Colette Parris’s 64 word microfiction, “Watch”, will appear in the fifth issue of The Centifictionist (Vol. 3, Issue 1, Spring/Summer 2022). Colette graciously answered a few brief questions for us. Read the interview below.
1. What inspired the story “Watch”?
In recent years, hate groups have taken center stage. I found myself thinking how terrifying it would be to be trapped in a situation where the person charged with protecting you belongs to a group that wants to annihilate you.
2. What inspires you and your writing?
Reading other people’s work in journals I admire gets my creative juices flowing and inspires me to up my game.
3. What keeps you going when experiencing times of misery and despair?
Burying myself in books is one of my strategies, especially British mystery series (there are so many great ones!). Also, when the present and future are looking dire, I often delve into the past by immersing myself in ancestry research, which has been fascinating thus far.
4. What advice do you have for microfiction writers?
It’s the same advice I have for all writers. First, always print out your work. Always. It’s my belief that proofreading solely on a screen rarely ends well. Second, don’t submit a story that’s hot off the press. Wait at least two days, at which point a better word choice may come to mind, or you might catch a hidden weakness.
5. Is there anything else that you would like people to know about you and/or your writing?
When I write fiction, I usually start at the end. The beginning may be a question mark, the middle may be fuzzy, but as long as I’ve figured out the conclusion, I find that everything else eventually falls into place.
Colette Parris is a Caribbean-American attorney who returned to her literary roots during the pandemic. Her work can be found in Streetlight Magazine, Vestal Review, Lunch Ticket, Burningword Literary Journal, Cleaver Magazine, and elsewhere. Her fiction is currently nominated for a Pushcart Prize and Best Microfiction 2022. Find her on Twitter @colettepjd.
The Centifictionist 
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