Flash Fiction
cinzialollim
FlashFictionPresentation.pptx
A Flash Presentation on Flash Fiction
For Creative Writing
Judson Wright
For sale: baby shoes, never worn.
--Ernest Hemingway
What is Flash Fiction?
Brevity – usually no more than 1,000 to 1,500 words (and sometimes as short as a couple of words)
AKA sudden fiction, microfiction, micro-story, short short, postcard fiction, prosetry and short short story
Why Flash Fiction?
Low risk and not a dramatic time investment
Makes you keenly aware of word choice (so make every word count!)
Excellent practice of key elements of story and character building
Can be an inspiration for a larger work
It’s fun!
Elements of Flash Fiction: The Setup
Setting is where the action takes place. This can be told in a sentence:
She watched him go to bed.
Conflict can be just a difference of opinion - tension to keep the reader reading. It can be verbal, physical, or mental. It doesn't always have to be villain/hero.
Elements of Flash Fiction: Characters
Usually, there is not room for more than two characters, three at most. But realize "characters" don't always have to be human. In fact, they don't even have to be animate. Can you create a story about a pebble and a blade of grass trying to inhabit the same spot?
There’s not a lot of time for extensive exposition on character, so it’s vital to “show don’t tell”, to give us information about your characters through their actions. Provide the little details that bring your character to life.
Elements of Flash Fiction: Story
Stories are a container for change. Something needs to change in the story. It could be a physical change to the character or setting; or maybe an epiphany they have. It could be a change in how the reader sees or perceives the character.
Resolution is the conclusion of the conflict. "Small" works best in flash fiction; don't go for miraculous resolution, in which the protagonist is saved by some miracle not of his/her making.
Most writers use surprise endings, partly because flash fiction lends itself to such, but mostly because it makes it more fun both to read and to write. But they are not necessary. Even with a twist, don't surprise your readers too much. "Ah, of course!" not, "Boy, am I stupid!"
Strategies for Flash Fiction
1. Before you write, know what your story is going to be about (theme!).
2. Keep the number of characters to a bare minimum.
3. Focus your story plot on one subject.
4. Focus on one powerful image (one event, situation, interaction, etc.).
5. The small idea (i.e., a bad report card, not the complex interrelated relationships between a child and parents).
6. Pick each word carefully.
Strategies for Flash Fiction
7. Use emotion to move your story forward.
8. Bury the preamble.
9. Start in the middle of the action (in medias res).
10. Use dialogue to move your story forward.
"Take that lolly pop out of your fat mouth!" "Make me, you skinny runt."
11. Make the reader guess until the end.
12. Use a twist.
The Duel by Aaron Kidd
Two foes faced one another on a desert battlefield. Sweat beaded both brows. One infamous, clothed in black. The other, a golden star over her heart.
They drew revolvers.
Gunshots sounded.
A woman yelled from a nearby porch.
The combatants fell and lay still.
Then, rising, they began to sprint towards the porch.
Snack Time.
