SmokeLong Quarterly

You’re the founding editor of The Masters Review. Can you tell us a little bit about what prompted you to start it and how it has grown since the initial idea?

I started The Masters Review in response to the anthology Best New American Voices going under. I loved the idea of a publication that focused exclusively on new and emerging authors, but suddenly there wasn’t a space for it. Since its inception, The Masters Review has grown into an organization that really offers a strong platform for new writers. In addition to our yearly anthology we do an online summer workshop with editors from other lit mags and several contests a year that connect writers with agents and established authors in the field. For example, right now we’re working with PEN America to offer a larger readership to our contest winner.

What do you love about flash fiction?

I love the power of flash. How much can unfold in a tiny space. I also love how it services unique forms and ideas. Often, a strange premise can’t hold up over the span of an entire novel or short story, but in a piece of flash it’s exactly right. These tiny stories can do incredible things.

What are some common missteps you see writers make in flash fiction? Are they the same or different from the mistakes you notice in longer stories?

The mistakes I see in flash are often the same as in longer pieces, just in different proportion. In flash fiction, writers often try to wrap up an ending too quickly and the result is a conclusion that doesn’t feel earned, but that’s something you see in longer work too. I suppose the biggest mistake that stands out to me in flash is when writers don’t pay attention to the economy of the story. A narrative begins in the wrong place or is trying to do too much or doesn’t understand its mission. It’s that notion of understanding the power of your word count and really making it work.

What kind of story would you love to see in your queue this week?

I’m drawn to work that is strong on the sentence level; that thinks about language and uses it creatively or in a way that reflects a unique sensibility. I love speculative stories and they’re some of my favorites to read, but writers shouldn’t limit themselves to that genre. I also love a WOW moment. Not in a cheesy way, but that moment when a great story reveals itself to you. Tara Laskowski wrote an essay for us on how to write flash fiction, and I connected a lot with her ideas on a story that lingers for the reader. For me, that’s the WOW factor. In terms of things I don’t like: I tend to dislike stories that have a formal distance unless it is done very well. I like stories that drive at the heart of their characters. I like work that explores interiority.