In this article, we interview Athena, WINNER of the January 2024 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction.
Hi Athena, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your experience with writing?
My chickens are named Charlotte, Anne & Emily with an accidental rooster called Heathcliff. I touch type but with the wrong fingers. My stress relief is baking. At last count I’ve had 47 jobs, with the very first being a donkey trainer and camel groomer. My first love was Jareth the Goblin King. I will never say no to champagne or Freckles. I studied Drama and English at uni, followed by Archaeology and Medieval Studies, but none of those degrees got completed!
I had a poem published in the Sunday Mail aged 11, but then life and travel and family caused a brief hiatus of 36 years. Whilst on a wine-soaked holiday with friends & family across the road from a vineyard (Easter 2023) I wrote a whimsical story about a Yowie Club, submitted it to Furious Fiction, it got showcased and I’ve not stopped writing since.
You’re a real estate agent by day. Are there any aspects of your day job that help fuel your writing?
Absolutely. There’s a very apt T-shirt that says “Realtor: A full-time psychologist who shows houses every now and then” – I meet every sort of person in this industry, at every stage of life. The combination of money and stress can bring out the worst in people, so I’ve really seen it all. My prior life was in hospitality, it’s a similar industry in that you’re constantly talking to different people, I think it’s now why I enjoy writing dialogue.
I sell acreage properties mainly in hinterland areas and as a result spend hours in the car some days. This means I get lots of time to think, or listen to amazing podcasts, such as my favourite one: Not Quite Write.
I still remember the exact bit of road I was driving on (in the rain) when I came up with my special first line: “Moist.”
What drew you to flash fiction?
A short attention span and the need for immediate gratification. As you can tell from my abandoned uni degrees, I have problems completing things. But I can do a 500-word flash on average in 45 minutes. It’s a perfect match.
You WON the January 2024 Not Quite Write Prize. Tell us about that experience.
I felt like my entry was a bit chancey, you never know what’s going to land. I heard the Longlist announcement while driving and nearly ran off the road. I was stoked and genuinely didn’t expect to get any further.
I almost didn’t listen to the shortlist episode the actual day it came out, there was no sense of urgency because I had zero expectations of placing.
But I couldn’t resist, and as I listened to the amazing stories being read out, I was thinking; yep way better than mine, that’s also better than mine, and so on.
When Amanda said it was appropriately steamy in the studio, I thought: surely not. Then when I heard my story announced I burst into tears. I didn’t tell anyone for half an hour because it was so surreal, I had to listen to it several times to check!
I keep the trophy where I can see it from my desk & the handwritten note from Amanda is stuck to my “100 Chances” chart – where I’m aiming to submit 100 pieces of work this year.
We understand you spent your prize money on a writing course to help finish your novel. Can you tell us more about what you’re working on?
I spent it on the Novel Writing Essential course through the Australian Writer’s Centre and now I’m doing the 6-month intensive Write Your Novel course, I wanted to keep up the momentum as I’ve half-finished my first book. It’s a contemporary feel-good story, imagine Detectorists meets Sea Change meets Home & Away, a ‘story of molluscs, tourism, and second chances’. I also have a cosy crime series planned.
What’s your writing process for flash fiction competitions?
I always write my first draft on the Friday night, sequestered in my study, with my support cat and support wine. For the April round of NQW I wrote two on the Friday night, shared them with my alpha readers (family) but wasn’t in love with either. Tried a new direction on the Saturday, it made me giggle so I pushed on, that one made the longlist – happy days.
Can you share any words of wisdom with our Not Quite Write Prize hopefuls?
Focus on the anti-prompt first (or anything that is non-negotiable eg: a location/setting), and definitely brainstorm. I usually try to create my stories ignoring the prompt words, and wedge them in later. Because the idea you’ll have for the actual prompt word/s will be the same as dozens of others. Once you have your (hopefully unique) idea, lean into it, hard.
Get involved in the forum! You may be too shy to share your story (like I was) however definitely introduce yourself and check out all the discussion threads, Not-Quite-Writers are a very friendly bunch.
Always be on alert for story nuggets. My first story that made it into print (Mindfood magazine) came from a comment my Mum made at a funeral, about waterproof mascara.
About Athena
Athena Law lives and writes in the lush Queensland hinterland. Winner of the January 2024 Not Quite Write Prize for flash fiction, and a category winner in the 2023 Scarlet Stilettos, she’s been published by The Ekphrastic Review, Sisters in Crime and in several anthologies, with more work forthcoming elsewhere. An expert level procrastinator, she has avoided completing her first novel by attempting to train her ragdoll cats to be more affectionate, listening to writing podcasts, and baking her way through her grandmother’s recipe book. She recently burned her arm making a treacle tart.
You can connect with Athena at: