Rebecca Schiff, "How to Be a Slut"

It's December 23. Rebecca Schiff, author of The Bed Moved, has the Stamp Act bookmarked.

How would you describe your story?

REBECCA SCHIFF: An outtake from Lorrie Moore's Self Help.

When did you write it, and how did the writing process compare to your other work?

RS: I wrote it in 2014, but I'd been wanting to try this story for a while. "How to Be a Slut" seemed like a natural story for me to write. Second-person narration always runs the risk of being pretentious, but in this case, I thought the humor of giving directions to aspiring sluts made it worthwhile. 

What kind of research went into this story?

RS: The narrator of this story likes to google terrorist organizations and radical history on nights when she's not sleeping with strangers. So I googled some of those things.

What, to you, makes the short story a special form? What can it do that other kinds of writing can't?

RS: I like that the short story gets the job done quickly and poetically but without line breaks. There's also an element of mystery, of withholding, which I find very attractive about the form.

Where should people go to learn more about you and your work?

RS: I have a dumb web page, so don't go there. Read my book. 

What's the best gift you've ever been given?

RS: Someone just gave me a plant. I'm sure there are more creative gifts, but I was touched because I really needed a plant.

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