Gary Finnegan, London Independent Story Prize 3rd Round 2024 Finalist, 'The Soloist'

London Independent Story Prize 3rd Round 2024 Finalist, 'The Soloist', Gary Finnegan

- Can you please tell us about you and your daily life?

I’m a journalist and editor, mostly working on health and medical topics. I squeeze creative writing in when I can, but would love more time to devote to fiction.

The challenge is that as a freelance writer, I’m programmed to make every word count by publishing everything. With fiction, you have to be prepared to write off a thousand words as part of the development process. I’m still learning to switch back and forth between these two modes.

I usually work at home and – sorry, I’ve to answer the door to take in a delivery.

Where was I?

Ah yes, working from home: it’s great but there are plenty of interruptions.

I’ll finish this in a sec, I just need to set off the washing machine before I forget.

- When and how did you get into writing?

I accidentally studied science at university but, as I was thoroughly mediocre in the lab, I moved into science writing as swiftly as possible. I’ve won a few journalism awards along the way. 

In my twenties, while living in China, I wrote a creative non-fiction book - Beijing for Beginners: An Irishman in the People’s Republic. I really loved doing that and, about fifteen years later, decided to do an MA in creative writing at Maynooth University – which I completed in 2024.

Along the way, I’ve had fifteen or sixteen pieces of flash and short fiction published in various journals. Every one of them was a thrill. I’ve developed a mild addiction to submitting to journals and competitions. Writing this has triggered me to refresh my Submittable page in case a submission has moved from ‘received’ to ‘in-progress’. 

- How often do you write? Do you have a writing routine? And what inspires you to write?

I write almost every day, but much of it is part of my job. I try to protect a day or so each week to work on fiction, but life can get in the way. I’ll often dip into it on the weekend, if time allows. The most productive writing happens when I take myself off to a library for a few hours.

Inspiration can come from anywhere. Another writer told me once that fiction is memory plus imagination. That sounds about right: start with some nugget of experience – your own or someone else’s – and see where it takes you.

- How does it feel to have your work recognised?

When you start writing fiction, you have no idea whether your work is any good at all. Having a piece recognised by someone you don’t know is really valuable. I’d love to say I don’t need anyone’s approval, or that I just know whether a story is good or bad, but I find it really difficult to tell.

- What's the best and most challenging thing about writing a Flash Fiction?

When you start something and don’t want to stop, you are reminded why you love writing fiction. It’s not always so easy. The difficult part is wondering whether anyone else would find your story moving or entertaining. All you can do at that early stage is ask Would I want to read this if it were written by someone else?

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

This came from a challenge Paul Lynch set our class at Maynooth University: Describe the sound of a cello. He promised a bottle of wine for the best effort. I wrote two lines and forgot about it. But then it popped back into my mind one morning. Who was playing this cello and why? So I decided to finish it.

I keep the empty wine bottle on my bookshelf.

- Can you please give us a few tips about writing a Flash Fiction?

First, once you’ve got an idea, just write the thing so you have something to edit. Then ask yourself what this is really about and why someone might read it. You’ll often hear people say you need a good tagline for a novel or a screenplay. The same can apply to short stories. This is not about an external marketing pitch, it’s a question of whether you can sell the idea back to yourself. If you can, keep going. If you can’t, nobody else is going to buy it.

- What's the best thing and the most challenging thing about competitions?

They are a great way to share your writing with new readers and a chance to connect with other writers. I still exchange stories and general encouragement with a writer I met through a contest two years ago.

The worst thing about contests is the hope-crushing emails that arrive to say you have not made the longlist. But that’s how it goes: any competition worth entering receives huge numbers of submissions. You have to expect nothing and hope to be wrong.

- Lastly, do you recommend the writers submit to LISP?

Has anyone ever said no to this? Yes, of course! There are lots of competitions out there, and the odds of winning any of them are long – so, prizes that publish lists of finalists or include shortlisted entries in an anthology or events are really appreciated. And LISP stands out for celebrating writers through interviews like this one.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to answer the door to someone who really thinks I should switch broadband providers…