What some of this year’s ‘Friday Five’ participants shared with me
Over the past year, I’ve invited dozens of writers, editors, and others in the literary/writing/publishing community to take part in a “Friday Five” feature. This involves a five-question email interview with the subjects (see links to all interviews). One question I ask of all interviewees is, “What advice do you have for other writers or aspiring writers?” I do this for selfish reasons, because I’m always looking for ideas and inspiration. But I hope the responses also help others who are wanting to improve their writing.
For this end-of-year piece, I’ve selected five bits of advice from the nineteen interviews of 2024. Here they are:
‘I sort of fell into flash writing before I knew there was such a thing.’
Although the Thanksgiving holiday is now behind us and we in the USA are deep into the throes of the holiday season, I’d like to extend Thanksgiving’s sense of gratitude just a bit longer with today’s Friday Five Q&A with writer Kathy Fish. Like many writers, I am grateful to Kathy for her example, her teaching, and her generosity of spirit.
Author and ‘Art of Flash Fiction’ creator Kathy Fish.
Kathy’s work can be found in a vast array of literary magazines and anthologies. She’s even in The Norton Reader! Her works also appear in Ploughshares, Waxwing Magazine,Denver Quarterly, Mississippi Review online, Wigleaf, Best American Nonrequired Reading 2018, W. W. Norton’s New Micro: Exceptionally Short Fiction, and Flash Fiction America (W. W. Norton). Visit her Publications & Awards webpage for a more complete list.
In addition to being an exceptional writer of flash fiction and longer works, Kathy encourages many of her fellow writers through her Substack/newsletter, Art of Flash Fiction. Any writer wanting to become better at the craft — whether flash or otherwise — ought to read this newsletter. Through it, Kathy shares her perspectives on writing with an emphasis on flash fiction. In addition, she offers writing workshops, online and in person.
Read on for a brief — but longer than flash — look into Kathy’s perspective on writing, her influences, and advice for other writers.
Andrew Careaga 