Autumn Prompted Issue

Following the launch of each of our issues, we cajole one or more of the contributors into a mini interview with the Trash Cat.
Here they will reveal some writing wisdom and tell you what trash critter they identify with most. Important stuff like that.

Today, we have Joyce Bingham who sent us two superb, very different flash, and we decided to publish both. Read The Lady in Waiting and What Humans Are

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Q: What piece of writing advice/ crafting rule would you trash?

A: It’s been said by many others and its ‘write what you know’. Bet they didn’t say that to Shakespeare as he was trying to flog Hamlet, a story about a prince of Denmark. Only you can write your stories and we all leave parts of us in them, our joys, our hurts, our angst. I can write a story about an astronaut, even if I’ll never be one; it’s the thoughts I put inside the character’s head that matters.

Q: Which writers and magazines do you go to to find treasure to read?

A: Recently I’ve been reading a lot of sci-fi and dystopian, both short stories and novels to keep up to date for comparison titles. When I get the chance, I read Trash Cat Lit (obviously), Temple in a City, Fictive Dream, Bending Genres and Ghost Parachute. I love discovering new writers, and revisiting ones I’ve seen before.

Q: What trash animal do you most identify with?

A: It has to be a magpie. I love shiny things. I can be very noisy when I want to be. I can’t abide pigeons; they trample my garden and wake me up in the mornings with their silly ‘My toe hurts, Betty’ song. Being a magpie, I can chase them away and rule the garden.

Q: When your writing mojo is trashed, how do you recharge?

A: My writing mojo is cyclic, so I’m used to having days when new writing just doesn’t happen, I try to relax into it. I edit if I have something written. Otherwise, I go and potter in the garden or the greenhouse or read. Occasionally only trash television will aid my recovery.

Q: If you could offer three tips to writing short treasures, what would they be?

A:  
1 – Put exact detail in, don’t say ‘a tree’ tell us sycamore or oak. It makes the story real to the reader.

2 – Think of three possible endings; predictable, a different take, a wild card. Which one would satisfy you as a reader?

3 – Titles are so hard. Even if the title was your kicking off point, does it still fit? Do you need the title to ground the reader so you can save some words?

Q: What is one thing, if spotted in a crowded charity shop/thrift store, you would just have to buy

A: Finding a pristine notebook is a delight. My most recent purchase is a lever arch folder with humming birds on the front for a massive 50p. But it’s the jewellery I love. I’m not looking for diamonds or gold, simply gorgeous beads and necklaces which I can wear. I am a magpie after all.

Joyce Bingham is a Scottish writer, living in the North-West of England, whose work has appeared in publications such as Sci-Fi shorts, Flash Frog, WestWord, Molotov Cocktail, Bending Genres, and Ghost Parachute.