Compression: Jenny Sadre-Orafai
“In general, compression can lead to mystery and urgency.” — Jenny Sadre-Orafai
Compression: Tony Williams
“Flash fiction for me is always about the story—how far can you compress and still maintain a narrative that keeps the reader interested. Usually I end up with one scene, or at least one sustained piece of writing.” — Tony Williams
Compression: Sean Eads
“Compression to me is bringing forth the core of a character right away. I enjoy the use of epiphany found in James Joyce’s short stories, but I often feel the epiphany is far more interesting than the events leading up to it. Compression at its best gives us the epiphany straight away and asks readers to create the lead-up for themselves.” — Sean Eads
Compression: Barry Spacks
“As a teacher for many years I preach concision, the tightly muscular in fiction, so that’s how I feel about what you call compressed prose, I love it, it’s a packed-in explosion of happening after happening.” — Barry Spacks
Compression: George Such
“Density is beautiful, especially when the language leaves space around itself, in which the reader can create connection and meaning. Like dried fruit or legumes, compressed language expands when consumed. There’s also a value underlying its use: frugality, a dislike of waste.” — George Such
Compression: Ladee Hubbard
“Compression: the attempt to identify the sensorial essence of a particular moment- in this case the memory of a profoundly moving event that took place before the person experiencing it had the language to properly identify what was happening. The childhood memory, in its subconscious reverberations, is not lost so much as preliterate and re-emerges as an emotional archetype.” — Ladee Hubbard
Compression: Lam Pham
“The mechanics of a compressed form continue to bewilder and impress me; it prompts quicker character development and theme completion. Flash, micro, or however you choose to label it demands less of an investment on the audience and subsequently, a more immediate engagement with the material.” — Lam Pham
Compression: Len Kuntz
“Compression increases intenisity and urgency. It’s not unlike feeling a surge of dopamine while stuck inside an elevator. Time beats inside your chest like a trapped starling.” — Len Kuntz
Compression: Melissa Pilakowski
“To me, compression is all about the details, both the ones you put in and the ones you leave out. Every shard of bone left in a story has to be strong enough to hold it up; every sinewy cell that’s omitted is just as meaningful, as the reader must imagine it in his or her own mind. It’s a symbiotic relationship, this genre of short fiction, where both the author and the reader must work to create the full story.” — Melissa Pilakowski
Compression: Laura Davis
“As writers, we must be obsessed with compressing: moments, glances, scents or notes. We begin with the narrative of our experience of the world, and then slowly begin to pressurize our memories. We zoom with a microscope, whittle away with a pocketknife, press and press until we reveal a concentrated moment. Compression is meditative, slow, methodical. Choosing only the right words: that’s a lot of pressure. Writing is compression.” — Laura Davis
Matter Press is now offering private flash fiction workshops and critiques of flash fiction collections here.
Upcoming:
03/23 • Kenneth Pobo
03/30 • Roberta Allen
04/06 • Avril Shakira Villar
04/13 • TBD
04/20 • TBD
04/27 • TBD
05/04 • TBD
05/11 • TBD
05/18 • TBD
05/25 • TBD
06/01 • TBD
06/08 • TBD
06/15 • TBD
06/22 • TBD
06/29 • TBD
07/06 • TBD
07/13 • TBD
07/20 • TBD
07/27 • TBD
08/03 • TBD
08/10 • TBD
08/17 • TBD
08/24 • TBD
08/31 • TBD
09/07 • TBD
09/14 • TBD
09/21 • TBD