Short fictions: Karenlee Thompson (Tasmania)

• Author: Karenlee Thompson
• Title: Flame Tip
• Published: 2017
• Trivia:  Karenlee’s   website  and her blog.

• List of Challenges 2018
• Monthly reading plan
• #AWW2018  @AusWomenWriters
• #DealMeIn2018    Bibliophilopolis

Introduction:

• Karenlee Thompson informs the reader that  these
• works of fiction weave around
• ….the Tasmanian bush-fires of 1967.
• Black Tuesday left 62 people dead,
• …900 injured and 7000 homeless
• …in a single day.

Lost:   (flash fiction)

1. Approximately 150 words
2. This is a list of things  lost when the fire swept in
3. …and destroyed the narrator’s home, house pet, household items.
4. Basing one’s
5. “self-worth”  in a title,
6. “a position of some standing in the community“,
7.  “sense of security” in a beloved dog,  status
8. “assembled over three generations” or an object
9. “crafted by the owner’s deceased husband” will lead to a
10. feeling of devastation once that item, person, or thing has passed.
11. This is one person’s memorial to a life….lost.
12. strong point:  intensity of the story
    

Flame:   poetry

1. This entire piece of writing is a metaphor!
2. Thompson has  intentionally designed it to 
3. shape  the reader’s  understanding
4. of her actions, feelings and ideas.
5. It is intended to evoke an
6. …emotional response from the reader.

Cross Stitch:   flash fiction

1. Approximately 300 words
2. This is a dramatic incident that
3. provides insight into the thoughts of
4. a woman trying to suppress visions and
5. memories of  a thief (fire) who stole everything.
6. Motif: apron – symbolic significance for the story
7. Gift from granddaughter
8. …much beloved but it makes her shudder.

On Heming Way:   poetry

1. Tension is the key element
2. It propels the reader through the poem.
3. Structure:  1 stanza with  14 lines with end-stop punctuation.
4. Idea: the consequences of the fire.
5. Pacing:  is fast, simple sentences.
6. It feels like a hand pressed in the middle of my back
7. …pushing me along.
8. I want to read further to understand the poet’s message.
9. How does a poet create tension?
10. Thompson moves back and forth between
11. talking: “Clothes are dry, gum tree scented”
12. talking: “No school today,” ….”No candles on my birthday cake.”
13. crying out: “Enough fire.”…”I saw a spark and ran”
14. crying out: “Please don’t shake the match box”
15. “….Has anyone seen my dog Rudy?”
16. Alliteration: “fuel, fire found it.”  “hot and hellish”
17. Image: “Sucked into the fire, came out ashes”
18. …this  draws my attention and I see the flames before my eyes!
19. Onomatopoeia: the verb ‘sucked’  sounds like the fire destroying everything!
20. Juxtaposition:  line 5: dates of
21. Tasmania 1967 and Victoria 2009,….to jolt reader’s memory.
22. Strong point: Just 14 sentences and so much impact!

Love, What is Thy Name? :  epistolary

1. Epistolary form adds realism to a narrative.
2. It imitates real life workings.
3. Strong point: intimate view of characters’ feelings and thoughts
4. #BestLoveLetters  and  one #DearJohn….all in one story!
5. Brilliant!

Conclusion:

• If you want it or not,
• …life does leave its marks not only in your brain
• …but in your heart and in your soul.
• The understanding of the devastation of a brushfire deepens.
• It is not just an item on the news.
• This is a wonderful collection of short fiction!
• I have highlighted a few on the selections and
• …leave the rest for you to discover.
• Believe me…you won’t be disappointed!