Susan Gee, LISP 2025 Flash Fiction Finalist, 'Mindful Photography'

- Could you please tell us about yourself and your daily routine? 

I work full time as a Workforce Development officer. I have an allotment and like to write and paint in my spare time. I don’t have a daily writing routine as such, but when I am working on something I prefer to work in the evening.  

- When and how did you start writing? 

I have always written in some form or another from a young age, mostly poetry and short stories. I decided to do an MA in Creative Writing at Manchester in 2011 and from that I started to write novels. 

My first novel Kiss Her Goodbye was published in 2018 and my second novel Love Me to Death was Published in 2020.  I was a finalist in the Good Housekeeping Novel Competition and the Daily Mail ‘Write a Best Seller’ Competition and have been published in the Bath Short Story Award Anthology. 

- How frequently do you write? Do you have a writing routine?  

When I am writing I try to write most days, but I don’t hold myself to word counts, it’s more about turning up and seeing what happens. It can be hard when working full time and my writing can be sporadic unless I’ve got a deadline or a project that has got me hooked.

-What inspires you to write? 

I write stories about the darker side of human nature, and I’m interested in why people do the things they do.

I am also inspired by nature and landscape. I often start with a character or question that I want to know more about. I don’t tend to plan things out, I have tried to do it that way, but I get bored if I know what’s going to happen and prefer to see where the words take me.

- What's the most rewarding and challenging aspect of writing Flash Fiction?  

It’s always rewarding to type those two words ‘The End’. There’s a great sense of accomplishment in finishing something, but then the work really starts when you start to edit it. That’s also the fun part too because you know where you want to go and can start tweaking things around that. Although you could keep editing forever, sometimes you just need to stop and let the words be.

- How does it feel to have your work acknowledged, whether through being a finalist in a competition or having it published?  

It is always good to have your writing acknowledged. It can be hard for writers to feel validated, especially when rejections keep coming in, but it’s important just to keep going and be true to yourself. 

- How did you come up with the idea for your LISP-selected story? Is there a story behind your story? And, how long have you been working on it?  

The Flash Fiction was written quickly. I wrote it at Crime Fest in Bristol when I got back to my hotel in the evening. My friend and fellow writer and Lou Minns suggested that we do a Flash Fiction to flex our writing muscles, and I sent it off the same day, so it was very organic and quick which is unusual for me. 

The idea came from a session on mindful photography that I attended. Amongst the brutalist architecture was a small garden which was a little haven for wildlife. The narrator of the Flash Fiction has seen disturbing photographs in a previous job they’d had. The idea is around the disturbing images that the narrator had seen previously against that moment of taking their own photographs in nature. It is about being in the moment and new beginnings and the healing power of nature.

- Please share a few tips on writing stories.  

For me it’s all about putting words on the page and not worrying about how they sound until it’s finished. Once you have something written then you can change it. Just write. Write and enjoy the process. A hook or an unanswered question can encourage people to read on. Write something that you want to read and something that interests you.

- Finally, would you recommend that the writers consider submitting to LISP?  

Yes, it’s always good to submit your work as it gives you a sense of completion. Winning may be rare, but you never know what’s going to happen unless you give it a go. I was grateful and surprised to be one of the finalists and it’s inspired me to get some more words down again. I’m interested to see where it will take me next and it’s lovely to be in this group of LISP writers.