Congratulations to Greg Doolan, winner of the ‘hunger’ challenge with Gone in a Flash, a thought-provoking reflection on what makes life worth living – for one man at least.

Greg wins a copy of Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott.

Thanks to all who took the time to enter this extended round. Thanks also to our guest judge, Perth writer, editor and publisher extraordinaire, Jane Bourke, for her prompt consideration of all the fine stories submitted. (The delay in announcement was entirely my fault!) Find out more about Jane at Jay Bee Books.

Jane was given only the title and text of each entry, without author name, and agreed not to read the posted versions so was not aware of ‘likes’ or comments.

Here are her thoughts on Gone in a Flash:

This month’s challenges were all of such a high standard. I feel they should all be winners but I know I must pick only one. In that case, I have to go with Gone in a Flash. It captured my attention right from the start and held it beautifully until the end. I particularly enjoyed the way the writer retrospectively described a dark event, as well as the motives and background to that event, neatly tying up all loose ends in just 500 words. The writer managed to intrigue us with a vivid sensory feast, while also arousing empathy for the story’s protagonist. I especially liked the second last line with the senses coming full circle. An evocative and raw piece.

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The Next Challenge

Speaking of ‘gone in a flash’, the next round of the 500-word challenge will be the last for this year. The new theme is ‘dreams’.

Write up to 500 words around this theme and send them to waxings.blog@gmail.com by midnight on Christmas Eve (AWST, GMT+8) for a chance to win a copy of The Writing Life by Annie Dillard.

Let the dreaming commence.