Of course I'm talking about flash fiction.
Most of us writers, it seems, start in the same place: dabbling in short stories, poetry, personal reflections in our journals and the like.
Then some, like myself and my writing group peers, branch off into novelling some time after high school or college.
However, I only first heard the term flash fiction about two years ago and wondered what the heck it was.
For those of you wondering, it's a complete story in less than 1,000 words, generally . Wikipedia gives a decent overview and provides this often associated example (though I've heard it attributed to other authors as well as with the wording slightly different): six-word flash allegedly penned by Ernest Hemingway "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."
I myself wanted to know more about writing flash fiction so recently partook in an excellent on-line flash fiction bootcamp hosted by Flash Me magazine.
After pure novelling for the past two-plus years, these folks put me to task taking accountability for every word I wrote.
Trying to write a whole story under 100k words seems hard enough...
But a whole story under 1,0o0 words or 100 words, or nano-length with 140 characters (thanks Twitter)? This feels impossible.
And yet it's not.
Think minimalist art. What's the bare minimum you can do to convey what's on your mind?
Example:
I was thinking about how much some people hate their jobs, but stay at them because they have to. Then I wondered what it'd take for some one to call it quits. I wanted to convey the frustration of the main character as well as the humor of the final-straw situation. I relied on Polly and parrot as cues to set up the final line without necessarily giving away the ending.
(Notice this description of what I was trying to do is easily two times as long as what I actually did.)
In the end, practicing writing complete flash fiction stories as a regular exercise can condition your skills as a novelist. It can help you 'see' the true value of each word you pick as well as keep you mindful of delivering the story line in a timely fashion.
If nothing else, a little diversity may be just what you need when you're mired in a dead-end chapter or seemingly endless edits.
So go ahead...and flash me.
And yet it's not.
Think minimalist art. What's the bare minimum you can do to convey what's on your mind?
Example:
“Smile, Polly.”
“Nope.”
“Pretty please?” That’s when the damn parrot flew into my head.
I finally decided to quit my job at Pet Pics.
I was thinking about how much some people hate their jobs, but stay at them because they have to. Then I wondered what it'd take for some one to call it quits. I wanted to convey the frustration of the main character as well as the humor of the final-straw situation. I relied on Polly and parrot as cues to set up the final line without necessarily giving away the ending.
(Notice this description of what I was trying to do is easily two times as long as what I actually did.)
In the end, practicing writing complete flash fiction stories as a regular exercise can condition your skills as a novelist. It can help you 'see' the true value of each word you pick as well as keep you mindful of delivering the story line in a timely fashion.
If nothing else, a little diversity may be just what you need when you're mired in a dead-end chapter or seemingly endless edits.
So go ahead...and flash me.
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