Today, for which I thank Jaymal for indulging my whimsy, three years later to the minute, my 50th publication hit the front page – Pride and Prejudice Downunder.
This is more writing than I expected to do and I have loved every minute of it. Those 50 publications have included:
6 poems – I like writing poetry but never think it is actually as good as my prose.
9 micro – writing short is an art, and one that I have so improved during my time on Lush.
9 flash – I’m so pleased with my six flash RRs as economy of words and sharpness of plot was so not my writing style (too lush I guess
) when I joined. 17 competition stories - I am not so much a competition junkie, rather they provide me with a discipline and focus given my chronic perfectionism. More than anything over the last three years I am thrilled with my ten top-ten results. That, and the new writers I have been introduced to through the competitions and the readers who have read my stories for the first time.
So, I would like to take time to thank you all for the 130,000 views, the votes, the comments and the messages; it is readers who make writing so worthwhile. I adore knowing I have moved people and indeed turned some of you on, by realizing my imagination in prose (and less commonly) poetry.
So many have supported me, and so many writers have inspired me, including all those on my friend list and especially those I have encouraged to dip their toe in the writing pool. It can be invidious to name but a few, but two groups deserve special mention.
Writing with another is a wonderfully personal and intimate experience. I would like to thank, Hannah, Catherine, Pixie, Grusha and Taylor for the privilege of letting me into their minds and their words.
And second to my three close writing friends, who have made the last six months such a blast. Bonnie and Violet are two of the most creative writers and wonderful women to have graced Lush of late. And special thanks to Susie, who has been part of my Lush journey right from the beginning, and without whom I might not have persevered past those early days.
I can’t judge my own writing, for me every publication has its own special history for how it came to be on the page and is loved for that reason. That said, one story is primus inter pares, Oxford Street, in the words of Jaymal, “It's not the outrageous Annie I've experienced in other of your stories, it's from-the-gut Annie - reflecting a struggle for acceptance and equality that's both uniquely Australian and totally universal.”
That it is in part personal, is the Pride competition winner, and has resonated so strongly with those of who have struggled with acceptance means it will always be the story I am most proud of. But what are the next ‘best?’ I asked Susie and she surprised me with her selections for my three best stories:
A deeper love - the second story I published on Lush, “I loved the characterisation of Fleur and the pace of it. There was nothing over dramatic or trying to be too knowing or fit too much in. I'd still say it's one of your best.”
The End Begins – my most researched story, “witty, funny plus has a sexy Irish backpacker in it, what's not to love… along with tentacles.”
Ms Schrodinger's Pussy – perhaps my most nerdy story “I loved the amount of physics you put in this … Very very clever and very very you.”
It has been a privilege to write here, and be part of this community.
What is next for me will almost certainly alter how much writing I do. But write I will, as I find it a wonderfully relaxing and creative thing to do, and, although I have over 300,000 unpublished words of uncompleted stories on my hard drive, I doubt I will bring up my century within the next three years.
Annie
