My heart went out to Tracy Chevalier in Mslexia magazine and Sally Quilford in Writer's Forum magazine on the trials and tribulations of being a short story competition judge.
Like so many others I am guilty of falling into the trap of writing stories with cheerless, heartbreaking themes having homed in on the assertion that stories should have conflict at their heart. So I can readily empathise with the judges who long for something upbeat and heart-warming to feast their depleted hearts and minds on. (I would say the same is true of watching today's TV dramas and soaps)
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The funny thing is that I'm usually good at seeing the funny side of things, but when it comes to writing short stories I suddenly become deathly serious and sombre. A good dose of touching and funny wouldn't go amiss in my repertoire. Show us the love! The judges cry.
How about you? Do you write with humour or are your stories equally grim and grisly?
Although most of my short stories are speculative fiction and deal with the darker or weirder elements, I always try to inject a touch of humour. I have tried to be serious and sombre, but my natural tendency is towards the silly things in life!
ReplyDeleteThat's good to hear Ellie. You will go far! I imagine your writing must be fun to do and also fun for your readers. I've got some catching up to do LOL!
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