I’m excited to share that my micro “The Sky is a Neighborhood” is published in the November issue of Ghost Parachute! It’s paired with an amazingly perfect piece of art, so go check it out – along with all the other fantastic stories and artworks in this issue.
I wrote this story in Nancy Stohlman’s Pop Lit workshop back in September 2022 and am so happy it found a home!
In July, I took part in the Ekphrastic Review‘s Ekphrastic Marathon for my third time! It’s become one of my favorite flash fiction events to do each year.
This year, I wrote 14 pieces inspired by amazingly unique works of art. I submitted five, and two were listed as finalists!
Read “Current” and “Collage”, plus many other amazing pieces, here.
click the pics to read the full pieces
As with every year, I had a great time writing and submitting to The Write-In on National Flash Fiction Day! It was especially lovely this year as a much-needed distraction over the weekend.
I’m thrilled that 5/5 of my submissions were published! I’m sharing the links here, along with the prompts to give an idea of the guidelines/constraints.
Don’t forget to check out the complete list of prompts and stories!
Four Years: Write a story with two distinct sections, each taking place in a different season
It’s My Destiny: Write a story in which a character is searching for something specific, and unusual
Man’s Best Friend: Write a story involving a caring moment between two people of significantly different ages who aren’t family members
Home for Christmas: Write a story in which at least one character has gone somewhere at an unusual time of year
Sealed Envelopes: Write a flash with an open ending
Head to The Write-In to read everyone’s vastly different responses to these five prompts!
(The featured post image showcases the badges I earned for the pieces I wrote and submitted.)
I’m thrilled to have a 75-word story at Paragraph Planet today. (The link takes you to the author archives, where you can click on my name and read my piece!)
I wrote this piece in a gurkshop with Janet Dale on 1/29/2022. It was originally a freeform prompt using the words “edge / balloons / contusion / words / kindness / breathing / crow / pulse / shapes / taste” – so you can see how I have worked it to death and then brought it back to life again.
As I mentioned in my last post, I felt disconnected from the writing community during 2024. I want to change that because I’ve made many great writer friends and love having people who understand the fickle job of writing, with its highs and lows. Community will be key for me this year, even though the former gathering ground of Twitter is now a hellscape that leads me to doomscroll and roll my eyes for hours instead of connecting with anyone.
Many of those same writers are on Instagram, though, so I’m going to aim to be more active there. To comment and DM instead of just scroll and like. To foster connections and feel a sense of community. I’m also a member of Sisters in Crime, which has community forums and online webinars and goes out of its way to foster connections between members. I’ll lean heavily on them since one of my writing-specific goals is to finish my mystery novel.
About that novel… I ghostwrote 28 books last year but didn’t finish one of my own. (That’s great, considering my novel won’t pay as much as working for others.) Still, it’s a goal to publish a novel under my name, and I want to make progress toward that this year.
I also want to finish revising my Young Adult novel from 2010. I’ve been getting feedback on chapters from a writing group and it’s pushed me to think differently about this book that was so familiar to me at one time. The distance since I first decided to revise it in 2018 or so also helps. Not to toot my own horn, but I feel like it’s close to being ready, and I think it’s something that could find an audience, so I’m hoping to polish it up and see what I can do with it.
Beyond those big projects (if I can take on any more), I want to reconnect with the flash community. I haven’t even been writing short pieces lately; I’ve been so focused on paid work that I really miss how flash made me feel like a writer. I know any type of writing takes creativity and skill, but flash made me feel so in tune with myself and the world around me, like I was seeing secrets everywhere I looked, letting my imagination unearth the story average people and items hid. I want to get back to that. I don’t like going through every day just working and keeping myself and my kid alive… though some days that’s enough and is a struggle itself. But actively writing flash felt like little escapes out my own life and my own head, and not having that for almost a year has really made me feel like a brittle, boring person.
I specifically have about four novella-in-flash/collection ideas I want to work on, so that will be my focus – not that I’ll turn away any other ideas that come to me!
Basically, I want this year to be the year I focus on my ideas, foster my own writing, and see where it takes me. Here we go!
This has been a strange year for my writing… I’ve focused more on paid work, which is great for my bank account, but makes me feel really out of touch with the flash fiction community.
I still did some fun things, like writing during National Flash Fiction Day and taking part in the Ekphrastic Marathon. I wrote some books and outlines for major publishers, and that news will hopefully come out next year. I judged four contests for Flash Fiction Magazine and ghostwrote some books I’m really proud of, so I feel like I had a very creative year even if my submission spreadsheet isn’t reflecting that.
I only had 45 submissions this year, despite initially having a goal of submitting 5 pieces per month. I had 13 acceptances from those submissions. (I submitted 111 times in 2023, 134 in 2022, and 52 in 2021.)
I also only took one writing workshop (plus a few two-hour Zooms), while I used to take a lot more. I generate a lot of content during workshops because I thrive with the prompts and accountability, so I think that might be a big part of my lack of content this year.
I started writing reviews for MicroLit Almanac. Several were books I’d already read or wanted to read, but a few weren’t even on my radar, so I’m grateful I got the chance to read and review them, hopefully helping spread the word of these indie writers so they can get the attention they deserve.
In addition to the online stories and reviews you can read here, I had a flash fiction piece published in Stanchion’s Away from Home anthology and another in the Third Bullshit Lit Anthology.
If you need help polishing your work (flash fiction, short stories, novels – I do it all!), getting your ideas on the page, or marketing yourself or your book, I’m here to help!
Related Posts:
I’m thrilled to have a piece in the Away From Home anthology from Stanchion!
I wrote “Bonnie’s House” as a micro in a Sarah Freligh workshop – I know that’s not a surprise at this point, as most of my pieces that eventually get published start there! I loved the idea for this anthology because I’m obsessed with getting glimpses into other people’s houses, so I knew I didn’t want to miss my chance to explore that.
I can’t wait to read all the other amazing stories included in this anthology! It’s officially out on September 10th, but you can preorder the book here: Away From Home Anthology
Last month I took part in the Ekphrastic Review‘s Ekphrastic Marathon for my second time! Last year was Lucky 8 and this year was Nine Lives. (Here’s my post about last year.)
As with before, I wrote several pieces based on amazing works of art. I really enjoy using art as writing prompts, so I look forward to this marathon every year.
I’m excited that my story inspired by “If only i hadn’t wished for what I thought i was missing” by Paraskevi Frasiola was featured in the Marathon Showcase!
Read it, and many other amazing pieces, here.
click the pic to read the full piece
I had a great time writing and submitting to The Write-In on National Flash Fiction Day! I’m thrilled that 10/10 of my submissions were published! I’m sharing the links here, along with the prompts to give an idea of the guidelines/constraints.
Tidal: Write a flash about a rare weather or meteorological phenomenon.
Leave It All Behind: Write a flash in four sections, with each section having a heading ‘Air’, ‘Earth’, ‘Water’ and ‘Fire’, no more than 300 words!
And Now It’s Here: Write a flash in which someone encounters the end of the earth.
Wreckage: Write a micro flash of exactly 13 words. Give it a title.
“People Also Ask”: Write a flash or micro in which every sentence includes at least one use of the word ‘why’.
Life Changing: Write a 50-word flash (or shorter) that starts and ends with the same sentence.
Not Simple: Find a FlashFlood story and choose five interesting words from it. Write a flash of no more than 100 words that uses all five of these words.
Fish on Vacation: Write a flash about someone who feels like a fish out of water…
The Grocery Gatsby: Write a flash using or referencing characters from fiction or poetry that was written at least 100 years ago. Set it in modern times.
Make Your Move: Write a flash in the form of a series of directions to somewhere.
(The featured post image showcases the badges I earned for the pieces I wrote and submitted.)
Allison Renner Writes 