A MicroZine Interview w/Bridget Riley

6 Questions on Microfiction

Bridget Riley

is writing one of the best serial stories right now, Down in the Holler. She writes

Naptime Novelist

.

1. When did you first start writing microfiction?

I first started writing microfiction as part of the NYC Midnight writing competitions, which have annual contests for microfiction of varying lengths. Having a strict word count, genre, and additional prompts to meet in a short time frame was a very fun, brain-tickling challenge, so I started entering the contests every year.

2. What kind of microfiction do you write? Any specific length or genre? How often?

I think my favorite length for microfiction is ~100 words, and I usually write them in response to a particular prompt. It's almost like a puzzle, finding ways to fit a punchy story into such a small space! While I enjoy genre-hopping, my personal favorite microfiction stories have been either science fiction or fantasy, as they give so much room for out-of-the-box creativity while also forcing you to be very careful with your word choice in order to make the story world clear in a very short piece.

3. Describe your microfiction writing process.

Brainstorm. Outline. Word dump. Cut words. Cut more words. Edit. Slash words I love but that don't fit. Lament that I always word dump so far over the maximum word count. Murder some more words, and massage phrasing to pull the story out as efficiently and effectively as possible. Wind up liking my mangled finished product even more than my wordy first attempt. Eat ice cream and/or take a nap.

4. Have you ever submitted your microfiction to a contest or publication before? If so, why and where? If not, why not?

Yep, the NYC Midnight contests! I highly recommend, particularly for the individualized feedback given by the judges!

5. What advice would you give someone who is on the fence about writing microfiction?

Do it! I perform better with deadlines, so contests work for me. But even without the pressure of a hard-and-fast deadline, learning how to trim down unnecessary words and phrasing is one of the most valuable skills I'm learning as a writer.

6. Share either your favorite piece or most recent microfiction that you’ve written.

"The Coming of Cesh-Corran" was the first piece of microfiction I published on Substack:

Scraping flays the Dome. Light bleeds where our tiny sky will burst and Cesh-Corran will enter.

I turn to my gossamer-winged acolytes, the dozen Fae who have not fled deeper into our subterranean home.

I breathe. One breath of a handful more.

I announce. “I, the Herald, speak – think not of your temporal life, but of what you will gain. Cesh-Corran comes in glory.”

Silence.

Then shattering like glass.

The sky falls.

Screams surround me; I turn to Cesh-Corran.

Roaring, grinding.

Searing light.

Faces inside a ship – ears without tines, bodies without flight. Creatures unseen for millenia.

Not Cesh-Corran.

Humans.

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BONUS QUESTION: Who is your favorite microfiction writer?

Oh, this is a tough one! I see so much great microfiction on Substack. But two of the regular posters whose pieces I love are

Erica Drayton

(hi!) and

Hanna Delaney

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Special thanks to Bridget Riley for answering these questions.