Advice to young (and not-so-young) writers
With only a few weeks left to get your entries in to the Sunday Star-Times Short Story competition, we ask the judges for their tips on crafting a winner.
Whatever you do, don’t rush. That’s the advice of Sarah Quigley, a former Sunday Star-Times short story award winner, and a judge this year in the awards. Entries opened this month and close at 5pm on Friday, September 26.
There are three categories – open, secondary school and a non-fiction essay division. Supported by Random House New Zealand, entries in the open division will be judged by Quigley, who has recently published her latest collection of short stories, Tenderness, and Emily Perkins will judge in the secondary division. Perkins’ latest novel is The Forrests. She convenes the MA in fiction at Victoria University’s International Institute of Modern Letters.
We asked both writers for their inside tips on crafting a fine piece of fiction. What is their advice to writers starting out? Sarah Quigley: ‘‘First of all, read as much as you can! But don’t write ‘in the style of’ another writer. If you can find a narrative voice that feels authentic and true to you, your story will stand out from the crowd. It’s also important not to rush the writing process. Sometimes a story takes time to grow, and you may need to rewrite it several times before it reaches its ultimate form.’’ Emily Perkins: ‘‘Write because it gives you trouble and joy, because it gets to those parts of you and the world that nothing else can. Secondly, but really firstly – read. Read what gives you pleasure and what bewilders you. Sometimes these are the same thing. Thirdly – immerse yourself, mind and imagination and emotions and senses, in the fictional world you are making.’’ What will they be looking for in a short story? Sarah Quigley: ‘‘I’ll be looking for stories with confidence, inventiveness and creative energy: stories that make me see the world from a different angle.’’ Emily Perkins: ‘‘I’m drawn to writing where the author has more invested than an ambition to write a well-made story – where you sense questions behind the writing just as much as the drive to tell this story. I love it when there’s a sense of play, which can of course be serious. I’m also drawn to voice, whether it’s the personal voice people use for their friends, or a brilliant characterisation or a fictional voice that gathers a wide range of influences and idiosyncrasies. Voice is like the heartbeat of fiction.’’ Quigley is one of a long list of prominent first-placegetters, including Eleanor Catton, Barbara Anderson, Norman Bilbrough, Linda Olsson, and Sarah Laing in the award’s 30-year history. To enter and for terms and conditions go to www.sundaystartimes.co.nz