Alastair Millar’s 93 word microfiction, “Warnings”, will appear in the fifth issue of The Centifictionist (Vol. 3, Issue 1, Spring/Summer 2022). Alastair graciously answered a few brief questions for us. Read the interview below.
1. What inspired the story “Warnings”?
This story was inspired by the recent rise in European populist nationalism, which worries and disturbs me.
2. What inspires you and your writing?
When imagination fails, I can be inspired by art, quirky news items, current affairs or the people around me…or more general writing prompts and themed submission calls!
3. What keeps you going when experiencing times of misery and despair?
Above all, my family and their support. Also the possibility of escaping into well-written SF/fantasy novels.
4. What advice do you have for microfiction writers?
Rather than showing or telling, implication is a key tool for microfiction. A single word can suggest a setting – so save on the count by letting the reader’s imagination do the heavy lifting.
5. Is there anything else that you would like people to know about you and/or your writing?
Nothing important enough to distract from the words!
Alastair Millar is an archaeologist by training, a translator by trade and a nerd by nature. He lives north of Prague, Czech Republic, and enjoys good books, bad puns, and traveling. His short fiction has been published by the US Army TRADOC, 365tomorrows, The Write-In, Microfiction Monday Magazine, 101words, ScribesMICROFiction, and The Drabble, and he has been shortlisted in Tortive Theatre’s #flashfiction101 competition. Linktree: linktr.ee/alastairmillar. Twitter: @skriptorium. Instagram: @skriptorium.
The Centifictionist 
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