“I set many of my stories in a gritty "realist" world, but one that is plagued by an overuse of technology, which is akin to the world we find ourselves living in now.” WorldStoriesTechnologyRealist Author:Alexander Weinstein
“I was really interested in this ability for others to create virtual memories for us. In "The Cartographers" I explore this through Adam Woods, and the company he works for, which produces virtual memories that people can beam into their consciousness. While the technology is sci-fi, the story is also a metaphor for the way love relationships create memories in our minds.” PeopleWayMindStoriesMemoriesAbilityConsciousnessCompanyTechnologyProduceMetaphorWoodsSci FiAdamBeamLove Relationship Author:Alexander Weinstein
“When I wrote the story ["The Cartographers"], I'd just gone through a breakup with a woman I'd loved dearly. Without this other person in my life, the memories we'd shared often felt like phantoms. Who was this person I once loved? Did she still really exist? The answer, on a metaphysical level, was that this person didn't still exist. She'd gone on to become a different person, an individual with new hopes and dreams which no longer involved me.” PersonsStillsDifferentStoriesDreamIndividualFeltMemoriesAnswersLevelsGoneInvolvedBreakupMetaphysicalPhantomsHopes And DreamsNew Hope Author:Alexander Weinstein
“I came across an old story of mine that I'd written a decade ago. The main joke of the story is that a mother is telling her children about how she met their father online. The majority of memories the mother has all have to do with really funny links he sent her, a music download that she loved, etc. - and because of these superficial details she fell in love with the father. Reading it today, it's hardly a dystopian story; it's simply a realistic story about how people actually meet.” PeopleChildrenStoriesTodayMotherReadingFatherMemoriesWrittenMinesMetsJokesMajorityDetailsDecadesEtcOnlineLinksRealisticSuperficialDystopianDownloads Author:Alexander Weinstein
“I'll take a [Pavel] Chekhov comparison any day! He's of course one of the great masters at the short story form, and has helped define traditional conflict as we understand it.” StoriesFormCoursesMastersConflictTraditionalComparisonShort StoryChekhov Author:Alexander Weinstein
“While my stories are experimental, they're also very traditional. I love the works of the great Russian writers like [Pavel] Chekhov and [Lev] Tolstoy, and their ability to portray our human struggles and joys.” HumansStoriesJoyAbilityStruggleTraditionalChekhovLev Tolstoy Author:Alexander Weinstein
“David Foster Wallace was a brilliant experimentalist who I deeply admire. His ability to do formalism helped me understand how to tackle stories like "Dictionary" and "Failed Revolution." "Dictionary," in particular, functions against narrative in many ways - each of the definitions are their own mini-story or prose poem, and the collection of them adds up to create a different effect than the traditional Freytagian Pyramid story.” WayDifferentStoriesAbilityEffectsParticularRevolutionFunctionAddDefinitionsBrilliantAdmireTraditionalNarrativeProseCollectionsDictionaryPyramids Author:Alexander Weinstein
“Wit and humor seem to always factor into this - there's a tongue-in-cheek tone you get when you take on a formalist story - because there's an inherent voice you're trying to copy (and often to satirize).” TryingStoriesSeemsVoiceTongueWitFactorsToneCopiesCheeksInherentTongue In CheekWit And Humor Author:Alexander Weinstein
“That particular story ["The Pyramid and the Ass"] was written during the dark days of the Bush years. George W. Bush had just been "re-elected" (or elected for the first time, depending on how you count the stolen election) and it seemed like the horror of his presidency would last forever.” YearsFirstsStoriesLastsDarkForeverWrittenParticularHorrorFirst TimeElectionAssPresidencyStolenPyramidsDark Days Author:Alexander Weinstein
“In the story ["The Pyramid and the Ass"] there's this war against the so-called Buddhist Terrorists. As we find out, they're not really terrorists at all, just good folks trying to liberate people from technology and fight against an American government/corporation trying to coopt our souls. The inherent racism and Buddhist-phobia in the story plays into the present demonizing of Islam - and of our loss of knowledge about the great, spiritual history of the Sufis, for example, or the cultural heritage from the middle east.” PeopleTryingWarSoulPlayStoriesGovernmentSpiritualFightingLossTechnologyMiddleExampleRacismIslamFolksEastTerroristAssBuddhistCorporationsHeritageMiddle EastInherentSufiPyramidsAmerican GovernmentPhobiaCultural HeritageGreat Spiritual Author:Alexander Weinstein
“I'm just worried that the technology I invented in that story ["The Pyramid and the Ass" ] will become real, and George W. Bush will be able to clone into a new body and be "re-elected" due to a clone-bill passed by him and his cronies. God forbid!” RealStoriesBodyAbleTechnologyBillsDuesAssWorriedPyramidsCronies Author:Alexander Weinstein
“"Openness" [story] ultimately asks this same question - can a relationship survive complete honesty? As a romantic, I want to say "Yes, of course!" But, over time, I've come to agree with Dan Savage.” WantStoriesCoursesAsksHonestyAgreeOpennessSavagesComplete Honesty Author:Alexander Weinstein
“We shuffle out of office buildings after being laid-off by draconian bosses; we sit on hold for ten minutes only to be told by a supervisor that the charge on our cable bill can't be removed; we click a crying emoji on Facebook as our last whimper of protest. So rather than end the story ["Ice Age"] with the expected violence and destruction of evil, I wanted to focus on the way the characters end up sabotaging their own community though their attachments to the consumerism of the old world.” WorldWayEndsCharacterStoriesAgeWantedLastsEvilCommunityFocusViolenceMinutesCryBuildingTenOfficeDestructionBillsExpectedIceProtestAttachmentBossConsumerismCablesClicksOld WorldIce AgeShuffleSupervisorsLaid OffDraconianOffice Buildings Author:Alexander Weinstein