INTERVIEW - Alexander Boast, Editor of Financial Fallout

Q) Hi Alex, what excites you about working on 21Futures: Financial Fallout and how did you get involved?

A) Hi there, thanks for having me. It’s been thrilling to work with other writers in what can feel like a tiny space sometimes. What excites me the most is learning from the new perspective that any creative writer can bring, whatever their level.

I’d been judging a popular weekly writing competition for a Bitcoin faucet for over a year when long-term LinkedIn connection-turned collaborator Philip Charter reached out with the opportunity to make a more meaningful impact on the growing Bitcoin fiction and Cypherpunk movement. I jumped at the chance! 

Q) What background and experience do you bring to the project?

A) I’ve been a writer for 20 years, professionally for 15. Learning about Bitcoin back in 2016 was a happy accident after hearing about it at an event, and after losing my “big” marketing job to the pandemic in March 2020, I went all in on trading, mining and indeed writing about it.

Since then I’ve held senior roles both agency-side and in-house in the cryptocurrency industry, but I also write novels, short stories, poetry, music, non-fiction and perhaps most importantly have had a tremendous time working with over 150 writers through my coaching business. This allows my formal education (a BA in Classical Studies and an MA in Creative Writing from London Universities) to really shine, and I couldn’t be happier to combine coaching, mentoring, and writing in my day-to-day.

Q) What advice can you give to writers that were unsuccessful this time?

A) I’ve been there! The competition is so stiff that even mustering the courage to submit should be considered an achievement and we’re very proud of all our entrants.

That being said, here are some things to consider.

Natural talent or acquired technical skill alone are not enough - one must combine these elements, with a pinch of that special “X factor” that makes a writer stand out. Writers should constantly be looking not just to learn or sharpen skills, but also apply that and gain as much experience as possible working with editors to learn what they look for.

A listen-first approach can be difficult for a writer, but it’ll transform their writing.

Q) What are the qualities you look for in a successful submission? 

A) This listen-first approach needs to be demonstrated right away; we want to see people sticking to the guidelines and understanding the brief. It’s not ok to ignore the word count or write something off-theme, no matter how good it might be.  

In life, people react in different ways to the same stimulus, and this is exactly the same in writing. The best submissions are able to cleave to the guidelines whilst also presenting a unique approach: a difficult task indeed! 

Our best stories were truly dystopian sci-fi short stories that offered just that hint or spark of hope.

Formatting, proofreading, and editing are important but we can help with that, so we’re more interested in the ability to respond accurately to the prompts.

Q) How do you suggest people get started with writing a submission for a future anthology or submitting to competitions in general? 

A) The advice I would give any writer is to think broadly about the themes, messages and takeaways for the reader that they want to include in their story.

These themes should govern the title and the content of the story in a way that editors and readers know immediately what to expect, and the messages whether direct or indirect in the story should manage those expectations throughout. 

Cool ideas must develop into coherent understanding of the genre in which the story will sit, and incorporate classic storytelling elements. It might be tempting to go big on summary and exposition dumps, but editors will be looking at the quality of dialogue, pacing, action, and worldbuilding or social commentary present in a story. 

Q) Thanks Alex. How can we stay in touch with you?

A) You can find me in our 21 Futures: the world of cypherpunk fiction Telegram group, and see more of what I’ve been up to on LinkedIn.