By G. W. Thomas
With the advent of the Internet, editors are looking for shorter works, more easily read on a computer screen. The current term is "flash fiction", a tale between 300-1000 words long.
Longer than micro-fiction (100-300 words) but shorter than traditional short stories (3000-5000 words preferred by most magazines), flash fiction is usually a story of a single act, sometimes the culmination of several unwritten events.
This article will offer several strategies for writing flash fiction. Used by themselves or in combination, the writer can focus their story to that brief, interesting event.
1) The small idea
Look for the smaller ideas in larger ones. To discuss the complex interrelationship of parents and children you'd need a novel. Go for a smaller piece of that complex issue. How kids feel when they aren't included in a conversation. What kids do when they are bored in the car. Middle child. Bad report card. Find a smaller topic and build on it.
2) Bury the preamble in the opening
When you write your story, don't take two pages to explain all the pre-story. Find a way to set it all in the first paragraph, then get on with the rest of the tale.
3) Start in the middle of the action
Similar to #2, start the story in the middle of the action. A man is running. A bomb is about to go off. A monster is in the house. Don't describe any more than you have to. The reader can fill in some of the blanks.
4) Focus on one powerful image
Find one powerful image to focus your story on. A war-torn street. An alien sunset. They say a picture worth a thousand words. Paint a picturewith words. It doesn't hurt to have something happen inside that picture. It is a story after all.
5) Make the reader guess until the end
A little mystery goes a long way. Your reader may have no idea what is going on for the majority of the story. This will lure them on to the end. When they finish, there should be a good pay off or solution.
6) Use allusive references
By using references to a commonly known story you can save yourself all those unnecessary words. Refer to historical events. Use famous situations from literature. If the story takes place on the Titanic you won't have to explain what is going to happen, who is there or much of anything. History and James Cameron have already done it for you. Beware of using material that is too obscure. Your reader should be able to make the inferences.
7) Use a twist
Like # 5, the twist ending allows the writer to pack some punch at the end of the story. Flash fiction is often twist-ending fiction because you don't have enough time to build up sympathetic characters and show how a long, devastating plot has affected them. Like a good joke, flash fiction is often streamlined to the punch-line at the end.
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G. W. Thomas has appeared in over 100 different books and magazines. His micro story "Nano-Hunk" won the Zine Guild Award for Best SF Micro Fiction 2000.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
What is Flash Fiction?
Flash fiction is type of short story, also called micro or sudden fiction. It is a complete story that is usually told in around 500 words. There are many flash fiction stories that are no more than 100 words. The shorter the complete story, the better.
Flash fiction story writing is an art in itself. To be able to construct a complete story with characters and a plot within this word count can be incredibly difficult, but it can also be a way of evolving a story idea in a short space of time. The ability to tell a story in 100 words that has an impact on the reader is just as impressive as the ability to write a novel.
In today’s fast moving world, where people may no longer have the time to read novels, these very short stories have gained popularity. There are many literary webzines and some print magazines that focus solely on this type of fiction. The stories can cross all genres and can be read in a few minutes.
With flash fiction, the ability to construct meaningful, yet concise sentences is a major factor. Every sentence is important. A short piece of flash fiction should contain a collection of great lines.
The term flash fiction is thought to have originated in 1992 with the anthology Flash Fiction, written by Denise Thomas, James Thomas and Tom Hazuka, but the origins of micro fiction can be seen as far back as the Greek storytellers. More modern practitioners of this form of writing include Ernest Hemingway and Franz Kafka. With the advent of the Internet, flash fiction has exploded in popularity. There are classes on how to write good flash fiction pieces. There are even competitions, such as write a flash fiction story on a beer mat.
The plus side to writing this type of story is that anyone can try it. You do not have to commit yourself to the story as you would when writing a novel. Although it may sound very difficult, some people have a natural knack for telling a tale in a very short space, and basically anything goes.
Although the story should have all the elements of a longer short story, such as characters, plot and so on, how you tell the story is up to you. Think of a reporter writing a story within a set number of words; this could be seen as the basis of flash fiction. If you don’t feel up to the novel inside you, why not try out a few different flash fiction stories and see how they evolve. (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-flash-fiction.htm)
Flash fiction story writing is an art in itself. To be able to construct a complete story with characters and a plot within this word count can be incredibly difficult, but it can also be a way of evolving a story idea in a short space of time. The ability to tell a story in 100 words that has an impact on the reader is just as impressive as the ability to write a novel.
In today’s fast moving world, where people may no longer have the time to read novels, these very short stories have gained popularity. There are many literary webzines and some print magazines that focus solely on this type of fiction. The stories can cross all genres and can be read in a few minutes.
With flash fiction, the ability to construct meaningful, yet concise sentences is a major factor. Every sentence is important. A short piece of flash fiction should contain a collection of great lines.
The term flash fiction is thought to have originated in 1992 with the anthology Flash Fiction, written by Denise Thomas, James Thomas and Tom Hazuka, but the origins of micro fiction can be seen as far back as the Greek storytellers. More modern practitioners of this form of writing include Ernest Hemingway and Franz Kafka. With the advent of the Internet, flash fiction has exploded in popularity. There are classes on how to write good flash fiction pieces. There are even competitions, such as write a flash fiction story on a beer mat.
The plus side to writing this type of story is that anyone can try it. You do not have to commit yourself to the story as you would when writing a novel. Although it may sound very difficult, some people have a natural knack for telling a tale in a very short space, and basically anything goes.
Although the story should have all the elements of a longer short story, such as characters, plot and so on, how you tell the story is up to you. Think of a reporter writing a story within a set number of words; this could be seen as the basis of flash fiction. If you don’t feel up to the novel inside you, why not try out a few different flash fiction stories and see how they evolve. (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-flash-fiction.htm)
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