SmokeLong Quarterly

Over the next few months, we’ll be introducing our submissions editors so that you, dear writers and readers, might have a clearer idea of who we are, who reads your work first at SmokeLong, and what they love to see in the SmokeLong submissions queue. We are all writers at SmokeLong, so we know that sharing work can be difficult. Our submissions editors are all experienced flash writers and participate in the discussion throughout the editorial process. Your work is assigned to two submissions editors and sent to the senior editors if at least one of the submissions editors votes MAYBE on the submission. At SmokeLong we are always rooting for you.  – Christopher Allen, Publisher

This week the lovely Farhana Khalique shares her words of wisdom and inspiration. See what she says about submitting to SmokeLong and what inspires her and brings her joy! – Melissa Llanes Brownlee, Senior Submissions Editor

What excites you about a submission?

What excites me about a submission is any writing that immediately gets my attention, and then holds it all the way through to the end. This might be through the use of a compelling voice or (extended) image. Anything beautifully written that has an emotional impact, which lingers long after reading. Easier said than done, I know! But it’s best to start at the heart of the action, follow your instincts and see it through, remaining open to how it could end rather than trying to copy or second-guess how others might write or expect something to be written.

What’s something about a submission that makes you want to give it a thumbs-up?

I give submissions a thumbs-up if they are playful and inventive across the board. E.g. if it’s a unique situation or a unique take on a situation, coupled with beautiful writing. And by beautiful, I don’t necessarily mean super descriptive or lyrical, sometimes writing that’s quite sparse can be just as compelling and intriguing. As long as all the elements serve the story that you’re trying to tell, but economical prose probably helps – it is Flash, after all!

What is your advice for writers submitting to SmokeLong?

My advice to writers submitting to SLQ is: read the journal first (it’s really obvious when a submitter has never read an SLQ issue before submitting their piece); submit something that stands on its own as a Flash piece, and not something that you’ve cut-down so that it’s only just under 1,000 words; focus on a moment(s) that is significant and avoid superfluous exposition and description that don’t serve the story, trust the reader to make the connections; ask yourself if the subject matter and voice make you feel something – if you’re excited by the story, then the reader will be; and finally, keep submitting! We read blind, so most of us will never know if you’ve been rejected once or 100 times before, your story will eventually find the right home.

What are you writing now?

I’m currently writing a mixture of flash fiction and short stories, which I hope to turn into a collection(s) of short fiction. Either a Flash collection, or a Short Story collection, or a hybrid book of both.

What brings you joy?

What brings me joy? What a lovely question! It varies, sometimes it’s a clear blue sky (a bit rare in London UK, haha), other times it’s a line from a poem, other times it’s discussing trashy TV at length with my best friends, other times (and probably the most inspiring for my creative writing) it’s going for a walk, listening to a favourite album, playing my guitar, or visiting an exhibit or festival. Anything remotely creative or writing-adjacent helps – you have to replenish the creative well however you can.

How did you find your way to flash?

I found my way to flash through the incredible, and incredibly kind and down-to-earth, Kathy Fish! I had been attending another writing workshop at a Word Factory festival and was about to leave the building, when I was passing a Flash workshop that Emily Devane and Divya Ghelani were running and they included a reading of Kathy’s ‘Collective Nouns for Humans in the Wild’, which of course stopped me in my tracks. The rest of the workshop included picking a postcard as a writing prompt and writing for 10 mins, and then reading my work aloud, which I did and I got good feedback on, and then I just carried on. It’s a very addictive form! And the flash community is super-supportive.

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