The Centifictionist

Susan Hatters Friedman, MD’s 100 word microfiction, “Locked-In Syndrome”, will appear in the second issue of The Centifictionist (Vol. 1, Issue 2, Fall/Winter 2020). Susan graciously answered a few brief questions for us. Read the interview below.

1. What inspired the story “Locked-In Syndrome”?

Years ago in medical school, we learned about Locked-In Syndrome, and it has stuck with me as a deep dark fear, not that different from the age-old fear of being buried alive. In my work as a forensic psychiatrist, I spend a lot of time thinking about violence and murder within relationships. And the two ideas came together.

2. What inspires you and your writing?

Themes of my writing tend to be inspired by my family or my work. I’ve been interested in crime fiction and mysteries from childhood. I’m passionate about my day job, in which I meet a lot of people who have experienced traumas, as well as people who have harmed others.

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

My husband, and our grown son and daughter. Great friends. Reading voraciously. Music.

4. What advice do you have for microfiction writers?

Constraints counterintuitively can make the writing easier. Perhaps this has something to do with the current state of the world; perhaps not.

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Susan Hatters Friedman, MD recently returned from living and working in New Zealand to America, where she is a professor of forensic psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University. She is also pursuing a Master’s in Crime and Thriller Writing at the University of Cambridge. She recently served as editor of the academic volume “Family Murder: Pathologies of Love and Hate”.