If it’s a model of flash fiction you’re looking for, go no further than The Pit, a wee slice of the supernatural from the Flashmaster himself, Aberdeen-based Bill Robertson. And there’s not a spare word in sight!
Then there’s the ability to write concisely, dispensing with the frivolities, reaching the heart of the matter. That’s exactly what Grangemouth-born Andrew McCallum Crawford does in I’m Not Their Dad, in which a fraught relationship is laid bare in as few words as possible.
But your writing also need to be versatile, just like that of Glaswegian Pat Black, who can turn his pen from comedy to sci-fi to high drama in the blink of an eye. And here he is having a bash at Tartan Noir in Settling Accounts, a gripping, McChandler-esque tale set in his home city.
Enjoy – and learn!