If you follow @ruanna3 or some of the other flash fiction participants out there, you've heard about the Once Upon a Time challenge. Anna Meade was gracious enough to answer my questions about her contest and her blog. Your most recent posts have centered around the Once Upon A Time contest. Where did you get the idea for this contest?Susi Holliday, my co-host, approached me right after the conclusion of the Fairy Ring Writing Contest. She was enthused about hosting another flash fiction writing contest, in conjunction with National Flash Fiction Day on May 16.
I loved the idea of hosting an international flash fiction contest (Susi is British) and we received entries from all over the world.
Fairytales have long been a passion of mine. The most lasting tales reflect fundamental truths about human beings, our fears and longings. There is not an adult who would not benefit from revisiting some of the stories of our childhood.
Today is National Flash Fiction Day?! Seriously?! AWESOME! Has the contest proceeded as you expected or were there surprises?
Whenever you involve a lot of people in a project, you have surprises. The massive breadth of the tales has been inspirational. So many writers told me that writing out of their genre comfort zone has been uncomfortable and exciting.
As the contest theme was 'Unexpected Fairytales', many of the entries themselves startled me. So many of them had a surprising twist or a fresh take on familiar stories.
You had amazing participation. (88 entries!!) Is that a lot more than expected or did you get similar turn out for your previous contest, Fairy Ring?
The Fairy Ring contest was my first contest and it had a very steep learning curve, but I managed to cajole 54 souls into entering. I set a personal goal of 75 for Once Upon a Time. As you can see, we had quite a few more than that.
Congratulations on the success. What did you change from Fairy Ring? What problems did the first contest present compared to the second?
I didn't change much with the format, though we did add exciting elements like a contest t-shirt and the prizes were even better. This contest was planned and promoted more consistently and it helped to have a co-host like Susi to maintain interest when I was not around promoting.
Tag teaming is an excellent strategy. Do you have your next contest planned? Will you return to regular blogging for a while? Will your 3 question views make a reappearance?
I hope to take a break from major contests for awhile. Two writing contests back to back is a grueling challenge. I loved every minute, but I do need to recover. Then again, perhaps all I need is to hear the luring song of the sirens again.
I love blogging and it will be nice to be able to write again about other thoughts. Yearning for Wonderland covers all manner of whimsical and wonderful topics.
So I've seen. Do you have any upcoming releases my readers should know about?
My friend Becca J. Campbell's new novel, Foreign Identity, is released on May 22nd and I will be hosting a blog tour for the book, with a giveaway and exclusive sneak peek at Chapter 2. In addition, your readers should come follow me on Twitter and Facebook, because I have some very exciting literary news coming up in early June.
Aww, no teasers? Oh well. Thank you so much for telling us about your blog and your contest. If you have any other questions for Anna, please leave a comment!
