Brigid Sim completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Counseling from Lewis University. She has a lifelong dream of being an author and has written comedy sketches for the Chicago based comedy troupe Hippohorsey Donkeymonkey. Brigid is currently working on her first novel, which she hopes is a testament to the bonds of love and friendship (but funny). Brigid is a mom to three young sons and two orange cats.
interview by Sue Bradford Edwards
WOW: Which came to you first for “Captivity and the Indignity of Hunger”? The character of Rosie? Or the plot? How did you develop this story?
Brigid: The character of Rosie came first. My senior cat was desperately meowing at me to refill his food bowl. I was reassuring him that food was coming, and he gave me a look that said, “I cannot believe that you are keeping me waiting right now.” It led me to thinking about how dramatic he would be if he could talk—as well as how demeaning my own cutesy talk would sound to him. Once I decided not to reveal that Rosie was a cat right away, I wrote the dialogue so that the reader would assume that a woman was being held captive by a creepy man. It was important that those same words could be completely innocent once the reader knows the twist.
WOW: You’ve done such an incredible job making Rosie a three-dimensional character. What advice do you have about making complex flash fiction characters?
Brigid: I focus on only one protagonist whose inner thoughts and motivations are known to the reader. I don’t want to spread my characterizations thin, so I usually add a single antagonist who we only get to know through the observations of the protagonist. I believe that this creates a feeling of intimacy between the reader and the main character.
WOW: Humor is so hard to write. What would you recommend for writers who are new to writing humor?
Brigid: Some of my favorite humor is rooted in subverting expectations. Readers are naturally trying to figure out what to expect, and it is especially delightful when those expectations are turned upside down in a fun way. Leading the reader to experience a bit of dread can make a humorous payoff that much sweeter. I also find that some of the funniest things that I write come from a character’s interior thoughts. Characters often say one thing and think another. I like to find the humor in their inner monologues. Placing the characters in situations in which they cannot speak their minds freely is a great place to start. Emotions with built in tension lend themselves well to comedy (frustration, infatuation, desperation, to name a few). I believe the key is to start with a base emotion and escalate. A character might start as annoyed and end up absolutely exasperated, their behavior becoming increasingly unhinged. You can play around with it and see what feels right.
WOW: You write comedy, you’ve written flash, and you are even writing a novel. What advice do you have for writers when it comes to juggling multiple projects?
Brigid: Writing should be fun, so if you are struggling with a piece, don’t be afraid to take a break from it. Sometimes all I need to do to unblock my writing is take a little time out to write something else. Then I come back to the main project feeling refreshed. If you are on a deadline, even writing a quick, unrelated paragraph can help.
WOW: What question do you wish I had asked? And how would you answer it?
Brigid: What do I love about flash fiction? My first instinct is to answer that flash fiction can be read and written much quicker than longer works. Life gets busy, and it’s a great way to get a reading and writing fix. My longer answer is that good flash fiction is so carefully and tightly constructed to include only the best parts of a story. Each detail included in the finished story has beat out countless alternatives. An author has to use only one adjective on an object that might have three or four adjectives in a lengthier work. Every word in flash fiction has earned the right to be there.
WOW: Excellent answer! If you are accustomed to writing longer pieces, it can be hard to write something so tight but this is a great lesson in economy.
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