Meet the Not-Quite-Writer: W.J. Arthur
In this article, we interview W.J. Arthur, WINNER of the October 2025 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction with her story, Men Called Russell.
Meet the Not-Quite-Writer: Elda Orozco
In this article, we interview Elda Orozco, WINNER of the July 2025 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction with her story, Fold. Burn. Inhale.
How the Judging Process Works
We’ve put together this handy overview so you can see what happens after you hit “Submit”.
Results of the October 2025 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction
The October 2025 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction challenged writers to create an original piece of fiction of no more than 500 words, which: 1. included the word BOOT. 2. included the action of ‘kissing goodbye’. 3. broke the writing rule ‘Show, don’t tell’. Read all the stories that made the shortlist.
Writing rules: Show, don’t tell
Understand the writing “rules” so you can break them in style.
Breaking the rule: ‘Show, don’t tell’
How to fulfil the anti-prompt: Break the rule, ‘Show, don’t tell.’
Level Up! Disembodied body parts
Ed and Amanda share their top tips for taking your flash fiction game to the next level.
Results of the July 2025 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction
The July 2025 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction challenged writers to create an original piece of fiction of no more than 500 words, which: 1. included the word CRANE. 2. included the action of ‘burning something’. 3. broke the writing rule ‘use active voice’. Read all the stories that made the shortlist.
Meet the Not-Quite-Writer: Greg Schmidt
In this article, we interview Greg Schmidt, repeat shortlister and (at the time of writing) first place holder on the Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction leaderboard.
Meet the Not-Quite-Writer: Louise Walton
In this article, we interview Louise Walton, WINNER of the April 2025 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction with her story, Zombie Babe.
Calling all Visual Artists!
Not Quite Write is on the lookout for a talented digital artist to fill the position of the 2026 Not Quite Write Artist-in-Residence.
Writing rules: Use active voice
Understand the writing “rules” so you can break them in style.
Breaking the rule: ‘Use active voice’
The anti-prompt for the July 2025 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction challenges writers to Break the rule, ‘Use active voice’. Whether you’ve been bashing your head against our anti-prompts for 2 years, or you’re completely green to the Not Quite Write experience, we understand that the concept of the anti-prompt can be confusing.…
Reading Recs for Poeverts
We reached out to Chris Semtner, Curator of the Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia USA, for his recommendations on the very best stories by Edgar Allan Poe.
Meet the Not-Quite-Writer: Isabelle Berns
In this article, we interview Isabelle Berns, WINNER of the January 2025 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction with her story, You’ll never see this coming.
Results of the April 2025 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction
The April 2025 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction challenged writers to create an original piece of fiction of no more than 500 words, which: 1. included the word SEAL. 2. included the action of ‘wiping out’. 3. broke the writing rule ‘kill your darlings’. Read all the stories that made the shortlist.
Writing Rules: Kill your darlings
‘Kill your darlings’ is one of those writing rules that gets a lot of airtime because it’s so damn catchy. But what does it mean, and how can it improve our writing?
WTF is an ‘anti-prompt’?
Like many other writing competitions, the Not Quite Write Prize uses creative writing prompts to inspire and challenge entrants (and to ensure your entries are written for this comp and not some other purpose). Unlike other writing competitions, the Not Quite Write Prize also includes something called an “anti-prompt”. The Not Quite Write Prize anti-prompt…
Meet the Not-Quite-Writer: Taurenelle
In this article, we interview Taurenelle, WINNER of the October 2024 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction with: I told you this was a poem.
Level Up! Describing the physical appearance of characters
Ed and Amanda share their top tips for taking your flash fiction game to the next level. In this article, Not Quite Write Prize judge, Amanda, explains why descriptions of hair and eye colour are one of her biggest pet writing peeves, and we suggest some strategies to avoid triggering her wrath.
Results of the January 2025 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction
The January 2025 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction challenged writers to create an original piece of fiction of no more than 500 words, which: 1. included the word RING. 2. included the action of ‘opening a door’. 3. broke the writing rule ‘write what you know’. Read all the stories that made the…
Meet the Not-Quite-Writer: Autumn Bettinger
In this article, we interview Autumn Bettinger, WINNER of the July 2024 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction with her story, Twelve Jars.
Writing Rules: Write what you know
You’ll often hear the advice, ‘Write what you know,’ being bandied about writing circles, but what exactly does it mean?
Meet the Not-Quite-Writer: Tess Allen
In this article, we interview Tess Allen, Not Quite Write Prize regular since January 2024, winning third place on her first attempt!
How to format your Not Quite Write Prize Entry
We know what it’s like to enter a competition and wonder how the story will look on the other end, particularly when submitting via an online form. In the interests of transparency, we thought we’d share a little more detail about how the entry process works. We hope it helps to soothe some of those…
Results of the October 2024 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction
The October 2024 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction challenged writers to create an original piece of fiction of no more than 500 words, which: 1. included the word PALM. 2. included the action ‘telling a lie.’ 3. broke the writing rule ‘avoid head-hopping.’ Read all the stories that made the shortlist, along with…
Writing Rules: Avoid head-hopping
As writers, we know everything there is to know about our story world and its characters, so it can be very easy to slip into the habit of narrating the story exactly as it appears in our imagination. To be effective storytellers however, we need to maintain a close handle on our narrative voice. A…
Level Up! Understanding POV
This article highlights the strengths and weaknesses of different narrative Points of View (POV) to help you choose the optimum POV for your story.
Meet the Not-Quite-Writer: Jo Skinner
In this article, we interview Jo Skinner. Jo makes regular appearances on the Not Quite Write Prize longlist and has just announced the release of her novel, The Truth About My Daughter with Hawkeye Publishing.
Level Up! Opening With Dialogue
Ed and Amanda share their top tips for taking your flash fiction game to the next level.
Meet the Not-Quite-Writer: Chad Frame
In this article, we interview Chad Frame, WINNER of the April 2024 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction. Chad has been with the Not Quite Write Prize from the start and prepared for his win by also placing 2nd in the January 2024 round of the competition.
Results of the July 2024 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction
The July 2024 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction challenged writers to create an original piece of fiction of no more than 500 words, which: 1. included the word TABLE. 2. included the action “stealing something.” 3. broke the writing rule “avoid purple prose.” Read all the stories that made the shortlist, along with…
Level Up! Flash Fiction Tropes
How original is my idea? In this article, we dish the dirt on the most common stories submitted to 5 major flash fiction competitions: The Not Quite Write Prize, Furious Fiction, Twist in the Tale, Writing Battle, and Globe Soup. We call these story ideas the Flash Fiction Tropes.
Meet the Not-Quite-Writer: Athena Law
In this article, we interview Athena, WINNER of the January 2024 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction.
Calling all Visual Artists!
Not Quite Write supports the arts by providing opportunities for writers to hone their craft and earn cash prizes for their skills. With the aim of extending this support to the broader arts community, we are now accepting submissions for the role of 2025 Not Quite Write Artist in Residence.
Writing rules: Avoid Purple Prose
Ahh, purple prose: a trap laid with delicious words to capture unsuspecting writers! Writers are often cautioned against falling into this trap, but it can be hard to tell the difference between beautiful words and purple ones in the wild. In this article we hope to explain what purple prose looks like, as well as…
Meet the Not-Quite-Writer: Dean Koorey
In this article, we interview Dean Koorey, renowned Furious Fiction judge, 4th place holder in the January 2024 Not Quite Write Prize, and WINNER of the 2024 NYC Midnight 250 Word Flash Fiction Challenge.
Level Up! Naming Your Character
Ed and Amanda share their top tips for taking your flash fiction game to the next level.
Results of the April 2024 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction
The April 2024 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction challenged writers to create an original piece of fiction of no more than 500 words, which: 1. included the word DATE. 2. included the action “picking a winner.” 3. broke the writing rule “always use said.” Read all the stories that made the shortlist, along…
Writing rules: Always use said
A writing rule you’ll often hear is that you should always use the dialogue tag “said” rather than a more descriptive verb. This can be confusing because it contradicts other writing advice which tells us to opt for descriptive verbs wherever possible.
Level Up! Choosing a Killer Title
Ed and Amanda share their top tips for taking your flash fiction game to the next level.
Results of the January 2024 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction
The January 2024 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction challenged writers to create an original piece of fiction of no more than 500 words, which: 1. included the word PUNCH. 2. included the action “spilling something.” 3. broke the writing rule “avoid clichés.” Read all the stories that made the shortlist, along with comments…
Participant Forum Now Open
The Not Quite Write Prize is more than a competition: it’s a community. That’s why we’ve created the Not Quite Write Participant Forum.
How to Win the Not Quite Write Prize
The judges of the Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction share their tips for writing prize-winning flash.
Not Quite Write Prize returns January 2024
The Not Quite Write Prize is back and bigger than ever in January 2024!
Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction 2023 – Winner & Shortlist
The 2023 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction challenged writers to create an original piece of fiction of no more than 600 words, which: 1. included the word RITE. 2. included the action “crossing a line.” 3. broke the writing rule “avoid all adverbs.” Read all the stories that made the shortlist, along with…
