Winter Pop-Up Issue – Feline Flash

Following the launch of each of our issues, we cajole one or more of the contributors into a mini interview with the Trash Cat.
Here they will reveal some writing wisdom and tell you what trash critter they identify with most. Important stuff like that.

Today, we have LM Fontanes. You can read her authentic, moving flash here: The Last Life of Thomas, Your Former Kitty

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Q: What piece of writing advice/ crafting rule would you trash?

A: “Kill your darlings”. I mean, is word homicide really necessary? (Although I’ve seen the phrase on a T-shirt which, yes, I did buy.) Seriously, though, I get the theory that you need to be a ruthless editor and even if you spent five years working on that gorgeous paragraph, if it doesn’t work, another five years is not going to help. But in practice, *all* your words are darlings, and you must be willing to eliminate any of them in pursuit of a satisfying story. 

Q: Which writers and magazines do you go to to find treasure to read?

A: This is tough because I’m lucky to be part of the SmokeLong workshop fam and I get to read the work of some of the finest short fiction writers on the planet. Won’t choose among them but I simply adore flash fiction – to me, it’s the perfect format for the 21st century. Also love genre, especially horror and SFF. 34 Orchard, 100-Foot Crow, Uncanny and Weird Horror are just a few of the cornucopia of amazing spec journals out there right now. 

Q: What trash animal do you most identify with?

A: Choosing a “spirit” animal turned out to be more difficult than I imagined! Of course, I ended up where I started – a cat, but I would also say, a rescue kitty. One of those like my two fur friends who waited to be seen and loved. 

Q: When your writing mojo is trashed, how do you recharge?

A: Long walks if I don’t have much time. When I can, taking a trip to a new city or country is always a mental palate cleanse.

Q: If you could offer three tips to writing short treasures, what would they be?

A:
1. Writers thrive on deadlines so consider a tight word count to be like a deadline.

2. It’s short, so you can feel the accomplishment of completion much faster.

3. Short fiction is like a bouillon cube, it contains all of the elements of a novel, just distilled. Bon appétit!

Q: What is one thing, if spotted in a crowded charity shop/thrift store, you would just have to buy

A:  BOOKS! Of course! My TBR stacks are so tall they double as winter insulation. 

LM Fontanes is a multi-racial, multi-genre storyteller who writes, teaches & leads. Words in/upcoming Roi Fainéant, Frazzled Lit, Silly Goose Press, Temple in a City, Emerge Literary, 100-Foot Crow, JAKE, 34 Orchard, Flash Fiction Festival Anthology, Thomasonian, The Willowherb Review, and long-listed for The Smokey Award and the Frazzled Lit short story prize.