Recently the National Flash Fiction Day "Flash Flood" guys and gals were looking for flash fiction for their annual event. I submitted three stories over three days — none were selected (insert sad face). Not bothered, I've been up there several years and as everything sent was "off the shelf" it wasn't like I put any effort into it — also saw plenty of good writers who failed to get chosen this year. But it did show me something, as I looked on my hard drive for stories to submit: I have fewer flashes from this year than I have from few years ago.

Peak flashing was back in the hey day of Flash Fiction Friday and Angry Hourglass. With the demise of these I have certainly written for challenges less frequently, but the other reason I have fewer more recent stories is that I have got into a bad habit of not saving my work. I mean, I've submitted stories on Microcosms and other sites (including the Seedling Challenge) and then not saved the story to my computer. Seemingly, in my head, the stories are written and out there and I don't need to keep them myself. Not sure when, or why, I came up with that idea.

Anyway, in future I will be saving all my wee stories, be they little bits of nonsense or pure unadulterated brilliance. Who knows, maybe next year I'll get in Flash Flood with a piece I've written this year; one I've saved and not had to search for online.

It also highlights why I need to complete the Seedling Challenge each week (and not just because I put the idea out there). It's only half an hour a week and there's the chance that one, or more, goes from being a VSS365 to a Seedling Challenge story, then who knows maybe onwards and upwards to a fuller story.

#amwriting
#keepwriting
#amsaving