I learned about NYC Midnight’s Annual Flash Fiction Challenge this past September. And after having experimented with the format, I got excited about taking part in the competition. Unfortunately for me, this contest begins in July, which meant that I missed out on the opportunity to flex my muscles in the contest last year. Looking at the varied prompts in the first list for participating writers, I knew that I would need to practice. As a result, I decided to take advantage of those prompts by picking random ones and giving myself forty-eight hours to complete my story.
Knowing that the competition would start in July, I kept my eye out on their website, so I could pounce on the opportunity. When NYC Midnight announced the 11th Annual Flash Fiction Challenge, I registered for it back in May and marked my Calendar for July 12th, the date of my first foray into the competition.
As the twelve loomed, I started getting excited about receiving my first prompt. And when eleven fifty-nine rolled around this past Friday, I received my first prompt. I needed to write a comedy taking place in a movie theater, and the story needed to include a sword. Comedy is not my forte, and after spending the weekend writing one, I tip my hat to all the writers who make their living working in this format.
I spent the first leg of the competition trying to figure out a storyline and how to make it work as a comedy. When I finished my first draft, I groaned when I realized that it firmly landed in the thriller genre (something I’m more at home with). Throughout the next few revisions, I furiously worked on weeding out as much of the thriller aspects that I could while I layer in all the Adam West Batman campiness that I could muster. When I finished, I looked at my first entry, and my excitement skyrocketed. Right now, I’m waiting to hear back from the judges, I’m eager to get their feedback so I can fold it into my future work. I also want to know how I did in my group.