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Melanie Mulrooney lives in Nova Scotia with her husband and a gaggle of kids. She loves cloudy days, campfires, and hot tea, and believes all clothing should be comfortable enough to sleep in. Her work has been published with Elegant Literature, Last Girls Club, Egg+Frog, MetaStellar, and others, and she has won the Writing Battle flash fiction contest and the Tadpole Press 100-word contest. |
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When not writing stories or wrangling children, she can be found devouring books, volunteering in her community, or strolling through the woods. She dreams of writing a novel, and hopes to eventually get there—100 words at a time. Find her at melmulrooney.com.
Interview with Melanie Mulrooney
about his story "The Things We Cannot Change"
Honorable Mention for The Scribes Prize
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What draws you to the micro-fiction format?
Working with an ultra-short word count is like solving a puzzle. Every word needs to do heavy lifting to earn a spot in the 100, and I find it an exciting challenge to analyze each and every one to ensure the right fit. There's also an extra challenge of creating the story between-the-lines, and hopefully developing something that feels much larger to the reader than a 100-word tale. Some of my favourite stories to read and write have been drabbles, and it always feels rewarding to finish a tiny piece that feels complete.
Who are some authors that inspire you?
There are so many! I love to read across a range of lengths and genres. And while there's a long list of successful professional authors that wow me with their beautiful prose, I think I'm most inspired by my fellow emerging writers out there in the trenches. I'm privileged to be in a writing group with many amazing peers who keep going day after day in the face of rejection, overcoming writing blocks, balancing writing with the everyday demands of life. Those storytellers writing amazing tales for the sheer joy of it are the ones that inspire me to keep writing every day.
What's next on the horizon for you?
I am currently working on a novella-in-flash which I hope to finish by the end of the year. After that, perhaps I'll finally work on one of those novel ideas rattling around in my brain. But my passion is micro and flash length fiction, so I'm sure there will be much more of that in my future. It seems there are always more stories to write than time to write them!
Working with an ultra-short word count is like solving a puzzle. Every word needs to do heavy lifting to earn a spot in the 100, and I find it an exciting challenge to analyze each and every one to ensure the right fit. There's also an extra challenge of creating the story between-the-lines, and hopefully developing something that feels much larger to the reader than a 100-word tale. Some of my favourite stories to read and write have been drabbles, and it always feels rewarding to finish a tiny piece that feels complete.
Who are some authors that inspire you?
There are so many! I love to read across a range of lengths and genres. And while there's a long list of successful professional authors that wow me with their beautiful prose, I think I'm most inspired by my fellow emerging writers out there in the trenches. I'm privileged to be in a writing group with many amazing peers who keep going day after day in the face of rejection, overcoming writing blocks, balancing writing with the everyday demands of life. Those storytellers writing amazing tales for the sheer joy of it are the ones that inspire me to keep writing every day.
What's next on the horizon for you?
I am currently working on a novella-in-flash which I hope to finish by the end of the year. After that, perhaps I'll finally work on one of those novel ideas rattling around in my brain. But my passion is micro and flash length fiction, so I'm sure there will be much more of that in my future. It seems there are always more stories to write than time to write them!