Spring Pop-Up Issue – Prompted Stories
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 Kathryn Kulpa. You can read her raw, mystical flash, Little Bee HERE and listen to Kathryn’s amazing reading.
Q: What piece of writing advice/ crafting rule would you trash?
A: I’ve never liked the prescription to “kill your darlings,” at least the way I think it’s often interpreted—to cut anything not ‘necessary’ out of your story and focus only on driving the plot forward. Many times, I find the oddball detours and vivid, unexpected images
more interesting than the plot. Of course, I write a lot of flash and micro, so that means editing – but if you have a scene or image you love, don’t trash it! Find a way to make it the center of your story.
Q: Which writers and magazines do you go to to find treasure to read?
A: I always find treasures in Milk Candy Review, and I love that they publish short interviews with writers. I’m always looking for stories to use as examples in writing classes, and having author commentary is helpful. Ghost Parachute is the kind of journal where I just have to read every story when a new issue comes out—the quality is always so high, and I love that they ask real artists to create illustrations based on the stories. And I always look forward to seeing what new (and new-ish) journals like Centaur, Flash the Court, Gooseberry Pie, Hot Flash Literary, Rawhead, and of course, Trash Cat Lit are publishing.
Q: What animal, trash or otherwise, do you most identify with?
A: My soul animal is a ginger cat, of course! Languid but prone to bursts of manic energy, usually writing-related; primarily nocturnal; fond of bookish nooks, apt to freckle, and occasionally witchy.
My cats can be very much in my face, coming over and asking for pets, or snatching food right off my plate, but they also have times when they’re clearly in Do Not Disturb mode: curled in a Fibonacci spiral, recharging, and do not mess with them! I need those moments myself.
Kathryn’s cat, Ian is featured in her bespoke picture below
Q: When your writing mojo is trashed, how do you recharge?
A: Reading always helps, and especially reading work that’s from another era, 100 years ago or more; I’m not apt to compare myself to those writers or feel any sense of competition. I can just lose myself in the work. Lately I’ve been on a kick of reading stories of ‘girlhood’ from the early 20th century. Fascinating stuff, to see what has changed and what hasn’t (and the changes aren’t always for the better).
Q: If you could offer three tips to writing short treasures, what would they be?
A:
1) Writing is mostly a solitary occupation, but I can also be really inspired in a writing group setting where we are all in one room, not talking, but working away on our own.
2) Setting a clock timer also helps. I have one I use that’s low-tech and non-intrusive; it doesn’t tick, but the clock face shows a visual of where you are, like pie slices. Using mild external constraints like a time limit, sentence limit, or prompt words is more helpful to me, and less intimidating, than just saying, “OK, I’m going to write now.”
3) Just be open to whatever weird images pop into your head, and don’t dismiss them as, “Oh, that’s too weird/obsessive/obscure for most people to understand.”
Q: What is one thing, if spotted in a crowded charity shop/thrift store, you would just have to buy
A: I am always drawn to old postcards and have a collection of vintage ones I’ve picked up in various thrift shops/used bookstores and used for writing exercises. I’m also drawn to seaglass, seashells, old typewriters, and vintage glasses/sunglasses, especially cat eye style. I also love classic diners.
When I was very young, Massachusetts ‘blue laws’ were still in effect, and shops were closed on Sundays. One long winter Sunday, I took a pin and scratched ‘Boredom is a Sunday afternoon’ into the headboard of my bed. I doubt I’d ever find that old bed in a charity shop, but it would be amazing to encounter it—like my child self all those years back, sending a message to my adult self.
Kathryn Kulpa’s first ambition in life was to be a witch, and then a writer. It’s possible she is at least one of these things. Her work has been chosen for Best Microfiction, Best Small Fictions, and the Wigleaf longlist. Find her at kathrynkulpa.com, on her Substack, and in Boudin, Claudine, Flash Frog, HAD, matchbook, and trampset.
TRASH CAT LIT 