Leta Seletzky - Flash Nonfiction Funny survey responses

Fiction or Nonfiction?

Nonfiction. At the moment, I’m so absorbed in things that actually happened that I don’t think I can make anything up right now.

Is it harder to write funny or sad?

For me, funny is harder. As much as I aspire to write funny stories, most of my work is unspeakably sad.

Long form or short form?

Short form. I like to get into the story and then get the heck out of there!

Poetry or prose?

Poetic prose?

Boxers or kickboxers?

Are we fighting? I’ll take a regular boxer, please.

Piece that you read and said Wish I’d thought of that?

William Faulkner’s AS I LAY DYING. Exquisitely funny and sad—my favorite combination.

Cloned or frozen?

Are we talking about produce? I think I’ve tried both. Frozen was better.

Book you read and reread?

Jane Vandenburgh’s (@themonotonists) ARCHITECTURE OF THE NOVEL: A WRITER’S HANDBOOK. The only instructions I’ve ever read and followed from beginning to end.

When writing is going well…

I’m doing a lot of crying.

Desert Island Book?

The Bible. There are instructions in there for building a boat.

Leta McCollough Seletzky always dreamed of becoming a comedy writer, but most of her work is unspeakably sad. (See, e.g., this.) She’s currently working on a book about her father, whose story she recently shared in O, The Oprah Magazine’s May 2018 issue. Follow her on Instagram (@la_seletzky), Twitter (@LaSeletzky), and Facebook (leta.seletzky).

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