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Articles
> Short Story Challenge 2008 > Midwest Writers
Rock the Challenge!
Midwest Writers Rock
the Challenge!
by
Joan Philo
(Chicago, IL)
Writers from the Midwest
represent! Drum roll please… Emily La Fratta
(Cincinnati, OH), Carolyn Damon (Cincinnati, OH),
Anthony Ramirez (Chicago, IL) and Stephanie Ruopp (Royal
Oak, MI) come on down! They not only rocked out
their original short stories in record time to compete
in “The Short Story Challenge 2008” they also spent a
few minutes with NYC Midnight and shared their
experiences going for the gold.
NYC Midnight: The
genre/subject that you were given, upon first glance,
what thoughts did you have?
Emily La Fratta
I had fairy tale/credit
cards. I loved the genre I was given. It is easier for
me to write the sort of things I like to read, and I
love fairy tales.
Anthony Ramirez
I liked the idea of
“laundry” as a subject, it immediately put in my mind
the location of a Laundromat. Which I think is a great
place to tell a story, cleaning clothes, kind of like
washing out the past where things can come to the
surface.
Stephanie Ruopp
At first glance, when I saw
my genre was ghost story, I said, “What the hell?” The
only thing I knew of ghost stories were the slumber
party scare tales we told after consuming three bags of
Doritos, four liters of Coke and unfathomable amounts of
chocolate.
Carolyn Damon
OH, crap!! I have no idea
how to write “action/adventure” and I didn’t know a
thing about submarines.
NYC Midnight: How long
did it take you to write your short story and how many
days later, from the start of the challenge, did you
turn it in?
Emily La Fratta
It took three or four hours
to write. But in between then were lots of days where it
went untouched. I started the first day we got the
assignment, but didn’t write the bulk of it until
Thursday. I turned it in a few hours before the
deadline.
Anthony Ramirez
I worked on it in an odd
way, like in sections so combined together it was about
3 or 4 days cause I waited till the last minute but I
did finally turn it in.
Stephanie Ruopp
I sat down and wrote the
rough draft in one three-hour sitting. I spent another 9
or 10 hours on the rewrites through the week and
submitted it 12 hours before the deadline.
Carolyn Damon
I started my research right
away, because I didn’t know anything about submarines. I
didn’t actually write it until Friday and finished it up
on Saturday around 9pm.
NYC Midnight: How excited
are you about how your story turned out (scale from one
to ten: Ten being, huge glittery excitement, one being
“can’t get out of bed, so not excited.”)
Emily La Fratta
I definitely am at ten!
Which is weird for me because usually I look back and
feel like I could have done something better. But after
getting my family to read it and hearing how much they
loved it, I really feel great a bout it!
Anthony Ramirez
I’m at about a 6… or low 7.
Stephanie Ruopp
I’m quite satisfied with
what I wrote which is a rarity. I suspect I’m hovering
somewhere around a glossy, though not entirely glittery,
nine.
Carolyn Damon
Hmmm, probably just a 3. I
didn’t work on it nearly enough.
NYC Midnight: Did you get
hit with an idea and take off like a shot, or did you
find yourself wallowing in the murky water of “good
lord, what-have-I-done-ripped-up-your-first-idea and
jump into a completely different direction?”
Emily La Fratta
I had messed around with
fairy tales in the past so I used them as a springboard
for ideas. At certain points I realized certain things
didn’t work, but never had to start totally from
scratch.
Anthony Ramirez
I stood with my initial
idea. I wrote on, committed, and determined.
Stephanie Ruopp
The idea germinated for two
days before I actually sat down and wrote. I wasn’t sure
where it would take me, but I had enough of an idea that
when the time came to write, it just swept me away with
it. Though the story changed and morphed with rewrites,
the crux of it remained the same.
Carolyn Damon
I did have an idea right of
f the bat, and then found myself in the “murky waters”,
but I honestly couldn’t come up with anything else in
time to start over.
NYC Midnight: Did you
have any celebratory going-ons after the completion of
your short story? (For example – purchase of exquisite
jeweled watch, weekend in Paris, purchase of a small dog
to coordinate with excellent new Coach purse, and/or new
leather many bag.)
Emily La Fratta
Actually no! I hung out with
my roommate and was just happy.
Anthony Ramirez
Hehe… I probably went out to
see a movie. Watch some great storytelling, loving it
and secretly be so envious of it. Would love for one day
to have one of my short stories made into a feature
film.
Stephanie Ruopp
There was no celebration,
per se. I had several Belgian beers on Sunday. But
frankly, I do that every Sunday.
Carolyn Damon
Just a couple of glasses of
red zin.
NYC Midnight: Who is your
writing idol?
Emily La Fratta
I honestly don’t have an
idol. There are many people I look up to. My family,
fiancé and friends mean the world to me. I take their
advice and guidance to.
Anthony Ramirez
I was and still am heavily
influenced by Douglas Coupland. Also Bret Easton Ellis
and Chuck Palahniuk like every other kid out there. Heh.
Stephanie Ruopp
As my tastes change and
evolve, so does my attraction to different writers.
Carolyn Damon
David Sedaris.
NYC Midnight: Where were
you in 2007 the year the short story challenge was
launched?
Emily La Fratta
I was mostly in Ohio at
Miami University in my Junior-Senior year. I was also in
Switzerland visiting my family.
Anthony Ramirez
I had just graduated from
Columbia with my degree in Fiction Writing and wondering
now what to do with all this newfound knowledge.
Stephanie Ruopp
Where was I? I suppose I was
sitting on my couch, where I am now.
Carolyn Damon
I would have done it last
year, but I only found out about it a couple of weeks
before the competition started this year.
NYC Midnight: Is writing
your career, your passion? Do you have any other talents
that rank as high on your list as writing?
Emily La Fratta
Writing has been my favorite
hobby since I was little. Also up there on my list of
favorite things is Theatre -- I love working with kids
and allowing them a space to be creative and express
themselves.
Anthony Ramirez
Filmmaking is a definite
skill which is something I would probably be doing if I
didn’t go to school for writing. Also being a good DJ,
is a talent many people think they have, and is often
taken for granted.
Stephanie Ruopp
Writing is probably my
greatest passion. I am also a cartoonist, which
incorporates my writing as well. And I love to dance,
though I don’t do so on any sort of performance level
(unless backyard parties qualify).
Carolyn Damon
I would love for writing to
be my career (screenwriting actually), but I have to pay
the bills in the meantime. Other talents include web
design and working with animals. I have volunteered at a
local animal shelter (Save the Animals Foundation) for 8
years.
NYC Midnight: What is the
one thing that you would like us to know about your
experience in this weeklong challenge?
Emily La Fratta
Um, just that it was fun! I
loved having a deadline and a goal assigned to me; it
really got me motivated!
Anthony Ramirez
A week seems like more than
enough time to write, but in reality it really isn’t. It
sure was fun though.
Stephanie Ruopp
Mostly, I felt really
energized and I couldn’t have asked for a better
experience in that week. It was more motivational than
the Dalai Lama, Marianne Williamson and Wayne Dyer,
combined.
Carolyn Damon
I thought it was a really
fun, and challenging, way to get re-focused on my
writing.
Well there you have it –
tales from the 2008 Short Story Challenge Matrix of the
Midwest. Go Midwest Writers go!!
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