Moira Richardson - Second Place, 2026

We had the privilege of talking with Moira Richardson on winning second place overall in this year's Writer's Games.

WW: What encouraged you to participate in Writer's Games this year?

MR: I had a blast with last year’s Games. It was TOUGH, but I loved the stories that came out of it. One of them is being published as a book in November. Just finished those edits this morning. Another just got accepted for publication just before I sat down to do this interview. I’ve had a busy year with other projects, so joining Writer’s Games gave me the excuse I needed to put other things aside for a few weeks to write, which is my favorite thing to do.

WW: What were you worried or nervous about in the beginning?

MR: I’m a pretty low energy person and I’m already pulled so thin in so many directions, so I worried about having the energy to write stories every weekend. I did rearrange my schedule accordingly, but it was still a challenge to complete the stories to the standard I wanted them for the entire Games.

WW: How did life's challenges affect your writing?

MR: This year was particularly brutal. We lost two of our three cats over the span of less than a month, and I was devastated by the losses. The first was the week before the Games started, so I was still reeling from that unexpected loss. During the Games I had our elderly cat on what I called kitty hospice and the day that I finished my piece for the second Event was the day of her last vet appointment. She sat by my side as I finished my story. I guess it may sound kind of heartless, that I still finished my story, despite everything, but honestly, I needed the distraction. Getting lost in a world other than my own was exactly what I needed in that moment to help me get through the day.

WW: Which Event did you have the most fun with?

MR: I think probably Event 5, All Right for Fighting. I was exhausted from life stuff and from writing these pretty long and somewhat intense stories six weeks in a row and I was like just get it done. I wasn’t super excited about the prompt for the week, so I kind of moaned about it a bit. (It’s part of my process–complaining about the prompts is a vital component for me.) I didn’t want to do an actual fight scene and I wasn’t exactly in a fun and playful state of mind, so I scrolled through story ideas and little tidbits that I keep in the notes on my phone and I found some notes I had taken from a game of darts I’d played with a friend where a similar points scenario had happened. That night we’d also talked about my friend’s Dad, who’d recently passed away, and my friend mentioned how he’d always worn velour shirts back in the 70s. His name was Ron and in a way this story became a bit of a tribute to him, though he was a really nice guy and nothing like the Ronny Velour in my story. Once I found my story, I had a blast writing it. I’m happy with how the story came together, and I guess the judges were, too, because it won!

WW: Which Event was more challenging for you?

MR: While I already mentioned the challenges of Event 2, the story that I found the most challenging to write was my story for Event 1: All’s Well. I couldn’t get the voice quite right, probably because I don’t have a Scottish accent but my main character does. It kind of fought against me a bit. That story’s way out of my usual comfort zone, being a historical fiction piece, and I did a lot of research to try to get all the details right. So I think it’s strong in that respect, but the voice just wasn’t coming out the way that I wanted. I’m looking forward to digging in on revisions using the excellent judges' notes for that one, because I think it will be a good story once I do. Probably what I need to do is go to Scotland and really get the accent down, but I’m not sure I can justify the business expense.

WW: What inspires you?

MR: Everything? I keep a lot of notes on my phone. I save memes, like Florida people mugshots, and wacky Reddit posts that I think will serve as juicy story inspiration. I am constantly noodling over an idea while I go for long, rambling walks around my neighborhood. I use my dreams for inspiration a lot, too. I like to think of a story problem, like musing over a set of prompts for a contest or think about the next scene in a novel, as I fall asleep. I very often wake up and head right to my desk to start writing as soon as I wake up after I’ve solved the story problem while I was sleeping.

WW: What advice would you give to writers?

MR: Write a lot and don’t be afraid to write the shitty drafts that will lead you to the good stuff. Read a lot, too. Not just as a reader, but with your writer cap on, really analyzing the sentences and how they come together and why they work (or don’t work). Never stop learning. I’m kind of obsessed with reading writing craft books. If you want to be a published author, get comfortable with rejection. That’s a big lesson I had to learn and how I did that was by setting rejection goals for the year. My first year actively submitting, I set a goal to get 100 rejections. I achieved that (too easily, one might say). The next year, I got over 300. I got plenty of acceptances, too, and I wouldn’t have gotten those without all the rejections along the way. Find writing friends and start or join a writing group. It’s so nice to know you aren’t in this writing thing alone. (Shout out to my writing besties. You know who you are.)

Responses are published as received.

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About Moira Richardson:

Moira Richardson lives in Southwestern Pennsylvania, with her partner and three grumpy cats. When she isn’t writing weird stories, she enjoys wandering alleyways on brainstorming walks and pretending to be a rat on the internet. You can find out more at www.ohmoira.com and @moirariom.bsky.social.