Me: First, thank you for sitting with me to talk about Phiction111.

Also Me: How could I refuse? Besides, I felt like you would be fair.

Me: Exactly. So, enough chit-chat. You've stated that Phiction111 is "1 Photograph + 11 Sentences." How did you arrive at this formula?

Also Me: I love to take photographs. And to write fiction, particularly flash fiction. So why not combine the two?

Me: But most flash fiction stories are maybe 2,000 to 3,000 words. These are...

Also Me: ...much shorter - a tenth of that length, and very dense. Each sentence has to work hard. So the slower you can read them, the better.

Me: But why 11 sentences? Why not 12, or 15?

Also Me: Because "Phiction one-eleven" sounds better than "Phiction one-twelve", or Phiction one-fifteen." Wouldn't you agree?

Me: Of course I agree. Now about the photos: did you take them before, or after, you wrote the stories?

Also Me: Yes.

Me: Yes what?

Also Me: Sometimes the photo came first and I wrote a story to it. For example, that was the case with "Twister" and "Setback." Other times the story popped out and I needed a photo to speak to it - as with "First Christmas" and "Gangs of New Haven."

Me: I see. So the purpose of having the photos is...

Also Me: To add context, to be evocative. The photos have to add value.

Me: I know the answer to this, but I'll ask anyway: Which was your first Phiction111 story?

Also Me: My first was "Clothing Makes the Man." Which BTW was story first, photo second.

Me: A good way to start. And, of these stories, which was the hardest to write?

Also Me: I would say "Past Life Transgressions." A lot to convey, in so little space.

Me: Yes, well, I did notice that some of the sentences in that story ARE pretty long.

Also Me: Let's see you try to pack that much story into 11 sentences.

Me: Well, maybe I will. Any last comments for us?

Also Me: What do you mean, "us?" There's no one else here.

Me: That's what interviewers typically say at the end. It assumes that more than one person is reading or listening. You don't have to take it literally.

Also Me: I'm a writer. I take everything literally.

Me: Tell me about it.

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