October 2024
Ten stories picked by Kristin Tenor
Kristin Tenor finds inspiration in life’s quiet details and believes in their power to illuminate the extraordinary. She is the author of This Is How They Mourn (Thirty West, 2024). Kristin’s flash fiction has also appeared in Best Microfiction 2024, Wigleaf, Bending Genres, 100 Word Story and elsewhere. Her work has been nominated for Best of the Net, Best Small Fictions, and the Pushcart Prize as well as being longlisted for the Wigleaf Top 50. She currently serves as a contributing editor at Story.
Twitter / X: @KristinTenor
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kristin.tenor/
Instagram: @kristintenor_writer
BlueSky: @kristintenor.bsky.social
Website: www.kristintenor.com
This Is How They Mourn
Winner of the 8th Wavelengths Contest, This Is How They Mourn, is Kristin Tenor’s debut flash fiction chapbook. Seventeen stories portray various shades of a Midwestern Gothic. Written with economical, yet powerful, prose, you shall mourn with these heartfelt characters long after reading the last page. Stories within have been featured in Best Microfiction 2024, Emerge, Flash Frog, X-R-A-Y, Wigleaf, and Bending Genres.
Available for pre-order now at https://www.thirtywestph.com/shop/thisishowtheymourn.
If you aren’t familiar with her work, here’s one of her pieces to start things off:
Pancakes (Kristin Tenor | Wigleaf)
Why I like it (MK): the way the insistent repetition of “she doesn’t know why” and “she wonders” build the emotional resonance beneath the narrative; how so much tension is created between the horror of what the mother is doing and the banality of the father flipping pancakes; the deep sense of regret woven through the voice.
Cancer Arm (Kathy Fish | Fictionaut)
Why I like it (KT): What I love most about Kathy’s work is the quiet ache she infuses into her narratives, and this piece is no exception. The repetition of “It’s Thanksgiving…” and the well-placed white space allow us to effortlessly travel through time with the narrator reminisces and makes connections between the defining moments of her past, present, and inevitable future. I also love how the simmering fear of a cancer diagnosis rubs against the traditional family holiday meal. Kathy always has a way of depicting the ordinary with such specificity and honesty it evokes one’s own nostalgia and yearning for understanding.
New Old (Tara Isabel Zambrano | The Southampton Review)
Why I like it: The father’s physical metamorphosis as he grieves the mother’s passing subverts our expectations; however, we buy into it because his characterization and his loss are both so palpably rendered. The ending image of “the mother swimming around in the father’s veins…wanting to come out, wanting to stay in” is so evocative.
Black Communion (Venita Blackburn | Harper’s Magazine)
Why I like it: The first line, “It was Communion Day when Pastor Short announced before the congregation his engagement to a woman who was not our mother,”—immediately sets the story’s thorny dynamics into motion. Also, the narrator’s voice draws the reader in as we find ourselves sitting in the pew watching this all go down right alongside her (and her mother and sister). The revelation made at the end speaks volumes about power and authority. So good.
PROMPT: Write a story which begins with a declarative sentence that clearly defines the conflict at hand. Then follow the path of consequences. What, if anything, cannot be spoken? What lies just beneath the surface?
My Dead (Peter Orner | The New Yorker)
Why I like it: I’ve been a big fan of Peter Orner’s work for a long, long time. I love how much tension and conflict he weaves into this brief narrative right from the get go—we realize Beth and the narrator are already a bad fit for one another within the first few lines, especially when he says, “We headed out into the night exalted, until, like I said, our conversation dried up completely.” And the promise of a séance—how can one not be hooked by a detail such as that? Besides the immediacy, I also appreciate the narrator’s confessional tone. We definitely know he’s a changed man by the end.
Farm Reports (Amy Barnes | The Bureau Dispatch)
Why I like it: I love how the passage of time works in this piece. The dated fragments create a linear chronology; but, it’s the complicated generational dynamics and juxtapositions between the narrator’s family and that of her aunt’s which show us how she matures and grows into the woman she eventually becomes. Also, the recurrence of corn throughout weaves this all together so seamlessly. Wonderful.
PROMPT: Write a series of fragments which cover the defining moments of a ten-year relationship, then print a copy and cut the fragments apart. Experiment by rearranging the fragments in descending order; otherwise randomly place them against one another to see how the narrative tension ebbs and flows.
Moonlit Fields (Andrew Bertaina | Literary Namjooning)
Why I like it: What a beautiful, beautiful elegiac piece. I love how the rhythmic breathlessness juxtaposes against the narrator’s quiet meditativeness. The repetition of the word “and” as well as the sensory imagery—“her voice curling around the words, so much like the rhythm of the train;” the illuminated window, a square of light—masterfully create not only this reminiscent stream-of-consciousness, but also connection and empathy within the reader as well.
Contingencies (Susan Perabo | Craft)
Why I like it: The anaphora of “this is what you do” ratchets up the urgency and tension sentence by sentence until the culmination becomes almost too much to handle. The second person point of view also immerses the reader into the rawness of this woman’s emotional journey as she tries to figure out how to navigate her husband’s volatile mood swings. The echo of the last three sentences have incredible staying power. I come back to this piece often.
Sea Watchers (Sarah Freligh | Pithead Chapel)
Why I like it: Every word, every sentence of this microfiction amplifies the tension brewing between this man and woman who visit the same beachside motel every summer. I especially love the line “…they come back here each summer to wait for what will never wash up” as well as the combination of sadness, regret, and restlessness it suggests. Coupling this piece with the Edward Hopper portrait which inspired it adds an even deeper dimension to the overall emotional landscape expressed here.
We, Moons (Leesa Cross-Smith | Oxford American)
Why I like it: The collective voice in this piece reads almost like a Greek chorus and curates so well the obsessions and intricacies of what it means to be a woman. There’s a pulsing rhythm as one reads this piece aloud. I especially love how Cross-Smith varies the sentence length throughout. The short, simple sentences punctuate and amplify the powerful urgency being conveyed.
PROMPT: Think of a group you belong to or, perhaps, once belonged to. Make a list of the challenges and/or obstacles the members of this group might face collectively. Now set a timer for ten minutes and write as many continuous statements as you can beginning with the word “We …” without stopping and/or crossing anything out. See how the constraint of working against the clock adds an element of urgency and breathlessness to the delivery of your narrative.
Like Hummingbirds (Shome Dasgupta | X-R-A-Y)
Why I like it: It’s difficult not to empathize with this narrator as he tries to come to terms with the loss of his brother. How many times have we also asked ourselves if there was anything else we could’ve done to help a distressed loved one only to already know the truth—not a thing. I appreciate the intimacy created by the narrator directly addressing his brother. I also like how the piece dips in and out of past memories to characterize the strong bond between them. And, of course, the hummingbird metaphor—how delicate and profound.
What did you think of these choices? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments - have you found a new favourite piece? Did you try out one of the prompts?
Next month’s selection will be chosen by Nora Nadjarian and will be appearing (fingers crossed) on the 19th November.
Opportunities to work with Matt
Editing
NOVEL / NOVELLA EDITING: First steps review, structural review, line edit, proof edit, submission review
EDITING FOR COLLECTIONS: structural overview report, line edit, proof edit
SHORT FICTION EDITING: Structural review, line edit, detailed edit, proof edit
These came at just the right time for me: I’ve gifted myself a mini writing retreat this week at an airbnb an hour away from home. Today, I decided I was going to read some flash before diving back into my flash novella project, but first I checked emails, and this! I particularly loved “We, Moons” and “Cancer Arm” and “Farm Reports.” I’m inspired, ideas are sparking, and I thank you!