The Centifictionist

Ran Walker’s microfictions, “Eric’s Things, Circa 1985”, and “Numbers” will appear in the first issue of The Centifictionist (Vol. 1, Issue 1, Spring/Summer 2020). Ran graciously answered a few brief questions for us. Read the interview below.

1. What inspired the stories “Eric’s Things, Circa 1985”, and “Numbers”?

“Eric’s Things, Circa 1985” was inspired by a story my father told me about one of his legal clients from the early eighties and how that experience helped him to understand the importance of equal rights for all people, regardless of sexual orientation and gender. “Numbers” was the byproduct of my imagining what a person would really do if he/she/they won an obscene amount of money from a lottery.

2. What inspires you and your writing?

I am inspired by other writers, musicians, and painters. I spend a lot of time engaging with other people’s art and simply observing the world around me.

3. What keeps you going when experiencing times of misery and despair?

Bookstores, libraries, and art galleries are my sanctuaries. Being around the works of people who overcame their own obstacles to create art makes me feel better about what I do.

4. What advice do you have for microfiction writers?

Treat words like money: spend only what you have to and make each dollar count.

5. Is there anything else that you would like people to know about you and/or your writing?

It took me 17 books before I gave myself permission to call myself a microfictionist. I seriously feel like my novel-writing days are behind me now.

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Ran Walker is the author of eighteen books. A former practicing attorney, he is the winner of the 2019 Indie Author of the Year and 2019 BCALA Fiction Ebook Awards. He teaches creative writing at Hampton University and lives with his wife and daughter in Virginia. He can be reached via his website, ranwalker.com. Twitter: @ranwalker.