The stories we tell...

Before I get into what I've learned about writing short stories, a little about how 2026 began...

• My short story Jemmy Beans, was a finalist in the Romance Writers of Australia, Sweet Treats competition.

• A scene from Digging Deep (MS2), was announced as a finalist in the Romance Writers of NZ, Daphne Clair de Jong First Kiss competition.

From a young age, I adored writing stories, but my imagination was far bigger than my writing skills.

The turning point was in high school, year nine to be precise. We were studying ironic twists, in particular Saki’s short story The Open Window. Our task was to write our own short story that ends with a twist.

The short story I wrote was a sequel to The Open Window, and I remember loving the process of writing it, and the satisfaction I got from creating a very cool twist.

The teacher gave my story an AB-. I’d never had an 'A' anything in English before, so I was excited. Second highest in the class, what a thrill to know the teacher had enjoyed my story.

The boy whose story got the highest mark, was asked to share it with the class, and read it out loud.

To put what happened next into context, you have to know that I was an obsessive reader with free access to my parents' expansive bookshelves. Age-appropriate or not. You can imagine my shock when I realised I knew the story the boy was reading out. I stared at the teacher, waiting for her to twig, forgetting that she’d already read it and awarded him the top mark.

I was dumbfounded.

It was a Roald Dahl short story!

I sat there, mouth clamped shut, not saying a word. This incident stayed with me for decades - the audacity, and the risk he took plagiarising such a well-known author. I learned a few things about myself too:

• I’d come second to Roald Dahl.

• I’d actually scored the highest grade.

Whether that killed my enthusiasm for writing or not, it would be over a decade before I wrote another story. Plenty of letter writing, and my first go at a crime manuscript.

When I joined Romance Writers Australia, I wrote a short story for a competition. It wasn't great, and the judges feedback hurt, but I listened and wrote some more.

Writing short stories has helped me focus on story arc, romantic tension and conflict in a condensed (word-count wise) setting.

I've learnt a great deal about my writing process. In particular, I know I have to get my story idea down on the page earlier. It gives me more time to work through the drafts.

I know:

• the first draft will be terrible, but if I don’t get it on the page, there will be no short story

• the final draft (number four or five) will resemble very little of my first draft

• I have to read over judges' feedback from my previous competition entries, and work in the advice to improve my writing/entry.

• if there is a theme (like jelly beans) make sure they (the jelly beans) are integral to the story and not a passing mention.

• if it’s a romance, make the reader ‘feel’ the pull of attraction.

• beta readers (fresh eyes on my story) are essential.

• I need to print the final draft (sometimes in a different font and size) and edit it on the page.

• that listening to it read out loud by Word (sometimes the male voice, sometimes the female voice) really helps in the final polishing stage.

Jemmy Beans, will be available to purchase on Amazon in late August 2026.