Dinty W. Moore
Dinty W. Moore, along with Tom Hazuka, has co-edited a new book, Flash Nonfiction Funny: 71 Very Humorous, Very True, Very Short Stories (Woodhall Press). The book features concise essays, all consisting of 750 words or less, that are sure to delight and entertain readers.
“It is hard to say anything too serious about collecting dozens upon dozens of laugh-out-loud true stories, but it was interesting, and it forced my co-editor and I to define what we think constitutes the building blocks of successful written humor. Even more interesting is that we often didn’t agree,” Moore says.
Despite their length, the essays feature “everything you want in a thoughtful essay,” including skillful craft and meaningful consideration of feeling and experience.
“Funny is a very subjective sensation, but we did agree to avoid cheap laughs and ‘potty’ humor. The best humor comes when the main character—and since these are nonfiction, that character is the author in these short essays—wants something badly and is thwarted in some way. The rest is in the word choice and the comic timing,” he adds.
Moore is the author of The Story Cure, Dear Mister Essay Writer Guy, Between Panic & Desire, The Mindful Writer, and many other books. His work has appeared in The Southern Review, The Georgia Review, Harpers, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, The Philadelphia Inquirer Magazine, Gettysburg Review, Utne Reader, Crazyhorse, and Okey-Panky, and elsewhere.
He is a Professor and Director of Creative Writing in Ohio University’s English Department. Moore is also the founder and editor of Brevity Magazine.
Flash Nonfiction Funny: 71 Very Humorous, Very True, Very Short Stories is available from Woodhall Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other booksellers.
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