Thanks for the kind comments. I was very surprised to win; I was just proud of myself for being on that list because because 12 hours before the deadline I only had a couple of paragraphs of a drab story.
I didn't know anything (still don't) about Mardi Gras, but I wanted to write for the competition because I like the challenge of writing about a subject I know nothing about, with a clear guide about what it should involve.
I had clichéd themes in mind (the tradition of gathering ingredients ahead of Lent, and a parade) and I thought of combining them. I wasn't sure to what end - but often ideas come as I write, so I started from the perspective of a neighbour and hoped for the best. For a long time, this is all I had:
Esme lived next door to Daphne and Ed. She had long been conscious of Daphne’s religious bearing. One morning – this was at the start of the week leading up to Lent – Esme heard noises next door, banging cupboards, that sort of thing.
That’ll be Daphne clearing out her cupboards to make pancakes, she thought.
The noise continued for some while and eventually curiosity drove Esme to visit her neighbour. The front door was open and Esme could see the silhouette of Daphne in her kitchen. Sure enough she was dragging things out of cupboards.
She was doing so with surprising intent.
It sat as flat as that for two weeks and I had no enthusiasm for ending it. I tried to write more the evening before the deadline, if only to prove that I could finish something. I have a lot of trouble applying myself to write. So I wanted to push myself that I didn't matter how bad the story was, I had to take part.
Early next morning, half-asleep, a subconscious sentence came to me ("When they think of me they think of food.") and there it was: Daphne's unhappiness. So at about 7am I began to rewrite in the first person and from that one sentence I knew her voice, and from that I knew her character and the point of the story, which turned out to be about her insecurity.
I don't recommend writing stories in a rush, but the most important thing to me was to take part. I hope that everyone who entered feels the same way, even if they didn't do as well as they expected. I hope my experience encourages anyone who has struggled to finish a story: it's worth persevering - just try to find a different angle or just sleep on it. I hope it encourages more writers to enter competitions like these full stop. And thank you especially to the judges and moderators, first for arranging this competition, and most definitely for allowing entries right up to the wire!
I can enjoy reading the other stories now (the one I did read was really well written and I can't even see it on the list of winners).
