A few weeks ago, we dangled two tantalizing prompts in front of writers, and then limited them to write a short story in only 600 words. It is a tough writing challenge: How to develop—and close out—both a storyline and complete character sketch in fewer words than on the back of cereal box.

We were pleased—and impressed, and entertained—with the Flash Fiction stories submitted by you, our readers. Our panel of judges considered each story, and picked six winners, and a few honorable mentions.

Our judges panel includes: Kumud Gokani, Best Author in the Valley, as voted by Messenger readers; Karen Polsgrove, owner of Village Books in Medford; and, Daniel Buck, Rogue Community College Writing Instructor.

All submitted stories are available online at RogueValleyMessenger.com; judge for yourself your own winner!

At 5 pm, Thursday, May 12, the writers have been asked to read their stories at Josephine County Library, 200 NW C St, Grants Pass, free.

THE WINNERS:

Dreamwalker By Desiree Coutinho

Untitled By Kate Lundquist

The Envelope By Desiree Coutinho

Moby Deer By Josh Gross

Werefore Art Thou David? By Jen Matteis

Honorable Mention: Theatrical Anticipation By Maddy Oldread (age 10)

Two Writing Tips from Dan Buck, Writing Instructor, Rogue Community College   

1. Write. Just write. Sadly, most people are content to talk about writing, rather than engage in the hard work of writing.
2. There is no muse unless you recognize hard work as a muse. Inspiration appears in the act of writing, not before it.

Writing Advice from Karen Polsgrove, Owner, Village Books

As for my “advice” for budding writers. I don’t think I have any great wisdom. But I would say know who your audience is. Most readers seem to gravitate to one genre and don’t like a lot of mixing and matching. That doesn’t mean you have to stick to an absolute formula, but understand who you are writing to and what they like. Write what you like to read. If you wouldn’t read your writing, why would anyone else?