#WEPFF WRITE…EDIT…PUBLISH… BRIDGES WINNER DEBORAH DRUCKER ON BECOMING A WRITER

We are thrilled to have Deborah Drucker, the winner of the WEP June Challenge - BRIDGES - 

here to discuss her writing journey. Her winning piece is titled

THE FINAL TRANSITION.

Congratulations, Deborah!

Have I become a writer?

I definitely did not always aspire to be or think of myself as a writer. I have spent most of my life being other things.

Going through a recent life transition, I started to read what others were writing about. I felt like I was crossing over into unknown territory and needed some guides. One of the websites I found was open to submissions to post on their site. I submitted a post and was published. Another well known writer accepted a guest post from me.

Jeune femme lisant dans un jardin by Henri Lebasque via Wikimedia

This was very exciting.

Would this be the new direction?

I started my own blog. Visions of being an overnight success swirled through my head. You would think it would be nothing but up from then on. It has taken longer than I expected. I do have a following but haven't gone viral yet. :D  I decided to blog about what interests me and feel strongly about.  Gathering a blog following is very time consuming and takes away from other interests. I need a lot of open space to reflect and down time to write.

I discovered I could write Flash Fiction and was encouraged when some of the pieces were well received by other writers. It was a challenge to write a story in 100 words or so. I learned that it is possible and it has shown me how you can trim your writing down to the bone. Some of my stories are completely imaginary while others have some basis in issues I care about.

I went through several of my flash fiction stories with a 100-word limit and picked this one which is kind of fun. I wrote this for the Friday Fictioneers hosted by Rachel Wisoff-Fields.

This image provided by Connie Gayer was the prompt. My story was inspired by a piece in the LA Times about the mudslides after the rain:

Copyright Connie Gayer

Disturb At Your Own Risk

The wild fires had prepared the site, El Nino rains brought the mudslides, and the hillsides gave up some of their secrets. Two skulls and a femur were found by some mountain hikers. The police said they would open their missing persons' files.

The call came in to the Sheriff’s Station on a quiet Sunday morning.

Another hiker had spotted something. The deputy dispatched to the scene called it in, I think this is a job for Animal Control. Yeah, it looks like a tentacle. Wait a minute, it’s moving!  The dispatcher heard a muffled scream and then nothing.

***

 I feel that now I am moving into another phase of my development as a writer and wanting to progress into longer pieces. I need more of a challenge than writing short Flash Fiction and blogging. Who knows if this will lead to anything, but I would like to find out.

I want to be brave, and I want to enjoy writing. I have come to realize that you can write about anything, even small everyday things. The secret for me is that the topic has to inspire me.

***

Thank you, Deborah, loved the post.

What about you, readers and writers, 

does the topic have to inspire you?

***

We'd love if you'd Tweet one/all of these:

The #WEPFF BRIDGES Challenge Winner Guest Post with Deborah Drucker! @DeniseCCovey & @YolandaRenee https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2017/07/wepff-writeeditpublish-bridges-winner.html

Celebrate with Deborah 1st place winner #WEPFF BRIDGES June Flash Fiction challenge #amwriting https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2017/07/wepff-writeeditpublish-bridges-winner.html

#WEPFF June Challenge winner discusses her writing journey @DeniseCCovey & @YolandaRenee https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2017/07/wepff-writeeditpublish-bridges-winner.html  #amwriting #flashfiction

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And don't forget AUGUST is the
REUNIONS CHALLENGE

To help you with some ideas:

Families separated by a multitude of reasons-- ill feelings, separation at birth, kidnapping -- many reasons for such, or a holiday reunion lends itself to a fantasy reunion that can be heartbreaking for its reality.

Happy Writing!

YOUR WEP TEAM!