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.
Hi Isabelle, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your writing backstory?
Stories have just always been important to me and they’re a great way of bonding with people.
I read widely, but Fantasy is my first love. Hints of it bleed into pretty much everything I write. I also draw, and have a soft spot for films, so my process is very visual. A first draft usually consists of mentally piecing together the story in pictures, and then translating it into words. I favour long descriptions and I like to have a fair idea of what I’m working towards before I put pen to paper.
Writing might be as close as I get to meditating, and if I’m not writing or thinking about writing, something’s usually amiss.
You WON the January 2025 Not Quite Write Prize. What did you spend your prize money on?
When I do spend it, the prize money will go towards finding an editor to help me with a children’s novel I’ve been working on. I’ve been sitting on it for far too long, and other writing projects have been rear-ending each other in my mind’s queue. It’s time to let go.
What was the inspiration behind your winning story?
I’d been reading non-fiction about attention spans and good habits (mostly because I’m trying to fix my own). I wondered what a spreadsheet of my life so far might look like, and how big a percentage I would be willing to file under “filler content”, and how much would fall under “quality time with loved ones”. On a very basic level, attention spans keep us alive, community keeps us alive, so those seem like rather crucial things to hold on to.
Can you explain a little bit about how you approached the anti-prompt, ‘Break the rule, “Write what you know”’?
It’s one of those rules I feel everyone understands a little differently. I love authors who know their stuff and do a ton of research, especially if it’s into really obscure topics. With shorter fiction, there’s only so much you can fit in without it becoming an encyclopaedia entry.
Seeing as there were 500 words to work with, knowing or not knowing needed to play an essential part in the story. If I tried to write what I don’t know, perhaps I could speculate, or offer an informed guess? There’s been a lot of literature about the big, unanswerable questions in life, so why not go in and own my ignorance?
You used many sentence fragments, which we described as a ‘risky choice that paid off’. Do you often write this way, or was this a stylistic choice unique to this story?
I try really hard to be a “when in doubt, leave it out” type of writer (emphasis on try), so anything that doesn’t serve the whole piece in some way probably shouldn’t be in there.
I’ve used sentence fragments before when it seemed appropriate, and if I can justify using that device in another story, I may use it again (sparingly).
For this story, with this particular character, it felt like a fitting way of alluding to clickbait and distraction. I also wanted readers to scroll down to get to the juicier bits, just like the unfortunate protagonist had been doing. On the whole, the device served me well, and I’m glad it paid off.
We understand that you are multilingual. How do you feel this influences your writing style?
Each language comes with its own way of experiencing the world (a concept that’s been expressed much more eloquently, by people who actually know about the subject). It’s not something I’m particularly conscious of while I’m writing, but every once in a while, someone will point out peculiar turns of phrase to me. That’s partly why I like to read my stories out loud to myself. It helps me sound out anything that doesn’t read right.
I’ve become extra wary of words that sound similar across languages, and try not to get too comfortable when I’m mentally translating something. The English verb “to trespass” does not equal the French “trépasser” (to pass away), which tells an entirely different story. Context also doesn’t make up for the cold hard dictionary entry.
Can you share any words of wisdom with our Not Quite Write Prize hopefuls?
Write for the joy of dirtying up an empty piece of paper like you’re doing something naughty.
Write because your midnight muse won’t stop nagging until you write down that glorious sentence that won’t make an ounce of sense in the morning.
Write because you can.
And then submit to a competition. Preferably this one. Just to see what happens.
About Isabelle
Isabelle is a Luxembourg-based writer, and lover of all things fantasy and surrealism. She was lucky enough to complete an MA in Creative writing with a focus on children’s literature.
If you were to glance at her bookshelves, you’d find copious amounts of fantasy epics, mysteries, and Victorian classics, as well as the odd darkly humorous play.
Isabelle has a weakness for long descriptions, puns, and notebooks never to be written in (because that’s what printer paper is for).
When she isn’t writing, chances are she’s sketching portraits or maps to help her make sense of her writing. There’s just no getting away from it.
You can connect with Isabelle at:
Instagram: @i_v_belle
Bluesky: @worlds-of-fancy.bsky.social
Website: https://ivberns.wordpress.com/