In this interview Anne Howkins tells us more about the process of writing her first prize winning story as it went through many drafts over a few years and other interesting things about her writing process and journey into flash. She’s also offered writers a list unusual words to inspire a story for our 34th Award, open now until October 4th and included some beautiful inspirational photographs. One from her trip to Japan a couple of years ago, which marked a turning point in her life, and one of riding through the woods. The horse is no more but Anne says walking through the woods remains both a source of inspiration and a ‘zen’ space where she often finds a way to unstick a story she’sstruggling with.
Q and A
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Can you tell us how your wonderful first prize winning story, The Egg-Wife easy-jogs to market came into being. I understand, from talking to you at the festival that it went through quite a number of revisions over a couple of years?
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The first draft started life on Matt Kendrick’s Glorious Words course in late 2021. I’d been struggling with the final writing task and spent ages browsing unusual words. Then the egg-wife-trot, popped up, described as an easy jog – such as farmer’s wives carry their eggs to market. Something about the phrase chimed with me, made me think about this woman carrying more than poultry eggs. In his usual perceptive manner Matt gave me some great feedback, which was put to one side when life got in the way of writing in 2022 and much of 2023. I picked the story up again in early 2024 and submitted an edited version as a last-minute entry to the Bath Award. It wasn’t listed and was shelved again. Come 2026, I’d paid for an early bird entry to the latest Bath round with the aim of writing a new piece, which of course didn’t happen. A few days before the closing date I went through my WIP file and thought I’d have another look at the egg wife. Going back to her story after a break gave me a clearer idea about what it needed, and needless to say, I am both delighted and stunned with the result!
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You also won first prize in the Flash Fiction Festival weekend prize Writers had to write to the Instruction ‘When The Title of the Story is the Story’ on the back of a beer mat. You came up with a wonderfully inventive title/micro, which is soon to be posted on flashfictionfestival,com. You were also published in NFFD’s latest anthology on the theme of bridges. This may relate to the last question, but how do you come up with your ideas?
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Thank you for your generous comments. Often, like the egg wife story, an idea will stem from a word or phrase or an unusual image. Sometimes it might be a news story – my NFFD bridge story evolved initially from first thoughts about trolls which developed into the treatment of asylum seekers. I quite often come up with an idea when I’m walking through the local woods or country park – there’s something very inspiring about trees and birdsong.
A few years ago, after years of not understanding why I couldn’t picture anything inside my head, I discovered that this was an actual ‘thing’ called aphantasia. This doesn’t mean a lack of imagination, but I think it can push me into taking a sideways look at a theme or a prompt and think outside the box. I love the visceral feel of words and I always look for a lyrical way to tell my story, with a good thesaurus as my constant companion. I’m currently obsessed with John Koenig’s The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows and the idea of making up a word if you can’t find the right one.
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When did you begin writing flash fiction and what do you like about the form.
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I’d been writing short stories on and off for a while before I dipped a toe into the shorter format in 2018. I can’t remember how I discovered flash, but I do remember that when I did, I felt I’d found my writing niche. In 2019 I started submitting to competitions and journals, attended the Flash Fiction Festival and ended the year a story in both the Bath Award Anthology and the Festival Anthology.
I love the challenge of the flash form – balancing a limited word count with the need to build layers and an emotional imperative. I like the way it forces me to look at every word, to find ways of shortening without losing the heart of the story. Every day I continue to be amazed by the sheer versatility of flash, by the sheer beauty and emotional impact of the stories I read. And of course, the flash community is so generously supportive and kind, and I’m humbled and honoured to be part of it.
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Do you have any writing projects on the go or in mind at the moment?
My almost ninety-year-old dad is very keen that I should develop his notes on our family history into a novel, but that’s never going to happen! After a chat with Diane Simmons at the festival, I’m going to start writing some flash pieces from his notes and see if that might develop into a novella-in-flash. I’ve generally got a few stories in development, at the moment there’s a rough draft for my next Bath entry and a couple of pieces from Festival workshops on the go, and a growing list of prompts!
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What flash fiction writing advice has most impacted you do you think?
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Read your story aloud. When you’re happy with it, get someone else to read it to you, or record it and play it back to yourself.
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We’d love to have a prompt from you to inspire writers for the next competition
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Because I find unusual words often start me thinking about a story, here’s a little list of words and their definitions that I hope might give some inspiration or at least give someone a bit of fun!
Scurryfunge – A hasty tidying of the house between the time you see a neighbour and the time she knocks on the door
Giglet – A merry light-hearted, playful, romping girl
Condiddle -To convey away secretly
Nizzle – To be slightly intoxicated, to be worse for liquor; to be unsteady
Dormedory – A sleepy, stupid person who does not get on with work
Jangle – Gossiping, idle talking; to jangle one’s time away
