Why do you write flash? What makes it different for you? Flash is like a no-fuss best friend to me—it’s much easier to manage than the more time-consuming, “high maintenance” short stories and essays that I also write. I can usually count on flash to show up when I’ve got limited time to dedicate to … Continue reading Mini-Interview with Michele Finn Johnson
Interviews
Mini-Interview with Michelle Ross
Why do you write flash? What makes it different for you? Writing flash has made me a better writer because it’s taught me so much about compression and silences, the importance of what is intentionally left unsaid. It’s also an extremely practical form for when I have only small snatches of time to write. Although … Continue reading Mini-Interview with Michelle Ross
Mini-Interview with Sara Lippmann
Why do you write flash? What makes it different for you? I received Black Tickets as a gift from my first undergrad workshop instructor, the fearless and scary smart Lucy Corin, and that generosity – with her notes in margins – affected me deeply. (I’ve since hijacked that practice, and give books to my students … Continue reading Mini-Interview with Sara Lippmann
Mini-Interview with Jan Stinchcomb
Why do you write flash? What makes it different for you? I’ve always been delighted by the challenge of flash. It seems like it would be impossible, or like it sets you up to fail. All flash writers are close cousins of Sisyphus and Charlie Brown. What's your writerly lifejacket: character or plot? Character, definitely. … Continue reading Mini-Interview with Jan Stinchcomb
Mini-Interview with Kristin Bonilla
Why do you write flash? What makes it different for you? Is it weird that I’ve never thought about this? I like understatement, efficiency, playfulness, nuance. These are seemingly contradictory things but together they create tension and intrigue. Flash is an ideal form for me, in that regard. My favorite novelists started out as poets. … Continue reading Mini-Interview with Kristin Bonilla
Mini-Interview with Kate Finegan
Why do you write flash? What makes it different for you? In high school and college, I was really into writing poetry. I like how poetry and flash convey an intense experience succinctly. I see flash as a well-sharpened knife that can slice to the heart of the matter quickly, or a bolt of lightning … Continue reading Mini-Interview with Kate Finegan
Mini-Interview with Josh Jones
Why do you write flash? What makes it different for you? Ever since I first discovered short stories, I fell in love with the form. When I then was introduced to flash, I was amazed at how much could be done in so little space. I read the 1992 anthology Flash Fiction: 72 Very … Continue reading Mini-Interview with Josh Jones
Mini-Interview with Kathyrn Kulpa
Why do you write flash? What makes it different for you? I started out writing long, full short stories, often so long that I had a hard time finding a home for them. But when I look at them I realize that many of them are written as a series of short scenes. One of … Continue reading Mini-Interview with Kathyrn Kulpa
Mini-Interview with K.B. Carle
Why do you write flash? What makes it different for you? I write flash because I enjoy the challenge of capturing a pivotal moment for a character in just a few pages. In those pages, I need to show readers why this moment matters. However, when writing short stories, I tend to have more … Continue reading Mini-Interview with K.B. Carle
Mini-Interview with Kim Magowan
Why do you write flash? What makes it different for you? The first flash I ever wrote, before I knew there was this genre called flash, is a story called “Palimpsest,” back in 2010. My writing group at the time said, “We like this beginning a lot, where’s it going?” and I said, “No, that’s … Continue reading Mini-Interview with Kim Magowan