Once Elizabeth's high school English teacher asked the class to rewrite lead sentences to a short story they had analyzed, she was hooked.
She's worked as a columnist for
Parent and
Kids/Boston for the past eight years. An excerpt from her novel,
The Trouble in Her Mirror, appeared in the Fearless Voices section of
The Huffington Post. One of her short stories, "Sylvie Has Gone to the Deli," was featured on Lit 103.3's Fiction For the Ears. Elizabeth also has works published in
Amarillo Bay, The Baby Journal, The Boston Globe, Shine, and
Static Movement. Want to check out more of her pieces? Check them out at
RedRoom.
Elizabeth grew up in suburban New York and currently lives outside of Boston. She's now revising her second novel.
If you haven't had the chance to read Elizabeth's story, "
Nothing Left Unsaid," visit
WOW! and linger through its words. You'll be glad you did!
WOW: Elizabeth, congratulations on the runner up honors in the Winter 2010 Flash Fiction contest! Nothing Left Unsaid has a delightful twist of playfulness coupled with serious undertones. How can writers establish a tone/mood and use it to keep the storyline progressing?
Elizabeth: Tone has to do with the intention of a story's words - it's really the voice of the work. I think the key with getting the voice down is to be authentic in what you're trying to say, be honest and consistent - you and your characters should always tell the truth. I love what Noah Lukeman says, "Strive to write from a place of truth and love." If you have the voice down, the words will follow.
WOW: That's excellent advice. Thanks for sharing it. Another important facet of storytelling is creating memorable and identifiable characters. Mother-in-law / daughter-in-law conflict can strain a relationship. Why is it necessary to create empathy with characters?
Elizabeth: I got the idea for Nothing Left Unsaid while browsing the book section in a local store. All the books were self-help books and the titles seemed funny to me, so I decided to write a story about two characters, at odds, communicating through book titles. I decided to use a daughter and mother-in-law as characters, (not because of my own relationship with my mother-in-law. We get along great!) but because of the inherent conflicts and difficulties within that relationship.
Empathetic characters are believable characters. If you can get the reader to understand where your character is coming from, to witness and feel what they are going through, even if the experience is foreign to them, they will happily go along for the journey.
WOW: What you say about creating a believable character is spot on! (chuckles) I'm glad your story isn't based on your relationship with the inlaws. Not everyone is so lucky, if you believe the media hype!
I find it interesting that you balance fiction writing and column writing. For you, how does that writing process differ? <
Congratulations to Lauren Leatherman, who won second place in WOW!'s Winter 2010 Flash Fiction contest with her story, "Summer Before Junior High."
Lauren is a writer living in Jersey City, NJ. Originally from Syracuse, NY, she received her MFA in fiction from New York University and is the author of the chapbook How To Lose It (Hamilton College, 2005). Most recently, one of her short stories was shortlisted for the Best New American Voices series. In addition to writing, Lauren is an avid runner and yoga enthusiast who regularly publishes articles about running, nutrition, and holistic health and wellness. She currently works in marketing and is at work on a memoir. You can also check her out on the Jersey City Running Examiner.
WOW: Lauren, thank you for joining us on The Muffin today. Let's talk about your winning piece. Where did you get the idea for "Summer Before Junior High?"
Lauren: There are two girls in my family--I'm the oldest. Anyone who is an older sister to a sister knows that an inherent competition exists between even the most loving sisters. In the case of my story, I wanted to convey the idea that sisters--often for unspecified reasons--will compete with one another or be critical of one another. The narrator of "Summer Before Junior High" feels the need to differentiate herself from her younger sister at this crucial point in her life. She's about to enter junior high--a pivotal time for girls, as they're beginning their transformation from child to young adult. The fact the narrator has experienced a kiss with an older boy means, to her, that she's breaking free from the confines of childhood. She's proud of this fact and critical of her sister for still being a kid, still being interested in boondoggle and "childish" trappings. She wants to distinguish herself from her sister as much as possible; yet, she's still inextricably tied to her, not just by blood but the deeper bond that sisters share. It's a complicated relationship, filled with love and misgivings, but most relationships between sisters are complicated.
WOW: You captured all of that so well and in so few words! Great job! You wrote this story in present tense, and it makes the reader feel like she is there with your two characters. Do you often write in present tense? Why or why not?
Lauren: I do write in present tense fairly often. I guess that's just the way my mind works. I really like the immediacy of present tense; like you said, it makes the reader feel as though she's part of the story, experiencing what the characters experience in real-time.
I do, however, thinks there is value to writing in past tense, too. In present tense, you sometimes feel as though you have to explain in minute detail exactly what your character is doing at every single moment in the text. This works well for short stories but can get kind of tedious with longer works.
Corinne Mahoney, a native of Massachusetts, lives in North Carolina with her husband and three children. She received her BA in English from the University of Notre Dame and a Master’s in Library Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a Knowledge Services Manager for a non-profit organization in the field of global health. She believes that writing can be transformative and would like to one day establish a non-profit fiction writing program for at-risk adolescent girls. Corinne was an avid writer throughout childhood and college, but found that life is full of excuses to set aside one’s dream. Her children and their beautiful, whacky imaginations have inspired her to put pen to paper again. Plus she says, “I expect my kids to pursue their dreams, so I better get going on my own.” Flash fiction is the genre of necessity for this full time working mother with three children 3 years old and younger, but a novel will come someday. Other neglected favorites include: traveling, hiking, and exploring local parks and restaurants.
interview by Marcia Peterson
WOW: Congratulations on winning first place in our Winter 2010 writing contest! How do you feel?
Corrine: Elated and honored. It’s an excellent motivator to keep writing, and it’s a privilege to see my work featured among such strong talent.
WOW: Can you tell us what encouraged the idea behind your story, Attempted Interview with Randall Clark Rural Community Oral History Project/Eastern State University Interview Declined?
Corinne: The phrase “we don’t talk about dead babies” wormed its way into my consciousness. When it didn’t go away, I knew there was a story to tell. I sat down, wrote that line and the rest came out. I was surprised by the trajectory the story took. I love, as a writer, when it feels as if the character is writing the story, as if you’re just along for the ride. Of course, the character never does a great job of editing, so I’ll take full credit there. That said, the story does touch on themes that I love to write about: grief, religiosity, parenthood, resilience, and the unspoken.
WOW: It's a powerful story. Good thing you followed up on that phrase! Have you always enjoyed the genre, and how did you learn to write great flash fiction?
Corinne: I love flash fiction. Even before I knew it was a genre, I found my short stories getting shorter and shorter. I prefer concise, intense writing, and I love to cut stories down to their core. Flash fiction leaves a lot up to the reader, and I like trusting the reader to fill in the details and context.
Cutting a piece down to a required word count is a great way to hone your editing skills. This story was originally around 950 words. I did a ruthless edit, but felt I could only get it down to 770. I almost didn't enter it. Those last 20 words were painful; I felt like I was taking a scalpel to the piece. In the end, though, it was a better story because of it.
WOW: Your painful editing process led to a winning story, so again, congratulations.
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By: Margo Dill,
on 6/8/2010
Thanks Margo and Lauren for such great questions and answers.
Donna Volkenannt
http://donnasbookpub.blogspot.com
Thanks, Donna. :) Lauren wrote a great story.