Podcast Library of Stories: MINE!!!

Today at Every Day Fiction, I do "Stephen King." Think "pie-eating contest." It's a five minute listen. Read by the fabulous Folly Blaine.

http://www.everydayfiction.com/podcast-edf127-soggy-sandy-by-gay-degani-read-by-folly-blaine/

The fun thing is I just realized that my podcast library of stories is growing.  Here are some other quck listens if you have the time and inclination.

FLASH FLOOD, read by Folly Blaine
ORANGES, read by Folly Blaine
THE BREACH, read by Robert C. Eccles
THE LONDON EYE, read by Michael Sherlock

Lots happening lately.  

Catherine the Great's Untold Stories!

Out today is Catherine refracted from Pure Slush. Here's the tagline: 

The unofficial unofficial biography! 19 salacious stories that delve deeper into the true life of Catherine the Great ... and where no one has gone before! With Susan Tepper, Andrew Stancek, Sarah Collie, Joyce Juzwik, L. S. Johnson, Todd McKie, Dusty-Anne Rhodes, Christine Tolley, Robert Mangeot, Stephen V. Stephen V Ramey, Gill Hoffs, Anne Scott, Kim Conklin Hutchinson, Claudia Bierschenk, Juliet Beckman Hubbell, Matt Potter, Mira Desai, and me.

From "The Cossack Ultimatum"  by me. 

The steward closed the door firmly behind her. She hurried to her chair, tossed her needlework to the floor, and sat down. “I have a plan.”

Read me on your iPad!

I've just discovered a new site which puts short stories in an app so that they can be read online via all those magic devises like cell phones, iPads, etc.  It's called Ether Books Mobile.  Here's the link: http://writers.etherbooks.com/Default.aspx.  

 I have a piece that is up now called "Heading to Perdition" previously seen at K. C. Ball's 10Flash.  You need to download the app itself to read it via iTunes or Google. 
 You flip the pages like real pages.  I've never seen that before.  Anyway, I'm using it to publish the stories that were printed in mags that no longer publish and there are no archives.   And I'm taking the opportunity to revise them.  So the first one up is Heading to Perdition from 10Flash.  You have to download the app and then go to discover.  Here's the ether site link and info about the story. About "Heading to Perdition."

If you have time, please check it out and give me a review.  Even it you don't care for the story, tell it like it is. 

My FaceBook Digest

I realized today as I was visiting my FaceBook groups that I leave a lot of advice around and decided, hmmm, these could all be turned into craft essays.  But then I thought, good grief, like I don't have enough to do already!  So I maybe when I write a bit I like or feel strongly about, I'll just put it here since I don't really do much with my blog anyway.  I invited anyone who wants to comment to do so! 

At  EDF's Roundtable

Raymond Daley 

How do you deal with a story you don't have an end for? Do you keep it in the hope you'll think of one in the near future or do you abandon it?I've got so much stuff I've started with great ideas that just ran out of steam or eventually turned out not to have legs to stand alone.It's depressing. It's enough to put a writer off writing.
Thoughts? Suggestions?

What I said: 

Set aside, don't abandon, because although not every story ends up being something that you care about, most of them can be "saved."  They are saved when they are set aside for a period of time (an hour, a day, an month) and reread as if written by someone else.  They can be saved by asking specific questions such as what does my character want? what does he fear? what stands in her way? what do I want her to learn?  They can be saved by research.  Google the setting, find key words and look up synonyms. go to wikipedia and check out personality types.  

Go here to find out what others have said:  EDF's Roundtable

AtFlash Fiction Chronicles New and Emerging Writers Group

BonnieZoBell  

I seem to be a kind of binge writer. I can go for long periods of time, days, months, a year, and write every spare second I have. Right now I don’t seem to be writing very much.

What I said:

A friend of mine called me a binge writer and in some ways that's true. Really though I'm at my computer every day for the most part. The thing is I always have several things going at the same time and so my output is somewhat erratic. I've also had a terrible habit of sending things out too soon and I'm trying to curb that impulse. Usually I will be working on all these different things and then I'll get pissed off at one of them because I haven't been able to get it right and I'll say, okay, I don't care if it's shit or not I'm going to finish this sucker today and that's when I make the most progress, But it's never done. Nothing for me is ever done. Every one of my stories for my chapbook has been rewritten to some degree or another. 

Go here to find out what others have said: Flash Fiction Chronicles New and Emerging Writers Group

StoryADay Worth Every Minute

It's taken me almost two weeks to get back around to The StoryADay challenge, but here I am.  As can be seen in my previous post, I managed to keep up--more or less--the first couple weeks, and very pleased that I kept to that commitment.  The second half was tougher for various reasons.  Once I got behind, I struggled to get caught up.  After doing several random prompts, I began to feel stressed about them.  They prompted me to write fast and to get words on paper, but what words?  At some point I began to feel as if any more new "starts" were unnecessary and I needed to go back and start searching for meaning in the ones I had.  

Here's how I finished up:

May 19 Heroine (502)

May 20 Julian Meets Liv (605)

May 21 Wheel of Fortune (704)

May 22 Notes on comfort Zones (760)

May 23 Trap (416)

May 24 Research and rumination on Comfort Zones (500 words)
May 25-28 Worked on Comfort Zones

I'm still working on "Comfort Zones!"  Cannot get it right.  Tried to take bits of it for the Flash Mob 2013 Extravaganza that is going on, but couldn't get it shaped into anything.  Nice descriptions but what did it mean???  So I started the month off terrific but petered out toward the end.  Not disappointed thought because I have two strong stories to work on that I know I can get into shape and there are at least three more that I might be able to do something with.  That's success in my book.  So thank you, Julie Duffy at StoryADay for sponsoring this event and thanks to Sue Ann Connaughton who was my "Accountability" partner.  

It's Past the Middle of May and I'm Still at It

I meant to write this post on the 15th of May, the half-way point of Story A Day month, but as it seems to be for me these days, I've been running behind.  And I'm still behind, but I'm only a couple of days off.  Here is a list of the work I've done, most of them brand spanking new and a couple of stories I've had in my file to revise.  

May 1 You Don't (100)

May 2 Fish Bowl (856)

May 3 Enid (740)

May 4 Wandering by Bus (500)

May 5 Shing (845)

May 6 Julia Roberts (612)

May 7 Snickerdoodled (385)

May 8 Arsenal (450)

May 9 Mono Lake (450)

May 10 PS serial chap 1 (390)

May 11 PS serial chap 2 (405)

May 12 Folderol (855)

May 13 New Life PS serial chap x  (732)

May 14 Lost in the Woods (1080)

May 15 Blue (244)

May 16 Terminus (788)

May 17 The Cossack Ultimatum  (1536)

May 18  Small Town

A Story a Day??? Can I do it?

It's May--Short Story Month--and all kinds of fun stuff is happening.  For example, Julie Duffy over at StoryADay.org has thrown down the gauntlet.  I've decided to take the challenge though right from the get-go I'm thinking "Say What??"  Don't know exactly how I'm going to keep track.  Can't pub the stories here if I want to develop them to submit, but hoping I can at least track the experience.  If for no one else, at least for myself!!

Also it's time for FFC's Short Story Month List of Links to great online stories and it's up to you out there in the ether to make the suggestions.  Here's the scoop.

Every year, Flash Fiction Chronicles has honored May as Short Story Month by asking readers to supply their favorite short story links.  We have asked for 100 links to excellent online stories in the past.  This year I’m hoping we can reach 150!  This sets all of us up with many many great pieces to read during the course of 2013-2014.  This is a loose, fun endeavor.  No prizes and not too many rules.

WHO: You may suggest any short story that can be found online except your own.  You can suggest up to ten favorites.  However, please do not use this opportunity to promote your own work.

WHAT: What we want are YOUR favorites beyond your own.  What stories have made you gasp, smile, laugh, cry, and/or say “I wish I’d written that!”  Short stories can be any length under, say, 10,000 words.  Suggest dribble, drabble, micro, flash, short short, short, you get the idea.

WHEN: May 1 through May 31, 2013.

WHERE: Two places where you can make your suggestions: here at FFC on THIS PAGE in the comments section and at Facebook in our new FFC Short Story Month Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/487327604669717/).  Please do not email suggestions to me or to FFC.

WHY: It’s short story month!

HOW: Using this page in the comment section or the new FFC Short Story Month Group at Facebook, include in this order: the story title, the author, the venue including direct link to the story, and your name.  It should look something like this:

While You Were Away” by Tara Laskowski in matchbook suggested by Gay Degani: http://www.matchbooklitmag.com/laskowski.html

I Dared Myself to Write a Story on Line!

Reprinted from FFC archives June 1, 2009

My favorite part of Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers is his theory that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert.  I feel validation for one of my long-held beliefs: writing--good writing--is all about the seat of the pants in the seat of the chair. Mrs. Hawkins, my creative writing teacher in high school, insisted this simple act was the golden ticket to quality. I believed her then; I believe her now.   I just didn’t manage to do it for a long, long time. 

Ron Carlson's book, Ron Carlson Writes a Story, offers another piece of the puzzle: how process, the act of “ just doing,” eventually leads to product. Carlson shows us what he means by letting us sit on his shoulder as he puts together his story. He maintains that working through a story one sentence at a time, putting down what you know about the story rather than worrying about what you don’t, is a viable path.

When a friend shared with me that she's decided the best way for her to work is to sit down and "let it  happen,"  it resonated. This is exactly what Carlson does. He says "process" is the key, finding your own way to get words on the page.   Here's the way I do it.

1. I type or hand write everything I know about the idea that’s been growing in my head.  

Are characters clear, defined, and have their own problems and attitudes? Are they in opposition with each other? Do they fulfill a purpose in the story? What is each one's purpose?  

Does the sequence of events set up an inevitable, yet unexpected ending? Are there set-ups and pay-offs throughout the story? Are the transitions from scene to scene clear? Does the plot support the emerging theme in the best way it can? 

Is the setting defined or purposefully undefined? Can the reader SEE what's going on, like it's up on the big screen? How do time and place contribute to theme? 

Does this story have the ability to resonate with the reader on both a personal and universal level? Is it compelling? Have all the other elements been put into service to enhance and clarify the theme? 

Have all the clichés and borrowed images been purged to the best of my ability? Do the sentences act as real sentences? (Tell the reader something specific) Have I said things twice that don't need to be said? Have I pared away all useless language? Changed most of the general words like "it" to meaningful, concrete nouns that clarify and enhance?

Whether I've become one of Malcolm's experts is highly debatable, but this I can say for sure: 20+ years of writing practice has enriched my life beyond measure. Striving to be good at something is its own reward.

I do whatever part of “getting it down” feels right as a first step, whether it's a full-to-the-end draft, notes, outline, or brainstorm. This varies with the trigger, the dawning of an concept in my brain, what it is: a title, a plot, a character, an incident, a theme.

2. Whatever I end up with, plot, free-writing, or notes, I work from there.

If it's mostly a plot, I make an informal outline, filling in the blanks, the who-what-when-where-how-why of each scene in the outline. I remind myself that scenes, scene-sequences, chapters, parts, the whole story, should have answers to first five questions somewhere in the text. I try to identify the possible theme, the “why,” but often I have no idea.If, instead of coming up with a loose sequence of events resembling an outline, I've sat down, told myself to “go,” and put together a draft based on what pops into my head, I search for what my subconscious is telling me, look for possible scenes-segments-acts, and ask myself what scenes have I missed, what might be the theme given what I have typed out in front of me, what the spine might be etc. I also consider the order I've placed these scenes in. Does it make sense? 

If I've come up with notes and brainstorming, and this is my most common way of proceeding, I write a quick draft. Sometimes I do a little research about the "where" or the "what" before I write that first draft, but often I just go.

3. If the story's got something compelling about it, all the above converges, in the first, second, or third draft, I find myself with a decent working draft. Then it's time for me to do some kind of analysis. These are the things I look at:

Character

Plot

Time and place

Theme

Language

4. I rewrite.

At this point, I look for intelligent, kind, but honest readers to find flaws and re-enforce the story's strong qualities. I want them to tell me what works and what doesn’t work. 

I let the comments of others guide me in decisions, but I've learned to trust the little voice in my head. My purpose often trumps someone else’s take on the story.
I read the story aloud, have a friend proof-read it, and proofread it myself.

7. I submit it to, hopefully, the right markets.

8. Then I start a new story.

As an experiment, I am currently writing a story online at my Words in Place Blog.  I started last week, making myself get the seat of my sweatpants into the seat of my chair every day.  Check out my progress beginning with May 27th "Dare Ya!"

Here's the line up from first draft from one of my writing prompts posted above on EDF's Flash Fiction blog under "Writing Prompt." 

Dare Ya!
Dare Ya Two!
Second Day, Third Fly-Thru
Second Day, Fourth Look
Third Day, Is this ever going to turn into anything?
Third Day, Another run-What does the structure look like?
About the old guy coming through the door

So I today I've got to keep going... I'm working toward my 10,000 hours and don't have a minute to lose.  Check over there later if you aren't bored to tears!

Talent and Skill: Do you have it or not?

From the FFC archives, reprint from May 15, 2009

I am not a patient person. Never have been. And when in the past (a rolling, long-ago past) I couldn't master something immediately, I assumed I had no talent and no skills and I gave up.

No talent. No skills.

These are two distinct attributes. Having talent is terrific and it certainly makes following your passion rewarding, but talent is only half the formula.

Having skill is absolutely necessary (watch American Idol if you don't believe me). But getting these skills isn't an immediate process. And if you're talking about becoming an expert at anything, you're talking YEARS of practice. That's where patience comes in.

Robert McKee (the writing coach whose book STORY is an excellent resource) said that all we can do is to "take out our little bit of talent," push it around every day, apply our hard-earned skills and hopefully, that will result in something worthwhile. I'm sure I don't have that quote exactly right, but you get the gist. It takes both talent and skill to become good at anything and skill takes patience.

Last night when I went to bed I was miserable. Things at the end of my current work-in-progress were not working out. The whole thing felt stupid and, heaven forbid, CORNY. In the old days, I would have felt doomed. I would have thought of quitting. I would believe to the depths of my being that my writing sucked. And I sucked.

But this morning, I remembered I have developed a skill-set to help me solve the problems in my story. 

Hmmmm. Imagine that!

I read about two or three pages in the middle, did a little editing, and suddenly I knew how to solve the story problem at the end. My mind was asking questions that only an "expert" would know to ask.

I moved away from the computer and started to scribble notes of what exactly had to happen for the whole story to make sense. I was so shocked at how easy it was, I started doubting it would work. But in typing the notes, I’m sure it does work. And it isn't corny. Maybe a little corny, but I still have time to fix that. Wow, it's working!!!

I'm not saying here that what I do is brilliant or even interesting to anyone else. But it is to me. To see that I will allow myself to make mistakes, to go on tangents, to think I suck, and then get back to work. To take out my "little bit of talent" and my years of practice, and actually be able to have answers, know what comes next, delight myself with a surprising ending, that for me, is success. And when I discover the NEXT problem, I will have skills to solve that too.

This idea of having patience--and I suppose, FAITH IN THE WRITING PROCESS--is a gift to me. A gift I've given myself over the years by focusing on learning the skills I need to do what I want, and letting my little bit of talent take care of itself.

Now that I've retired from FFC

Yes, I've officially retired from Flash Fiction Chronicles which I helped to found back in 2009--March 22 as a matter of fact--with the help and encouragement of Every Day Fiction whose editors, Jordan Lapp, Camille Gooderham Campbell, and Steven Smethurst, wanted to create a place for EDF writers to discuss the craft of Flash Fiction. I volunteered to "co-ordinate."  Sarah Hilary contributed our very first article, "Historical Flash--(Re)living the Moment."

What I quickly learned, however, was that most fiction writers want to write fiction, not essays on how to create compelling characters with a phrase or two.  I was thrilled to discover that once asked, writers are more than happy to share their expertise.  I would list all our contributors here, but after four years and an average of four articles a week, there are way too many, and I'm afraid I'll leave someone out.  You can go HERE to find them. 


In April, 2009, I tried to define what I thought Flash Fiction could be.

From Flash Fiction Chronicles, April 9, 2009

In her essay in The Best of Every Day Fiction, editor extraordinaire and slush mistress Camille Gooderham Campbell writes, "Despite its appeal as a quick read, flash fiction is not simplistic. Quite the opposite; it can and should be one of the most demanding literary forms, with a need for perfectly crafted prose, a complete story arc in a tight space, and an immediately engaging hook."

As I read submissions in the slush pile at Every Day Fiction, I realize that many writers do not have an understand of what flash fiction is. Camille's definition is a great place to start.
Gay Degani is the editor of  Every Day Fiction's new blog, Flash Fiction Chronicles.  

BUT FIRST, WHAT FLASH ISN’T

Flash is not some accidentally thrown together words that seem to flow through a writer's fingers without much thought. Yes, it's true that some writers are skilled enough, and/or gifted enough to not have to edit very much, maybe even just proofread, but believe me, that's not me and I'd take any bet that that isn't most of you out there.

• Flash is not a prose poem. * 
• It’s not a vengeful spew about killing someone without developing character and complexity.
• It’s not an extended paragraph used to set up a punch line.
• It’s not an anecdote-slice-of-life-guess-what-happened-when-I walked-out-to-get-the-newspaper-the-sun-was-blinding-and-I-tripped.
• It’s not an article, sermon, op-ed piece.
• It’s not an obituary-like report on someone’s life.

SO WHAT IS FLASH?

Good flash is governed by the same reader expectation as any other fiction writing. Check Aristotle. Check Robert McKee. Check Chris Vogler. Heck, go read the bliss man, Joseph Campbell. Readers expect certain things and Camille tells you what they are: a hook, a story arc, and strong prose.

I want to add on more thing, good flash like all good writing should have some point to make, a reason for being that somehow, in small or large way, reveals a universal truth, a moment that brings to the reader a smile, a laugh, a tear, a "Yep, ain't that just the way life is."

So when thinking about writing flash, it would be helpful to keep in mind some of the words and phrases that should apply to any piece of flash:

• surprising, fresh, original, intriguing, new
• compelling content, unique situation, interesting choices made by characters  
• anchored by time and place 
• has conflict, has tension, active protagonist, action not activity, complexity not complication, delivers an ending that is unexpected but inevitable
• precise language, clear distinct voice, specific detail

Words you don’t want associated with your flash:

bland, mundane, vague, trite, dashed off, trickery, passive, predictable, nothing happens, no sense of place, unclear, not cohesive.

* I may or may not agree with this any more 

Christopher Allen’s Big Beautiful Blog Tour

By Michelle Elvy
Reprinted with permission from Michelle Elvy’s Glow Worm Blog, September 14, 2012

When Christopher Allen asked me to join his Blog Tour for his new novel Conversations with S. Teri O’Type, I said yes–without having read the book. It was not much of a gamble, saying yes to Chris. I’ve read a lot of his work. I’ve nominated one of his short stories for a Pushcart Prize. He doesn’t disappoint. And his new novel (yes, I’ve read it by now) is no exception. This book kept me chuckling all the way and I want it to be HUGE–like big bouffant hair huge. So I’m pleased to take part in this big beautiful blog tour.

Here’s how our own conversation developed…

(Note to readers: I spoke to Christopher from New Zealand, so my questions are written in Kiwi English, but I’ve left Chris’s responses, unedited, in American English. Don’t let that distract you. Whether you see it as ‘humour’ or ‘humor’, this book is damn funny.) 

 ME: Chris, one of the things we’ve talked about before is the success of flash fiction and the increasing desire among such a variety of readers to embrace episodic literature. Even though the traditional  long-winded biography still exists, we find ourselves turning often to collections that offer threads through a life, but in short bursts of colour as opposed to long-handed blending of hues. Grey is out; fuschia is in–at least I think that is what S. Teri O’Type would say.  Or am I stereotyping Teri (but not Curt)? So let’s begin there. Why do you think episodic literature appeals, and why does this particular story fit into the episodic genre? Is it because it flits–to use one of Curt’s newly acquired and realised expressions–or is there something else going on? 

CA: Hi, Michelle! I think there’s certainly room for both long, grey strokes and sudden bursts of fuschia in contemporary literature, but we are turning more to the sudden and the unexpected—and I think TV has a lot to do with this. The average situation comedy is 22 minutes long, around 30 minutes with commercials. And thank goodness for the commercials! We’d probably get bored now if we had to keep our eyes on the TV for 22 minutes. We’ve been conditioned by television to feel the story arc more quickly, and since TV is at the core of Conversations with S. Teri O’Type it just made since to give the lessons an episodic structure.

ME: Do you see these episodes in film form? As images before you? And have you imagined it transforming into episodes for a viewer, as opposed to episodes for a reader? In other words, did you set out to make it this splash of visual colour or did it just turn out that way?

CA: Good question. I don’t think I’ve ever written a story that didn’t happen—at least for me—like a film. I suppose this is just another influence of television on my brain. The voices, though, are stronger than the setting, which is usually a parody of the typical situation comedy set. I think most readers have this set(ting) well anchored in their minds: three walls a couch and the fourth wall (the audience). Anything else in the room is gravy.

Several readers have told me I should write the Conversations for the stage. I have my reasons for not having done so. In the end, I decided to keep Teri and Curt as voices in the reader’s head and let the reader imagine—as much as possible—how they look. I didn’t set out with these questions in mind, but the constant feedback from workshop comrades forced me to consider issues like form and setting. The episodic nature of the story was there from the beginning of course.

Episodes, when you think about it, are not very much different from a class you take in school. You have short bursts of learning followed by hours or days of reflection. As a teacher, I’m keenly aware of the dwindling human attention span. I have to change gears every 10-15 minutes in my own classes. And Curt—poor Curt—has a learning disability. He needs his lessons in Greater Gayness in small doses.

ME: And these doses are very effective. The reader, like Curt, gets to observe lessons in Greater Gayness as well. We realise we all have ‘gayspectations’–even as Teri’s are high and Curt’s are almost non-existent. So here we have a lesson unfolding bit by bit. In the end, do you think it’s more about lessons in GG (Greater Gayness) or something else entirely? Something even literary perhaps? (Literary with a boa, for Teri’s sake.)

CA: Well, I’d like to think the Conversations hold literary water. I’ve often toyed with banging the book into the genre of literary humor, but I’ve never researched enough to know whether “literary humor”  is even a genre. These lessons in Greater Gayness are indeed something else entirely, and Teri is someone else entirely as the old buddy he claims to be. I’ve tried to be subtle enough so that the reader doesn’t lose interest in Teri’s “efforts” to “help” Curt.

Satire is slippery. Is there anything more misunderstood? When I first started workshopping the Conversations, I got dozens of responses every day. I’d open one that said something like “OMG! I KNOW someone just like OMG! and I love him!” and then one that would say “How dare you make fun of gay men! Are YOU gay? I’m appalled!” And then I would make the “I’m appalled” gesture to myself—spread palm to clavicle per Teri’s example—and laugh. Neither one of these readers understood what I was doing. I’m going to be misunderstood. I know that. And that’s why I know it must be literary.

ME: Which gets me to my next point–how we communicate and the pitfalls of our inability to say what we mean. So much in these conversations is about communication and (mis)communications. Curt using expressions like “DUDE” and Teri saying “Is that even a word?” Or Curt saying “awesome” and Teri countering sharply that what he really meant was “it’s redolent of a breezy Alpine Alm with a hint of sage and mandarin orange blossoms.” It’s Teri’s very specific take on Gaydom, in fact, that makes him stand out–that makes him such a specifically memorable character. And yet, this is about more than the specificity of language and designer label–this is about the specificity of identity.  So tell us, if the grey-and-lilac-pinstripes of the $300 shirt don’t matter to Curt, what exists between those lines and why does that matter?

CA: I want to get to that shirt, but first I’d like to go back to the theme of (mis)communication. It’s a big one in the story. Teri constantly misinforms Curt; in fact, you might say the stereotype misinforms Curt, even tries to deform Curt. (Un)fortunately, Curt never understands anything Teri teaches him—which is, for him, a triumph. Wait, he does figure out how to hang a picture at eye level—if the eyes belong to someone tallish.

That shirt. Well, can I admit something, just between you and me and the thousands of people who’ll read this interview? Yes? I would love to have that shirt. Curt, on the other hand, is an accounter. He thinks about these things much more rationally than I do. He’s not a character who can read between the grey-and-lilac lines. Sometimes I like to feel the beauty of designer clothing. I would never pay $300 for one though. To answer your question, superficiality lies between those lines. Clothing in fact is a sweet metaphor for superficiality.

ME: And from there we move right to the theme of ‘trappings’ and form. The way you play with form here is great fun. Without giving too much away, I refer to the play-within-a play, the riff on Dickens, the Tchaikowsky moment (Errrrrrrski!), and an early reference to those silly sitcom laugh tracks but then the recurring mysterious laugh emanating from the wall behind the yucca.  And then there’s a meta-moment which threatens to undo Teri altogether if he can’t keep the audience laugh-track on straight. So which is more important here for you as a writer–form or content? The means or the meaning? Or is it all wrapped up in one large, ahem, package?

CA: The trappings. The trapped. The traps. Packaging. I’m trying to start a sentence here. The trappings are so VERY important to Teri: the outer shell, the facade of the gay man. Who cares what’s really going on inside the sitcom character’s soul? We just want to be entertained regardless of content. That’s Teri, and he very much holds the reins—or the whip—in this story.

Form is important for me as the writer. Parody and allusion play huge roles in this satire for lots of reasons. I like parody. I’m not sure if this is reason number one, but it’s up there in the ranking. Teri is a congregation of characters. There are rare moments when something like a real person peeks through his facade, but usually he’s impersonating some other character from a sitcom or often just playing a role he thinks will entertain. I hope the readers feel as if they are constantly asking themselves, “Do I want to be entertained? Is it OK to laugh? Do I want/need Curt to be Teri?” Would it be wrong to say that form is content in this satire? May I go the “large, ahem, package” route? Well, who wouldn’t want to?

ME: Indeed. But let’s get serious here for a moment. Deep down, this is a story of existential angst in the midst of all this slapstick, epitomised by Teri’s monologue about the meaning of the shag–or the lack thereof.  So let’s talk a bit about the relationship between satire and existential angst. Did you start out intending to tackle both?

CA: Yeah, I did. I think I said this in another interview, but I’ll repeat it here: There’s nothing serious here except everything. That moment when Teri steps out of character to talk about real sex has always stopped me and made me hug the monster. For a moment he actually says there’s no difference between gay and straight people when all the trappings are thrown off and we’re lying naked in our own bedrooms. This scares the hell out of Teri.

It was Kate Brown, a British filmmaker living in Berlin, who asked me if I could have written this story in another form. I don’t think I could have written the story as a deep, grey existential work without the slapstick; I don’t think I’ve ever seen the world without both. This probably means that I’m also trapped between the need to entertain and the need to find myself. I’d like to see this as balance.

ME: Balance–which has everything to do with power. So here comes the last set of questions, Chris. We touched on Michel Foucault in an earlier conversation (yes, Facebook – where else?) which makes me wonder about those more serious themes underlying the slapstick quality of this laugh-out-loud conversation between the muddled Curt and the dominatrix diva Teri. Tell me, do you think there’s something happening here that says more about power than we see at first glance? In a humorous way, are you driving at some kind of better understanding in terms of power and identity? How does power inform the relationship between Teri and Curt? And, finally, who would play Michel Foucault if he were to make a special appearance in the sitcom version of Conversations with S. Teri O’Type?

CA: First of all, I’d like to marry this question. I’m glad I’ve woken up to it this morning. Teri and Curt’s relationship is all about knowledge, power and who’s pulling the strings. Teri has all the power because he supposedly has all the knowledge. As you say, he’s cast as a domanatrix, but he also takes the forms of director, Kung Fu Master, Santa Claus, Dog whisperer, and even Bea Arthur. I hope, however, if readers look more closely they’ll see that Teri’s “knowledge” is almost always misinformation–deliberately so. It was Marcus Speh that mentioned in a review that Teri is a trickster, and he’s so right. Teri is the übertrickster. I think it’s a beautiful coincidence that this volcanic imbalance of knowledge/power is exactly what makes their conversations humorous (I hope).

There is another element to the theme of power in the Conversations. Teri, Curt and Cary Grant are not the only characters here. There’s an audience, which Curt gradually learns to accept, to hear their praise and their disappointment. In the end, it’s the power of the audience that Teri can’t overcome. Does Curt learn to turn off the laugh track? I don’t know.

Michel Michel. Cary Grant usually takes on the guest appearance roles. He’s done Naomi Campbell, Eddie Murphy’s Donkey, Tiny Tim, Eddie Murphy’s Donkey ímpersonating Tiny Tim, Tchaikovsky, Eddie Murphy’s Donkey impersonating Tiny Tim in the body of Chewbacca, and Sophia from The Golden Girls. He’s so versatile that I think he’d be able to do Foucault with his paws tied behind his back. He would only speak French of course. Errrrreaux! and Errrrrelle! but Teri would translate (horribly and incorrectly). Curt would have absolutely no idea what was going on. I’m sure the topic of the lesson would be The Prison Day.

ME: And now, finally, something your readers will surely want to know:  if you did have a dog, would he be named Dilbert or DeBarge?

CA: I would have to look into the pup’s eyes to know his name. I wouldn’t want him to be stuck for dog’s years with the wrong name. But Dilbert is much more versatile than DeBarge. I could call him Dil or Bert, but I’d probably end up calling him fella anyway.

ME: Thank you, Christopher Allen, for your honesty, your wit and your book!

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About the author and the book:

Christopher Allen is the author of Conversations with S. Teri O’Type (a Satire). His fiction and creative non-fiction have appeared in numerous journals and magazines both online and in print. In 2011 Allen was a finalist at Glimmer Train and a Pushcart Prize nominee. Christopher is an editor, teacher and an obsessed traveller. He blogs at www.imustbeoff.com. For more about his book, visit: the Conversations blog tour.