can get discounted retreats, critiques and courses if you book one by January 13th…

  • SALE ITEM #1 – £35 off the Literary Fiction Retreat with MJ Hyland and the Short Story Retreat with Paul McVeigh. Get 4 nights at a writing retreat with 9 hours of masterclasses, time to write, plus great food, drink and conversation in a beautiful Devon thatched cottage for just £590!
    Book Now.
  • SALE ITEM #2 – £40 off the 1-1 Start Writing Fiction Course. Get a 6 week course with detailed and focused feedback to help you develop your writing for just £249!
    Book Now
  • SALE ITEM #3 – £45 off a full novel review. Get a critique report and tracked changes on your MS (up to 95,000 words), plus an hour’s call to talk things through, for just £385!
    Book Now