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Chris Cochran retired from writing as a form of storytelling in his early twenties. He had no idea this had happened and, for at least a decade, still considered himself a writer. It would take a global pandemic to point out this contradiction. He began writing about his youth, searching for a simpler world that still made sense. These stories, which began with a small truth but quickly became fictionalized, were less a means to process trauma and more an avenue to escape from it; perhaps they managed to do both. In any case, the boy who used to write constantly had returned with a short-term goal of getting something published somewhere. Once that happened, he figured he’d try again. Since then, his short stories have appeared in Santa Barbara Literary Journal, Dunes Review, Doubleback Review, The 2024 Northwind Treasury, and Write Michigan 2023 Anthology. Additionally, he discovered a love for writing micro-fiction and has been published in ScribesMICRO, Bright Flash Literary Review, and Molecule. Chris currently resides in Stevensville, Michigan with his wife, Kaela, and their son, Wallace, where he teaches high school English. He spends many an early morning running and many a late evening drinking tea and falling asleep to comedy podcasts. |
Interview with Chris Cochran
about his story "The Artifice of Perfection"
Honorable Mention for The Scribes Prize
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What inspired this piece?
Seemingly overnight, AI went from science fiction to reality. I wrote this piece near the beginning of the hysteria, when teachers were realizing that students were much more adept at this technology than they were. I stumbled upon the parallels between academic plagiarism and the usage of camera filters during the writing process, and the hypocrisy of the ending became the story’s central focus.
What draws you to the micro-fiction format?
When you write as slowly as I do, it’s nice to actually finish something now and then! In all seriousness, it’s the challenge of telling a complete story in so few words that keeps bringing me back. My best writing leans into the idea that less is more, and my favorite part of revision has always been trimming the fat and cutting the fluff. I also use micro-fiction as a reset when I hit creative walls with other projects. Shifting my focus often sparks new ideas or helps me understand how to move forward.
If you could continue writing your story after these 100 words, what would happen next?
The idea from this piece that I could see myself expanding upon is that of overcomplicated solutions. As far as I know, AI integration has yet to make its way to paper and pencil; yet, teachers are somehow perplexed about how to keep students from cheating. If I kept writing this story, or reworked it into a longer piece, I’d follow that disconnect.
Seemingly overnight, AI went from science fiction to reality. I wrote this piece near the beginning of the hysteria, when teachers were realizing that students were much more adept at this technology than they were. I stumbled upon the parallels between academic plagiarism and the usage of camera filters during the writing process, and the hypocrisy of the ending became the story’s central focus.
What draws you to the micro-fiction format?
When you write as slowly as I do, it’s nice to actually finish something now and then! In all seriousness, it’s the challenge of telling a complete story in so few words that keeps bringing me back. My best writing leans into the idea that less is more, and my favorite part of revision has always been trimming the fat and cutting the fluff. I also use micro-fiction as a reset when I hit creative walls with other projects. Shifting my focus often sparks new ideas or helps me understand how to move forward.
If you could continue writing your story after these 100 words, what would happen next?
The idea from this piece that I could see myself expanding upon is that of overcomplicated solutions. As far as I know, AI integration has yet to make its way to paper and pencil; yet, teachers are somehow perplexed about how to keep students from cheating. If I kept writing this story, or reworked it into a longer piece, I’d follow that disconnect.