Why do you write flash? What makes it different for you?

            I started writing flash fiction because of my short attention span. It works better with how I function. I’ll try to write longer stories sometimes, and I find myself getting bored halfway through or coming up with another idea for a different story and abandoning the previous project altogether.

            I love flash fiction. I think it’s magic. It’s so brief, so quick, but it shows you this whole world. You can get lost in just five hundred or a thousand words. It pulls you out of your own experience, plops you down in another, and then sends you back out, reeling. Just like that. And then you want to read it again.

What’s your writerly lifejacket: character or plot?

            This is a hard question, but I think character. My stories are always about connection, about people. Without that, I have nothing.

Writing style: Quick and messy or slow and precise?

            Quick and messy. I write in short bursts, like if I don’t get it out of me, I’ll lose it. I like it, though. I like feeling like the story is in control for a little bit.

What element or part of your “real life” do you think most influences your writing?

            The people in my life. The people I love, the people who’ve hurt me, the people I used to know, the people I met briefly. The good, the bad—it doesn’t matter. People inspire me. Sometimes you meet a person and you think, Oh my God, I have to write about you.

If you could recommend a few flash stories or writers, who/what would it be?

            I love Dina Relles. There is so much heart in her work. You feel everything. Leonora Desar is like that as well. Marisa Crane is another voice I love. I read everything of hers. Maddie Anthes, too. Sometimes I read her stories, and I’m like, did I write this? I think our styles are very similar. Cathy Ulrich is obviously the flash fiction queen. Her work just floors me. It’s so original. Jenny Fried is also really, really good. And K.B. Carle! She’s so talented.

What story of yours do you wish got more recognition?

            I’m still in this place of feeling like I don’t deserve attention for my writing—imposter syndrome, doubt, whatever you want to call it. I’m trying to break out of that.

            I really loved writing the story that appeared in The Ginger Collect, “Pyres.” I surprised myself with that one. I want to keep surprising myself.

BIO: Hannah Gordon is a writer and editor living in Chicago. She was born and raised in Michigan, and the Midwest has remained a big influence on her writing. She’s the managing editor of CHEAP POP. You can find more of her work here and follow her on Twitter at @_hannahnicole.