Why do you write flash? What makes it different for you?
Discovering flash fiction as a reader opened my mind as a writer. Finally, I had found a genre in which I could truly experiment without the risk of wasting months on a story I wouldn’t be able to finish. Once I started writing flash fiction, I learned how to limit my word count and be a better self-editor. It’s a great way to practice my craft. But I mostly write flash for fun. It’s really one of my favorite activities.
What’s your writerly lifejacket: character or plot?
My stories often begin with a question, a first sentence, or a character. The plot usually comes afterward. In a novel, I cannot even conceive of what will happen without knowing to whom it will be happening. The plot in my flash fiction is frequently a consequence of the voice I’ve chosen. Only after finishing the first draft do I know what the story is about, and then I rewrite it to tell that story better.
Writing style: Quick and messy or slow and precise?
Both. When I follow voice, it’s quick and messy, leading to weird stories or failures. When I follow an idea, I often labor over individual sentences that don’t seem to connect, until I put them in the right sequence and the story starts to make sense to me.
What element or part of your “real life” do you think most influences your writing?
Death, and how it gives meaning to life. I have never looked away from death, not even as a child. And the people I’ve lost are always with me in my mind.
If you could recommend one flash story or writer, who/what would it be?
Forced to choose only one, I will have to name the author who inspired me to write my first flash stories, and that is Lydia Davis. Not an original choice, I know, but it’s her stories that lured me to the genre.
What story of yours do you wish got more recognition?
I never think about it that way. The stories are out there, and I’m already happy they can be read. I’ve been very fortunate with the attention they have received. The stories that sometimes fall into a void are the ones I place in print mags. Readers rarely contact me online about what they have read in print. So I learned: if I crave more direct responses, I should favor online journals.
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