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WW: What made you want to participate in the Writer's Games this year?

 

AB: The challenge of writing five stories in five weeks. My goal for the summer was to start writing every week, so this was a great way to start. I have trouble starting a story without an external prompt, and a lot more trouble finishing one without a deadline. Hence my somewhat Pavlovian reaction to writing contests.

 

WW: Was there anything that you were worried or nervous about coming into this year's Games?

 

AB: Writing without anyone to read my work and tell me that I was heading off in the wrong direction. And no one to correct my terrible mistreatment of commas. 

 

WW: What kept you motivated to participate in each Event?

 

AB: I'm part of an amazingly supportive online writing group, so even without being able to share our stories or ideas, we could cheer each other on. Also, if I sign up to do a contest, I feel obligated to myself to submit *something*, even if I feel it's not my best work.

 

WW: Did life ever get in the way during the Games? How did that affect your writing?

 

AB: During Event 2 I was in the final for another writing contest. I spent all day Saturday writing and revising and by Sunday morning I didn't think I had another story in me. But I pushed through and got something on the page, and I'm really glad I did. 

 

WW: What was your favorite Event and why?

 

AB: Bizarre Bazaar. Sometimes you come up with an idea that is just fun to write from start to finish, and this was one of those. And it happened to be a weekend I had Monday off, so I had lots of time to tinker with it.

 

WW: Was there an Event that was more challenging for you than the others?

 

AB: Here Comes the Sun was a challenge. Which is odd because that's the event I was most excited about. For whatever reason I struggled to come up with an idea, and then to get the story in my head to come out on the page. 

 

WW: What inspires you to write in general?

 

AB: I endured a very long hiatus away from writing fiction. A decades long hiatus. Once I started again, I realized how much more complete and content I feel when I'm writing. I was always telling stories to myself anyway, sometimes, I've been told, under my breath on the subway. Getting them out on paper is much more socially acceptable. 

 

WW: What genre do you normally like to write in? How did that help or hurt you during the Games?

 

AB: I tend towards genre fiction, as well as drama. I'm very comfortable in sci-fi, although I didn't write any for the Games. I've been enjoying trying out different genres lately, so that definitely helped. It's much easier for me to come up with an idea if I don't come into it with a pre-set notion of what genre I should write in. I tried writing fantasy for the first time for one event and loved it. 

 

WW: What is the best advice someone has ever given you and who said it?

 

AB: Not advice given directly to me, but Alan Wilson Watts: "Stop aspiring and start writing. If you're writing, you're a writer." That helped me start writing again after a long time away. I have Terry Pratchett's "Writing is the most fun you can have by yourself" taped to my laptop, to remind myself that even when I'm banging my head against a metaphorical wall over a story, writing is fun.

 

WW: What advice would you give to people thinking about participating in next year's Games?

 

AB: Honestly, just do it! Have fun. Play with genres or characters you wouldn't normally use. Take risks. Write a story that *you* love. Write for every Event. If nothing else, at the end there will be at least five stories in the world that wouldn't have existed otherwise, and that's always a beautiful thing.

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You can read Alyssa's dedication in the anthology.

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