{"id":2193,"date":"2024-10-10T08:30:22","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T08:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quantum.closelycoded.site\/?page_id=2193"},"modified":"2024-12-17T10:03:25","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T10:03:25","slug":"backstory-collapse","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/events.cqt.sg\/shorts\/backstory-collapse\/","title":{"rendered":"Backstory: The Collapse"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"2193\" class=\"elementor elementor-2193\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5922dc1c e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"5922dc1c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6683d3c4 elementor-absolute elementor-hidden-tablet elementor-hidden-mobile elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"6683d3c4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_position&quot;:&quot;absolute&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"92\" height=\"143\" src=\"https:\/\/events.cqt.sg\/shorts\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/09\/pattern_top.png\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-591\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-66666dcf elementor-absolute elementor-hidden-tablet elementor-hidden-mobile elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"66666dcf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_position&quot;:&quot;absolute&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"160\" height=\"177\" src=\"https:\/\/events.cqt.sg\/shorts\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/09\/pattern_bottom.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-592\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d31c074 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"d31c074\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-35255a5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"35255a5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Backstory: The Collapse<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7f4de8d elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"7f4de8d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" src=\"https:\/\/events.cqt.sg\/shorts\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/09\/Runner-Up_1200x630-1024x538.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-1360\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/events.cqt.sg\/shorts\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/09\/Runner-Up_1200x630-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/events.cqt.sg\/shorts\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/09\/Runner-Up_1200x630-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/events.cqt.sg\/shorts\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/09\/Runner-Up_1200x630-768x403.jpg 768w, https:\/\/events.cqt.sg\/shorts\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/09\/Runner-Up_1200x630.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-698dafe elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"698dafe\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"rtecenter\">A Q&amp;A with\u00a0<strong>Meg Sipos<\/strong>, Runner Up<\/p><p class=\"rtecenter\"><a href=\"\/entry\/collapse-0\">Read the story first: The Collapse<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2bc8bc4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2bc8bc4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Can you give a short introduction about yourself?<\/strong><\/p><p>I\u2019m a writer, editor, and podcaster currently based in Pittsburgh, PA (US), where I live with my husband and our very talkative and spoiled cat. You can follow me on Twitter\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/meg_sipos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@meg-sipos<\/a><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>What inspired your story of rips in reality?<\/strong><\/p><p>While I love stories about the multiverse, most of them come with this \u201cit\u2019s the end of the world as we know it and we need to figure out how to fix things or restore balance\u201d kind of tone. I was interested in focusing on a more personal story, with the \u201cend-times\u201d being more tangential.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>The realities in the story become a confusing maze for the characters to navigate. Is there something that triggered this idea?<\/strong><\/p><p>I\u2019ve always been fascinated by the concept of alternate realities, as well as consciousness, and what they might mean in relation to each other. Like, if different versions of you exist, with similar personalities and a lot of the same memories, are they you and are you them? Surely not. But also, yes. Because when you get down to the core, what\u2019s the real difference between \u201cthem\u201d and \u201cyou\u201d? And so I tried to apply this internal confusion to the piece.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>If you could, would you want to meet another you?<\/strong><\/p><p>Definitely not. The thought of meeting another version of myself terrifies me.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>What can you tell us about how you wrote it\u2014anything from editing to offices to technology choices?<\/strong><\/p><p>I often start a writing project with a phrase or an image, so the constraint here really helped prompt me. Also, when I write flash, my first draft is usually a lot longer than 1,000 words. My process is to over-write everything before cutting content and then tightening language. Then I re-read and edit over and over and over again. It works pretty well for me, but everyone\u2019s different.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>How did you feel about the news of your prize?<\/strong><\/p><p>Honestly, I was surprised. It was a very good, very happy surprise though!<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>What was your path into writing?<\/strong><\/p><p>Well, I\u2019ve never really wanted to do anything else. Maybe when I was ten I wanted to be an architect for a month\u2026 But throughout my childhood, I told everyone who asked that I wanted to be a writer. And then I went on to earn my BFA and my MFA in creative writing.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>Are you working on other projects now?<\/strong><\/p><p>I&#8217;m currently working on a linked, place-based short story collection about people who are stuck in a dying city. It&#8217;s a very dark and weird universe with some horror elements and some references to various mythologies. I am also working on a collection of flash. In addition to these independent works, my husband and I recently started collaborating on a very large SFF project.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>Can you name one or two science-inspired books you&#8217;ve read in the past year that you would recommend to others? What did you like about them?<\/strong><\/p><p>Sadly, I cannot. While I tend to watch a lot of science fiction, my reading trends more toward general weirdness. Some recommendations for general weirdness would be\u00a0<i>White Noise<\/i>\u00a0by Don DeLillo,\u00a0<i>The Sellout\u00a0<\/i>by Paul Beatty, and any story by Aimee Bender, Kelly Link, or George Saunders. DeLillo and Beatty for the post-modern aspects, the humor, and the commentary and Bender, Link, and Saunders for their concepts and the creative ways they execute them.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>What appealed to you about the Quantum Shorts flash fiction competition?<\/strong><\/p><p>I loved that it gave me an opportunity to exercise my writing in a genre that I am less familiar with. I really wanted to try my hand at it. The possibilities for quantum-inspired flash are endless!\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Backstory: The Collapse A Q&amp;A with\u00a0Meg Sipos, Runner Up Read the story first: The Collapse Can you give a short introduction about yourself? I\u2019m a writer, editor, and podcaster currently based in Pittsburgh, PA (US), where I live with my husband and our very talkative and spoiled cat. You can follow me on Twitter\u00a0@meg-sipos \u00a0 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2193","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Backstory: The Collapse - Quantum Shorts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/events.cqt.sg\/shorts\/backstory-collapse\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Backstory: The Collapse - Quantum Shorts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Backstory: The Collapse A Q&amp;A with\u00a0Meg Sipos, Runner Up Read the story first: The Collapse Can you give a short introduction about yourself? 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