Short Story Spotlight: This Time, I Did
You can now read the full story here.
In this short story spotlight, I will tell you a little bit about one of my best short stories yet, This Time, I Did.
Where the story is now
This Time, I Did is a YA short story inspired in equal parts by The Hunger Games and society's fixation with sharing the 'best' content on social media. I wrote this story originally for the NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge 2023 where I placed first in Round 1 for my group. I have since submitted a slightly edited version to the story to another contest and I am awaiting those results.
Here is a brief overview:
Ivy is a young, up-and-coming photographer who, like everyone else, wants people to see, and more importantly, 'Like,' her work. She is still finding her style, but so far she prefers wildlife photography.
One day, a photo she took that is way outside of her normal repertoire earns her a place in a photography contest run by a notorious and eccentric billionaire, a billionaire who has the power to compel her to take part. It's exactly the sort of thing that could launch Ivy's career, but this is no ordinary contest. The consequences of losing are deadly, the stakes are high, and there are no laws to protect the participants.
For Ivy, however, the consequences of not participating are even worse.
I'll save the rest of the details for when I get this story published in an anthology. In the meantime, let your imagination run wild.
Where the story is going
With the help of my writing group, I have started to uncover some important areas that need attention in this story:
- I need to add in more world building detail--why is this deadly contest allowed to take place? What sort of world is the story taking place in where something like this can even happen?
- We get a pretty good idea of why Ivy is taking part in the contest (although more detail couldn't hurt), but why did the other contestants agree? I know why each of them made this decision, but will the readers?
- There are a number of flashbacks in the story, which I denote with italics. My writing group found this confusing and we started thinking up different ways to switch between present and past. They also suggested that I spend a bit more time in the present to keep readers grounded.
- I may need to describe my main characters (and their motivations) in more detail and sooner in the story.
I'm going to take my time with this one. It's a good story that could possibly even be a book on its own, and it deserves some focused attention.
