"Does it Tell a Story?" A Chat With Tommy Dean, Editor of Fractured Lit

Editor of new flash fiction magazine takes us into the world of short short stories

Oh, the joys of speaking with journal editors!

Another interview has wrapped, friends, and it was super craft-oriented and fun. Today I spoke with Tommy Dean, Editor of Fractured Lit. This is a new-ish online magazine that publishes fiction up to 1,500 words.

Tommy and I spent a lot of time discussing the craft of flash fiction. He is a writer as well as an editor, and is currently working on a novel.

I wondered how writers make (or fail to make) the transition between crafting shorter and longer works. Does writing flash fiction help writers strengthen their character-building muscles? Does producing short work train writers to keep the plot rolling and avoid backstory? Or can writing flash fiction hinder longer-form writers, as they lose sight of important elements like narrative summary and exposition? You’ll have to watch the video for all of Tommy’s wonderful insights.

We also spoke about rejection. Tommy generally submits anywhere between 300-400 pieces per year! From his dream magazine, he has received around sixty rejections! Yet he keeps producing and sending out his work, just like the rest of us.

Fractured Lit is interested mostly in character-driven works. They also want to see velocity. According to Tommy, two key traits of a great flash fiction piece are speed and depth. Tommy described flash fiction as a snapshot, contained within a frame. Because of the length constraints, the reader must make inferences as to what’s outside the frame, which is part of what makes this genre so pleasurable.

This magazine is open for submissions of flash and micro fiction year-round. General submissions are free. Their current contest on the theme of Monsters, Mystery, and Mayhem runs until December 19th. This winter they will open a Ghost, Fable, and Fairy Tale Contest.

Thank you to everyone who came out today. Your faces bring me such joy!

And thanks to Tommy Dean, for taking the time to peel back the curtain on this lovely little flash fiction mag.

Happy viewing!