A MicroZine Interview w/Chris Patrick

6 Questions on Microfiction

Chris Patrick

is sharing Nano Stories. He writes

Toasted Fiction with Chris Patrick

.

1. When did you first start writing microfiction?

I started writing micro fiction back in 2015. I was taking part in a Young Artists programme and one of the sessions was on micro fiction. As part of this, I set myself a challenge called 50/50/50 which involved writing 50 stories, 50 words in length each day for 50 days. I absolutely loved it and haven't looked back since.

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

Fifty word stories are the length I tend to stick to; rarely will I write micro fiction longer than that unless I feel the story dictates it needs more. I write them weekly and they jump from genre to genre; I'm as comfortable writing a short speculative story or horror as I am writing a humourous or a more character driven, literary-fiction style story.

3. Describe your microfiction writing process.

It usually changes from story to story; sometimes I'll come up with a first line or last line and flesh it out from there. Other times it's a character that pops into my head. I love micro fiction as, unlike with longer pieces that you tend to sit with and work on a bit longer, the idea for the story can be in your head one minute and in the hands of a reader the next. One thing I really like to do as part of the process for micro fiction is take inspiration from the day or the week, something that I did a lot during the 50/50/50 challenge. It's actually really helpful to keep yourself present and engage with the moment but also train yourself to find inspiration from the every day for a story that could go anywhere.

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

I've submitted one to the Scottish Book Trust that run a 50-Word Story competition, but for some reason it's something I rarely do. I'm not sure why - I put it down to the doubt that every writer battles with but it may just be my lack of awareness for contents looking for micro fiction. Publishing on Substack and sharing stories with the audience I've started to build has helped with managing that; so are publications like Justin Demming who writes Along The Hudson and runs Fifties By The Fire which encourages people to share their 50 word stories based off a prompt. That has been more valuable to me than any of the contents I've done so.

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

I'm going to be unoriginal and say the best piece of advice I can give someone is read a lot and write a lot. Read a lot of micro fiction stories to get an idea what can be done with the form, and then start writing your own. Don't worry about finding your voice or style write away, try different genres or structures until you find one that feels it fits your voice. I'd also suggest giving yourself a set number of words that your micro fiction is going to be and don't sway from that. Whether it's 6 words or 60. But above all, just go for it!

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

The Slip is probably my favourite new micro fiction story.

Although my favourite story I've written is a piece of non-fiction announcing the news my wife and I are expecting, which I can't not mention!:

Two Lines/Three Hearts

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BONUS QUESTION: Who is your favorite microfiction writer?

Dans Deliberations

Special thanks to Chris Patrick for answering these questions.