David Andrew Tan

Minutia Matter David Andrew Tan

The short story is a list of leasts - least marketable, least profitable, least respected, and perhaps even least read. However, a truly compelling short story may be the most challenging form of writing. To introduce the setting, the characters, a conflict, and bring it all to a meaningful (or at least interesting and consistent) end within thirty pages or less is an exercise in both restraint and mastery. I claim neither of these - but I gave it my best shot. There is something in this collection for everyone. Everyday life gone wrong, law man struggles, the noble farce of military life, futures I hope we can avoid, and less grounded fantasies, good and bad. It is perhaps darker than I intended - a product of angsty college years, romances spurned, youthful optimism sanded down. But know that there is hope, though it may be hard to find. I was asked what the uniting theme of these works could be. I had never set out upon any of these stories with this particular thought in mind, much less did I plan to weave them all together in any way - but upon being asked I knew it, instinctively. The small things, the minutia, are important. MINUTIA MATTER. Thank you for reading.