As part of New Flash Fiction Review’s ongoing New Micro (W.W. Norton & Co., 2018) interview series, Tommy Dean asked some questions about New Micro: Exceptionally Short Fiction. We discussed what qualities successful microfiction pieces share, what subjects are hardest to write about, and more.
TD: As a well-established micro writer yourself, what did you learn from reading/choosing many of the stories for this anthology?
RS: It was somewhat of a revelation to discover how many fine writers have turned their talents to the micro story form. I read thousands of stories, 300 words or less, and was amazed at the variety of approaches and strategies employed in creating them. Each story in the anthology is rife with impact and ingenuity, and fresh, often poetic, language.
TD: Can you define what is so satisfying about reading a story in such a short amount of words? Do you think there’s a limit, an amount of words that a story has to have? Is there a difference between story and vignette? If so, how might a reader identify them?
… read the whole thing at New Flash Fiction Review.
