Following on from the longlist announcement of the 2016/17 GBP Short Story Prize, we asked each of the thirteen writers three questions about themselves, their story, and their inspirations. Here's Amber Higgins, whose longlisted short story Little Moon is available to read as a digital single. You'll also find a short biography of Amber after her answers. 

 

 

I’ve been putting stories on paper since grade two, but I imagine my story writing started in my toddler years, where I spent countless hours in a vast imaginary world. I can still remember the names of the characters in it. To name a few: Swampy and Raviney, BBQ the dog, and a boy named Celery. As far as work that I’m proud of, I entered the writing program at the University of Victoria a few years ago and just finished my final semester. It’s been here that I’ve really honed my skills as a writer. Through rigorous workshops with supportive peers and professors that I consider both friends and mentors, I’ve learned so much. In regards to publication, I’ve only just started to feel comfortable sending my work out. I do have two poems forthcoming in Tinderbox Poetry Journal. Yay!

 

 

I wrote Little Moon during my third year fiction workshop at UVic. The inspiration came when my partner Jake and I were visiting the Sunshine Coast, British Columbia - where our families live - for Thanksgiving. We were on a mushroom picking adventure in the woods, and I was struck by the muted sounds and the smells of fungus and rotting logs. I took pictures and videos on my phone because I knew I would write about it. Most of the locales that appear in Little Moon are places that I’ve lived or spent time, such as the Okanagan and Nelson, BC. I gravitate towards writing about places I know, because authentic sensory details are so important to me. This can sometimes hold me back, though. I admire other writers that can set their stories in places they’ve never visited, using only research. The writing happened like most of my work: I wore the same pajamas for days, ate nothing until Jake cooked for me/forced me to eat it, and then I looked down at my hands to find that my nails were bitten to stubs. Fun! I do write line-by-line, with a painful focus on the music of each word. I’ve never been able to hammer out a story - or a poem - then go back and edit. I’ve learned that I need to give myself adequate time beforehand to meet a deadline. 

 

 

This is always a very hard question. Alice Munro is a given, not only because she’s Canadian and extremely prolific, but she is unparalleled - in my mind - in her development/exploration of character.  I also love John Cheever for his use of metaphor. And Lorrie Moore, because I can’t write humor and really admire those who can. Also because of that feeling of honesty in her stories.