Thank you so much for doing this interview with me; I was so excited to receive my copy of The Field Guide in the mail! I found your introduction to the book quite fascinating. I had no idea that the short short has been around for a long time. In researching the introductory material, what surprised you most? Were there any interesting tidbits you thought were funny or incredible?

Many things surprised me when I did the research. As I mentioned in the intro, I was increasingly overwhelmed with the information I found on different books and magazines that published short shorts, and on authors, both in the Unites States and abroad, who attempted to write them. I did not realize what a heavy influence O. Henry had on the early short, and while I knew esteemed writers such as Poe and Fitzgerald made a living publishing in periodicals, I had no idea that there was this other tier of popular writers making a living off of writing the short short. I’m sure today’s flash writers would love to be able to live off their flash writings! And while I would not say it was funny or incredible, it was “fun” to come across a short short story by Pinto Colvig, otherwise known as Bozo the Clown, in an anthology of short shorts. Colvig even drew an illustration to go with his humorous farm story. I suppose today’s equivalent might be Jim Carrey writing a short short for SmokeLong Quarterly or Vestal Review, and illustrating it.

You write in your intro, “Telling stories…is natural to all societies and appears to play a part in our individual and communal health.” I agree. What role do stories–or storytelling–play in your own life?

That’s a great question. I think, in general, that all artists have an increased hypersensitivity to the world around them, and suffer a bit for it. All art is a means of expression, of trying to understand, and sometimes even control, that which we can’t control. I’m too close to my writing to analyze it, and I’m not 100 percent sure what role stories play in my own life. I only know I’ve been creating characters and stories since I could walk and talk. My father says I used to walk an imaginary dog alongside him when he walked the real family dog. And I always had some sort of imaginary pet that was named, given a home, and “fed.” They were often miniature. And I made fairy houses. Maybe that’s one reason I’m attracted to short short fiction now? Something in that miniature form, that ability to reduce life into a small frame, fascinates and delights me, both as a writer and a reader.

Do you have a favorite short short author or individual piece? What is it and why?

There are so many authors with different styles and methods of writing short shorts that I can’t point to just one author or one piece (and I’m not just being pc here, it’s the truth). But if I had to pick one that so far stands out for me, it would be Japanese Nobel–Prize winner Yasunari Kawabata. No one thus far has achieved his mastery on such a grand scale as he did. It will be exciting, now that flash is becoming more of an accepted genre, to see if someone from our book, over a lifetime, will also achieve that kind of fame.

Why do you write and who do you write for?

When I’ve created something out of nothing, I get a great sense of accomplishment, whether anyone reads it or not. Primarily, I write for myself. But there is still a secondary need to have my work read, and for it to have some tiny impact on people. As someone who is bicultural, I see two sides to most everything. I do hope in some writings to get people to look at an issue or character with a different perspective than they might otherwise have done so before. I’ve had an essay reprinted in several multicultural textbooks, and to see the student reactions to it online has been really rewarding, knowing that my words have had some meaning for these students, enough so that they’ve shared their thoughts and essays on their blogs. That’s the wonderful thing about the Internet—it allows the writer more access to the reader’s reactions, for better or worse!

Can you tell us anything about your current or forthcoming projects?

I have some ideas, but am taking a break right now to enjoy the results of this project. This past year has been incredibly busy for me—Rose Metal Press and I accomplished a great deal in one year. And I’m discovering promotion is a job in itself. But I am shopping around a collection of short stories, and working in fits and starts on a novel.

What are you reading now?

I’m between reading books at this moment. Just finished Mark Helprin’s The Pacific. He’s a favorite of mine, and this story collection is brilliant. I have a long list of books to get to, including Jiang Rong’s Wolf Totem, Matt Bell’s flash chapbooks, and Kathy Rooney’s Live Nude Girl essay collection.

Do you have a favorite blog or website that we should check out?

I wish I had more time to read blogs and sites. I just barely have time to keep up with email. There are many new sites cropping up daily, it seems, that focus on or promote writing and flash fiction. One reason flash is doing so well. But one new site I think that stands out is Dan Pritchard’s The Critical Flame.

How do you know when a piece of your writing is “finished”?

I think I fall into that camp of not believing any writing is ever finished, it’s just good enough to go out when I think I can’t edit it anymore. There are some stories that just seem to write themselves and need only a few drafts, and I never change a word again. Those come out of some special place I wish I could access more often. Then there are those stories I struggle with, which always seem like they are under par, and even after publication, I keep tinkering with them.

What is your biggest challenge personally regarding writing?

My biggest challenge has been to complete a novel. My brain seems more wired for the shorter form. This, incidentally, is a common theme among many of the flash writers. There are writers, such as Ron Carlson, Robert Olen Butler, and Michael Martone, who can move back and forth with ease from longer works of prose to shorter works. But for the most part, while many of the flash writers are producing longer works, it doesn’t come as easily as writing a complete, 100-word story. And it seems to be separate from poetry. A good poet does not necessarily make a good flash writer, and vice versa. So it really seems to be restricted to how a person’s brain imagines, creates, arranges, and relays prose.

Thank you, Tara, for these great questions and your enthusiasm for flash! Your own blog looks like it is shaping up to be a great new addition to the online community.

Thank you! I’m already working through many of the exercises in The Field Guide and loving it. If others wish to purchase a Field Guide for themselves, please visit Rose Metal Press.