SHALLA CHATS with Julie Ann Shapiro

"Flash Fiction: The Ultra-Short Story"

by Shalla DeGuzman

First of all, who ’s Julie?

Julie Ann Shapiro is a business writer, award-winning short story author and novelist. Her story collection, Flashes of the Other World is recently out from Pulp Bits.

Her work has appeared in San Diego Union Tribune, North County Times, Los Angeles Journal, Pindeldyboz, Sacred Waters/Fire, Story South, Word Riot, Opium Magazine, Insolent Rudder, Elimae, Ghoti Magazine, The 2nd Hand, Cezzane’s Carrots, Mad Hatters Review, Writers Post Journal, Spoiled Ink, Void, Footsteps to Oxford, Salome, Skive, Millennium Shift, Sage of Consciousness, Mega Era Magazine, Moon Dance, Science Fiction and Fantasy World, Green Tricycle, Long Story Short, All Things Girl, Ultimate Hallucination, The Glut, Somewhat, Uber, Moon Dance, The Quarterly Staple, Journal of Modern Post, Rumble, Cellar Door Magazine, Edifice Wrecked, Espresso Fiction, Flash Fiction – Coffee Cup Series, ISM Quarterly and elsewhere.

Workshop/Speaking Engagements:
Southern California Writers Conference - February 2007 and February 2006. Julie conducted a workshop on "Flash Fiction, The Ultra Quick Story Market."

Southern California Writers Association - September 2005. Julie gave a presentation on "How to Write and Sell Short Stories."

Shalla: Hello Julie. Congratulations on the publication of Flashes of the Other World. I love flash fiction!

Julie: Thank you for inviting me to be interviewed. I love flash stories too. I think what’s so enticing for me about flash stories is that they are a bridge between story and poetry.

I love the extreme of writing flash and novels. As for flash…there’s something so incredible about seeing a beautiful story with a snappy, beginning, middle and end. With so many things competing for attention flash stories can provide that love of reading in a short burst of time. They’re an ADD’s answer to fiction or maybe even modern life’s answer.

It’s been very exciting to see the publication of my collection, Flashes of the Other World and the recent reviews. I find it fascinating to see the various interpretations of flash as a story medium and readers’ reactions to my stories. The most recent review was in the spring issue of the Non-Euclidian Café. Some of the other reviews have been in Ecclectica and Void Magazine.

Here’s a link to the reviews on my website, http://www.julieannshapiro.com/bookreviews.htm.
Unfortunately, the publisher of the collection Pulp Bits, closed their doors in March 2007. This is so often the case with small presses, lacking resources and distribution. This was very disappointing as they were just starting to serialize my novel, One Shoe Diaries. Now the novel is available for publication.

I really liked the Pulp Bits editors and authors and was sad to see them go out of business. Last I heard they were in talks with some possible buyers. In the interim, the story collection, Flashes of the Other World is available for readers to purchase from my distributor, the DPP Store, http://www.dppstore.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?item=5370flas.

Shalla: For those who aren’t familiar, would you define flash fiction for us? As opposed to short-short, micro-fiction, dribble, drabble, etc.

Julie: Flash fiction is like a jolt of espresso vs. a tall grande or the big gulp. A flash story is characterized by the intensity of language, the ability to say much in a little space. Most flash fiction stories are well under a 1000 words. Many magazines draw the limit at 500 or 750 words. Some even limit it to 100-300 words. There are also flash magazines that have contests for flashes at 69 words and 55 words.

Shalla: What makes a flash fiction piece successful? Any tips?

Julie: Through a combination of great prose and compelling characters we have to hook the reader, like a lasso in the old days of the west we throw it around our readers and grab them into our story. Strong hooks allow readers to be voyeurs. But a great hook can’t leave the readers empty after those first few sentences. You need to hook the reader through the whole story so they stay because their curiosity is continually awakened and they feel empathy and/or disdain for the characters.

This applies to any story, but is extra important with flash. The story needs to get to the center of a moment in the characters’ lives. It’s like a slice of life with accelerated urgency. There’s minimal setup and very little back story.

Editing: When you’re editing flashes ask is there a definable plot. Can you see a clear beginning? A strong middle? A sharp ending? If you don't it’s a snippet of a larger piece. Start editing. Is there a clear point in your story and is it poignant. Most flash fiction stories have a sudden beginning and ending, one that haunts readers long after they’ve read the story. Ask yourself are all the words essential to the story? Does the story have unnecessary descriptions? Are there some phrases that are a detour and pull the reader out of the story? If you’re not sure what’s off beat try reading it out loud with or without certain sections until you see the core emerge.

Shalla: You have been published in so many magazines, congrats. But is there a secret to that? Do you study the magazine first before submitting? What could give the writer a better edge?

Julie: Thank you. I think the key is to write as much as you can, explore wherever the story takes you, be persistent, determined and most of all don’t be afraid to have your stories out there. I know so many writers that get rejections and stop trying.

We owe it to our stories to keep on trying. I believe stories come to us as a gift and a way to honor that gift is to send the stories out into the universe. They don’t connect with others when they’re only on our computers.

The pain of rejection is what makes most writers give up. I’ve had plenty of rejections and they’re no fun. The key is to diffuse the negative energy before you do the woe is me dance. One of the ways I do this is by making a deal with myself. When a rejection comes in I have to send the story right back out there. This takes the sting away. It feels good to know the story is out there again.

I sometimes think every writer should work in sales at some point in their life. Most of my career has been in marketing communications, but my brief stint in sales taught me that closing a deal is a numbers game. It’s not so different with publications. If you send enough stories out there someone will say yes. Once you get that first yes, keep the momentum going and send out more stories.

Also, find colleagues who write similar to you, whether it’s in style or content. See who is publishing their stories. Chances are those editors maybe open to your stories.

Researching markets can be valuable, but not if it is at the expense of writing time. I often check out a magazine by skimming the story hooks. This tells me right away what kind of stories the editors like. Another trick is something I learned in marketing when reading competitive ads. I call it following the Z. What’s in the left top section and the bottom right i.e. the closing is the most important. If you’re pressed for time and need to know if a magazine is right for your stories – skim the top and bottom of the Z.

Shalla: And I’ve always wondered, from your experience, would you say that editors are often tempted to publish a work, not necessarily for its merits, but for the author’s credentials? In other words, I wonder if having a Pulitzer and/or a Nobel Prize win in your bio makes editors publish your work, even if it isn’t as good as someone who hasn’t published anything before.

Julie: It all depends. Some magazines do appear to publish familiar writers, while others publish unknown authors all the time. I tend to be an idealist and think there are enough markets, at least with ezines for good stories to find homes without being concerned about cliques. It’s hard to know for sure whether it’s a clique or if the good writers are just grouped together.

Also, writers look at where their friends or colleagues get published and often submit to those same magazines. I see it more as a wider community than a clique.

Shalla: How much of what you write actually gets published? And what do you do with those who aren’t published yet? Do you revise, submit, and keep on revising and submitting until it gets published?

Julie: About sixty percent of my flashes have been published. Most of the time I edit my flashes stories as I write them, but sometimes I’ll edit them over the succeeding days.

I set aside the stories that haven’t been published and work on my novel in process or new flashes. Sometimes I don’t submit the story because it’s too experimental, or it feels like a couple of choice bites as opposed to a whole story, or it seems like it is part of a larger work. Recently, I merged four flashes into a longer story. The first part of that flash is soon to be published. The second part got rejected and the third and fourth parts I never submitted. Now I’ll be submitting the longer story to some magazines.

Other flashes have become parts of a novel in process. Sometimes a wonderful character emerges in a flash that I just have to explore. Flashes are great ways to test out ideas, themes and characters.

Shalla: When do you know when to give up on a story?

Julie: When the story feels done, as vague as, that may sound. It’s a feeling that all I want to say has been said and that the language and characters work. Also, I realize that if I spend too more energy on that it would take away time from new stories. It’s a juggling act between revising and creating new stories. I try to have different days for writing and revising.

Something could be revised perpetually. It’s important as writers to let a story go and move onto to other stories.

Shalla: Do you have any tips on handling rejection from editors?

Would you say, a writer should just:

a.) move on, submit it to another magazine and never ever submit to that magazine that rejected the work again

b.) after a couple of months, submit it again to the same magazine in the hopes that another editor reads it and may accept it for publication Or

c.) none of the above

Julie: When a rejection comes in it’s usually a call to do one of three things – resubmit, revise or set aside the story. It all depends on the story. If an editor makes a comment about a revision that resonates, then it’s a good idea to revise and resubmit to that magazine. Any time there is some kind of feedback and encouragement from the magazine it’s a good idea to resubmit. Some times it takes a couple of stories to get in with a magazine.

Shalla: Lastly, any books, newsletters, blogs, etc/ on writing successful flash fiction you would recommend? Read various flash magazines to get a better idea about each editor’s interpretation of flash. Some markets tend to publish stories with more of a poetic, experimental or traditional story arc than others.

Julie: Here are some books on flash fiction:

Writing Realistic Dialogue and Flash Fiction (Paperback) by Harvey Stanbrough

Flash Writing: How To Write, Revise And Publish Stories Less Than 1,000 Words Long (Paperback)
by Michael L. Wilson

Micro Fiction : An Anthology of Really Short Stories
by Jerome Stern (Editor)

Sudden Fiction (Continued) : 60 New Short-Short Stories by James Thomas (Editor), Robert Shapard (Editor) June 1996, Hardcover

Sudden Fiction International : Sixty Short-Short Stories by James Thomas (Editor), Robert Shapard
October 1989, Hardcover List Price: $22.95

Magazines Market Resources
http://www.laurahird.com/litmagcentral.html
http://www.flashquake.org
http://www.vestalreview.net
http://www.duotrope.com/

Shalla: Thanks so much Julie.

For more on Julie Ann Shapiro, please visit

http://www.julieannshapiro.com/

Shalla DeGuzman's short stories have appeared in Poetic Diversity, the Mosaic Literary Journal, the Mad Hatters Review, etc.; her articles in The Scriptorium and L.A. Freepress; her skits at the Stella Adler Theatre. Her flash fiction The Fish In My Bed recently won the FISH AND PLANE Competition and is featured in Issue 6 of Mad Hatters Review. Shalla, a former writer and producer of a health and fitness cable show, is currently writing a novel. She is President of The ShallaDeGuzman Writers Group where she interviews literary agents, publishers, editors, etc. News! Shalla has been nominated for the prestigious Pushcart Prize. SHALLA Magazine, which features short stories and excerpts from top, award-winning writers, is here! For more on Shalla: www.shalladeguzman.com