How did you come to write this piece?

I was reading quantum theory nonfiction and watching Brian Cox’s black hole videos (for my own entertainment, not work-related) and all that information needed an outlet. Adding the Lovecraft mythos felt like a natural progression born of thinking too much about deep-space phenomena. I’m not a physicist and I don’t write hard SF, so when I learn about neat scientific discoveries, I have to communicate my enthusiasm via weird spec-fic flash fiction.

As a writer of novels and very short fiction, what changes in your approach when you’re writing for such a condensed word count?

With flash fiction I need to narrow my scope to the most infinitesimal idea possible. I don’t think about plot or character; they crop up much more spontaneously than in a novel. Flash is a glimpse of something bigger with no room to explain itself. It can sustain weirder ideas, too, as well as topics I wouldn’t attempt in a novel where I need to get into the weeds of things regarding motivations and consequences. I couldn’t write about black holes or string theory in a longer work, for instance, without showing my lack of real understanding of either. (Although string theory might be a bad example; physicists have seemingly hit a dead end on that one, too.)

Do you write shorter pieces while you are in the middle of working on a longer work and if so, do you have a trick to shifting styles back and forth?

I get very restless in my work, so I jump between projects almost constantly. It’s a relief to change tracks and finish something very short and experimental without having to start a whole new novel every time I want a break from my current novel-in-progress. I’m afraid I don’t have a trick for it. I need a trick to stay focused on one single project from start to finish.

What are you working on now?

I’m currently drafting my first secondary-world fantasy novel. It feels great delving into the history and structure of a world and having room to explore that in 100,000 words. Very much the opposite of flash fiction. I don’t know exactly what shape it will end up taking when it’s done, and there’s excitement in that unknown. Right now, I’m enjoying the process rather than stressing about the finished product.