Mini-Interview with Ariel M. Goldenthal

If your writing was having a conversation with a reader, what is it trying to say? What secrets might it reveal?

In all the stories I have told, am telling, and will tell, I am interested in who we are when we confront where we come from. Confrontation, because it is more than just discovering where we come from, or considering where we come from, but interrogating the inherited and ingrained ideas and ideals that have shaped our lives. Where, too, is more than a location: It is a connection to our past, to the people who came before us, and the events that rippled across the waters of our lives. 

What’s more important the writer’s intent or the reader’s discovery?

Can I say both? Is that cheating? I think where the two intersect is the most important. The writer’s intention sets the stage, and the reader can discover an entirely new play, but those moments where the reader discovers exactly what the writer intended are, I think, the most amazing. 

What are your favorite things to write about? Those topics or items you can’t stop thinking about!

I will never stop writing about the ocean–the murky waters, tangled seaweed, dark depths, crashing waves–it’s a never-ending gift. Stuck between the sharp rocks at the bottom of my writing sea are remnants of family trauma rolled in dry humor, environmental concerns flecked with fantastical elements, and recently, teenage moments drawn with nostalgic ink. Finally, my writing has a tendency to slip into domestic 1950s-esque stories in which the characters push back against society’s expectations. I always think about Ann Napolitano’s essay Honor Your Obsessions when another story like that pops out.

What’s your favorite point of view? Why are you drawn to this particular voice/perspective?

My novel is written in close-third, but my favorite point of view in flash and micro is actually second. I love the moments that blur the line between the reader “you” and the writer “you.”

What’s your favorite craft element to focus on when writing flash? Is there an element you wish you could avoid?

I could write rich descriptions of landscape, the harsher the better, forever. With the limited space that I have in flash, I try to make the setting a character, to make it evoke just as much as the people do in my stories. 

I keep a notebook on me at all times and while most of it is stray observations, there’s a section filled with lines I heard (or said) that have layers to explore. Many of these have become opening lines to my writing. My current favorite is “I’m always three in your memory,” which started my piece in MoonPark Review.

If I could avoid paragraph breaks, I would. In flash and micro, that blank space speaks volumes, and it’s intimidating.  

How do you know when a story is done or at least ready to test the submission waters?

When I find myself changing a colon to an em-dash, or changing out one word for another, and I realize I’ve been completing a version of those adjustments for a while, I know it’s ready to send out. Everyone approaches workshop differently, but I will often share draft number two or three with my group, knowing that they’re going to explode and explore it in many ways. Once I’ve chosen my revision path from their feedback, it doesn’t take too long until I consider it finished. 

When looking for places to submit your flash, what are your priorities for finding a good home for your work?

I prioritize places whose tone and style seem like they may be a good fit for mine, but I also keep a running list of places that my writing-friends have mentioned, publications where I know the editors are kind and thoughtful, and places where the writers I aspire to be like have published. There are many lists of places to publish flash and micros, and I consult them regularly to learn about new outlets.  

What do you know now about writing flash or other forms that you wished you had known from the beginning?

I wish I’d known about the playfulness that’s possible in these condensed forms. 

What resource (a book, essay, story, person, literary journal) has helped you develop your flash fiction writing?

When I first started writing flash, I read everything I could get my hands on. Flash Fiction International and The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis were my first purchases. But my writing really strengthened when I started taking workshops about the art of flash. There are many others, I’m sure, but this Twitter thread that I started has a lot of great workshop recommendations. 

 What’s your favorite way to interact with the writing community? Do you have any advice for writers trying to add to their own writing communities?

I only joined the flash writing community a few years ago and didn’t know anyone until a random Twitter interaction turned into me starting a writers group with two other wonderful flash writers. Over two years later and our group is still going strong. Like many other writers, I am terribly introverted and had to really push myself to make our group happen, but I am so glad that I did. 

A novel, a micro, and a poem go to a bar together. What happens?

They choose their weapons: punctuation. Line breaks, em-dashes, and semicolons tussle as beer foams in the distance. Behind the bar, a prose poem, a ballad, and a novella place bets on who will come out victorious, but the fight runs overtime and the bar closes before a winner is called. 

If you could recommend a few flash stories or writers, who/what would it be?

Honestly, there are too many to count! 

• K.B. Carle’s uniquely formatted hermit crab pieces

• Melissa Llanes Brownlee’s nostalgic work

• Anything by the writers whose flash fiction classes I’ve taken (Tommy Dean, Kathy Fish, Sarah Freligh, Matthew Kendrick, Cheryl Pappas, Nancy Stohlman, all of the SmokeLong Quarterly editors, and more!)

• All of the members of my writing group who inspire me every day (MM Bailey, Myna Chang, Sara Siddiqui Chansarkar, Marcy Dilworth, Sara Hills, Meagan Johanson, and Ellen Weeren) 

What story of yours do you want us to read?

I’d love it if you read The Hollowing of her Bones, a collaborative story written with my amazing flash writing group and generously published by Fractured Lit. I also recently published one of my tiniest stories ever, What Ariel Sees in the Antique Shop, a micro with hints of prose poetry.

BIO: Ariel M. Goldenthal is an Assistant Professor of English at George Mason University. Her writing has appeared in Janus Literary, MoonPark Review, Tiny Molecules, and others. You can read more at http://arielmgoldenthal.com and follow her on Twitter @arielgoldenthal.

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