Michaela Brady, London Independent Story Prize 2024 2nd Competition Flash Fiction Finalist 'Nana's Voice'

London Independent Story Prize 2024 2nd Competition Flash Fiction Finalist 'Nana's Voice' Michaela Brady

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

I’m from NYC originally, but moved to the UK for a year abroad at Oxford University that snowballed into a Master’s degree there. Once I graduated, I figured I might as well settle in the UK for a bit and see how it goes. By day, I work for the UK government on online safety policy; by night, I’m either baking, performing at drag/cabaret shows, or staying up until 2am writing.

I’m half Irish and passionate about the Irish language, music (both trad and contemporary) writing style, culture and mythology. Themes such as displacement, loss, immersion in nature and steadfast justice that pervades so much of Irish art also drives my creative pursuits.

When and how did you get into writing?

My mom says I’ve always been a writer because I wrote a story in kindergarten that had a clear beginning, middle and end; but I didn’t consider it a talent worth nurturing until I was about 16. In my junior year of high school, I was reading American literature and engaging in intense close reading sessions in class. By the time we reached the romantics/transcendentalists, I was enamored, and needed to emulate them. I wrote a poem that was published in the high school’s literary magazine, The Current, and my mom signed me up for Sarah Lawrence College’s Summer Writers’ Workshop. There was no going back after that.

I wound up attending Sarah Lawrence College for four years, during which I wrote articles for outlets like The Culture Trip and Psychology Today. I did manage to land an excerpt of what would become my novel in the uni’s literary magazine, The Sarah Lawrence Review and a brief nonfiction piece in Airplane Reading. At Oxford, I published a book review in The Oxford Review of Books, a couple articles for The Cherwell and some short pieces for Wadham College’s website. After graduating, I published some flash fiction in 101 Words and The Story Seed, and was shortlisted for the 2019 Benjamin Franklin House’s Literary Prize.

Once the pandemic hit the UK, I dedicated as much time as I could to submitting my writing to different journals and magazines—sometimes playing hooky from my day job to meet a submission deadline. I managed to win first prize for a blog’s nature writing competition and get published in a community project called “Streatham Lockdown Diaries”, but most of my creative energy between 2021 and 2023 was dedicated to revising my novel and querying literary agents. That process is still ongoing, but I’m not giving up!

In the past two years, I’ve had fiction, nonfic and poetry featured in The Oxford Review of Books, The Bright App newsletter, The Talon Review, Pink Disco Magazine, BarBar, and Cassandra Voices. I’ll also have a poem featured in Clepsydra soon!

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

I’ve tried to instate a writing routine and have never felt more stifled. My approach to writing is totally sporadic, but if two weeks have passed and I haven’t written or edited anything, something is very wrong. Usually, I write late at night, from 11pm onwards, after all the nightly chores and other tasks are done. Akrasia is my best friend because I’ll stay up absurdly late on a work night just to hammer out an idea.

Since my first year of college, I make a point of watching the sunset, and usually a few lines of poetry might surface from doing that. Whether or not they’re usable is determined a few hours later (they usually aren’t). Other sources of inspiration include the writers I’ve befriended through the Oxford Writers’ Circle and Oxford Poetry Library; socio-political issues/injustices; and particularly intense dreams.

How does it feel to have your work recognised?

It’s a relief. On my author website, I write about the different types of rejection a writer can face in the industry, and common frustrations about it all. Every rejection makes me question whether I’m doing anything right, whether I’m doomed to be an “almost” and never an “is”, if that makes sense. Whereas every success buoys me for another day. No matter how widely read a magazine or competition page is, someone will read my words. That’s important.

Can you please give us a few tips about writing a story?

A general point is that a story is never going to be perfect, but if it affects someone, strikes their heart in a way only words can, then it’s enough.

A tip I could offer for flash is to write the ending first and work backwards. If you know what you want to leave the reader with, it makes it that much easier to keep the build-up concise.

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

Personally, I’m quite competitive but really dislike that side of myself, so competitions are a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, they’re fantastic opportunities to build credibility for your writing, earn money, and often receive mentorship or publication opportunities. On the other, competitions are quite literally a gamble; entry fees can be high and the odds of receiving a slush pile rejection are also high. But that’s not unique to writing competitions (industries like music, film, drag, and even figure skating follow this model) so always weigh your options when looking for competitions. If you really believe in your piece, and could benefit from whatever the grand prize or shortlist prize is, then go for it (within budget).

Lastly, do you recommend the writers submit to LISP?

Definitely! LISP is a great outlet for quality flash fiction, fiction and poetry, and as you can see they offer finalists the opportunity to promote themselves alongside winners. So many competitions just long/shortlist you and leave it at that, but LISP recognises the effort and talent in their finalists as well. Now that I’ve submitted once, I’ve caught the bug and will definitely submit in the future.