Writing Flash Fiction

I really love writing flash fiction. It suits my concise style. You really have to get to the heart of the matter in 500 words (650 on WF.com).

Writing flash fiction forces you to filter out the important from the non-important. I think it's a skill advantageous for all writers' arsenals.

What's your experience with flash fiction?

 

I also love writing flash. It can be challenging to write within the limits, but it also provides valuable experience in editing and trimming the fat, which are essential writing skills, as you say.

Writing in twists is something that I usually can't resist, and this format is most forgiving for building a story around a neat twist. They work best in shorter works I think, and in the 500-700 word range, it's probably around a 3 or 4-minute read. The short length also makes it easier for me to take risks and try new things. Low risk, high reward.

Now that I am regularly writing flash, I can't imagine ever not doing it.

 

This is one of the attractions for me, too. Every month a new prompt, and then not a huge investment of time to try out something new.

 

I've got a complicated relationship with the form. I do like it and I actively engage in the flash LM by judging stories, but when it comes to actually coming up with flash stories myself, they turn out a bit meh.

Not sure why, honestly. I re-wrote this paragraph here ten times with possible explanations but none seem applicable. The truth is, I just don't know why. The form has always been a challenge for me. But what I do know is that I haven't been trying hard enough with it. Eight stories in total is what I've got saved, which isn't a lot at all. Like at all.

I suspect the only way to get better at it is to just write more! Practise makes the man and I haven't had enough of that. If I write more flash and try harder, I think I'll figure out what causes that meh feeling.

 

Its easy come-go nature is each the best and weakest aspect.

The novelty of a tight arb. limit is definitely a fun exercise for a few goes, but not enough to keep me interested long term.

 

I think I know what you mean. Over time, I've learned not to take on too much, and then end up glossing over a series of events better shown in a short story. Yesterday, I wrote what I thought was going to be my flash fiction for this month's contest, but on second thought, it tries to do too much in 500 words, and I have decided to adapt the idea instead for next month's short story contest.

What do you all think? The more focused the flash fiction is on the moment, the more compelling it can be? Or something like that. I'm not sure.

 

I think most stories have a "natural" word count, if that makes sense. Though I'd have to add that I think I've only written a handful of flash pieces where I'm not going back and trying to trim a hundred or two words from it after the first draft's done. Some of these stories could be expanded to a short, but very few into a novelette or novel imo.

Couple more things I'll add about flash - the vibes I am getting from submissions pages is that flash is the future of short story writing. Not the very low 500-word limit for the contest here, but generally it's 1000 words or less. I guess it has a lot to do with attention spans these days. I know from my own experiences that it's a lot easier to sit down for a coffee break and read through the entries of the monthly flash contest and then vote for a story. Sometimes the short story contest might require me to read 25,000+ words before I make my decision. And so, nowadays I typically will read the first several paragraphs, and if I'm not pulled in after a couple minutes, I'll move on to the next story - which means I might be missing out on some good stuff.

 

for me, its harder to write a story in flash form (some publications will specifically state "must have a beginning middle and end" or "must have a fully realized and recognized plot" for flash fiction.
I find that EXTREMEMLY hard for me and stifling. but if its a stream of consciousness or something more abstract (a recent flash publication of mine was the narrator contemplating the nature of her creepy garden gate before it ends with her finally latching it shut), then its easier to write them in under 650 words than to stretch it to 1000+

 

Flash is hard! It's not a case of "less words = easier" - because a good flash should have a complete narrative arc - hook > rising tension > climax > resolution

I love this idea. Where can I read it?

 

Great Lakes Review -> The Gate

 

I loved it. What an enchanting read. Thanks for sharing it.

 

Years ago, I decided I couldn't write flash because I couldn't keep the word count down. One of the pieces I wrote for the contest here ended up round 1500 words after cutting both an intro and an outro. Of the three or four I tried to write, only one fit the 500 word limit, and the 550 word version was far superior in my mind.

I really only started taking flash fiction seriously after I wrote a piece this summer for the .com contest that turned out to be the best short I've ever written, not that I've written all that many. It got a lot of positive feedback, and I enjoyed it so much, I've entered there three more times and once here. I don't know what changed, but I think I have a knack for it. They're not all winners, but some of them are pretty good, and they're all fun.

I like to experiment with everything new I write, especially with voice, for some reason, and flash fiction is a perfect opportunity to try something fun without a huge commitment. Why almost every short I write turns out bleak AF, I have no idea. They do, though. I'm not in a bad mood when I write them. Hell, one of the darkest ones yet was in December, and I was listening to cheerful Christmas music while I wrote it, lol.

 

This tends to happen to me, and I purposely work against it, trying to write something uplifting. We see life for what it is, but, I tell myself, there's got to be hope.

 

But do they have to be in that order?

More seriously, I quite like writing flash. I quite like reading flash. On both counts, those I like often don't follow a complete narrative arc, sometimes a notion of something that evokes a reaction. Yet. when I consider my modest body of work, the flash pieces rarely come to mind and don't contain the same level of emotional connection for me as my longer short stories. It's like they're disposable and I rarely submit any unless a publication has a prompt they might fit.
The pracctice of writing them is still valuable, helps to understand concise use of language, rhythm and flow, that can benefit writing in general, though the process can be somewhat contrived. I've often ended up with a different story to that intended because of the restrictions arising from wordcount.

 

I enjoyed that, thanks.

 

I understand exactly what you're saying. Writing flash is great practice, and really hones a lot of skills. It's like a singer practicing scales. And reading them can be fun, a little savoury treat to make you say, "Humph."

 

I feel like those who master the flash form will gain a lot of advantages in longer forms like shorts. I'm not sure why I feel this way but I do think that its true!

Shorter forms might have shorter word counts, but with a shorter word count, you've got a lot less capacity to work with, and achieving merit becomes harder. How will you create that impact in less than 500 words?

 

I agree. You really get a feel for story structure with flash. With short stories, you transfer that framework, and there's a lot more breathing room to embellish, but not replace.

 

Wow, that is very well said. Thanks for sharing that. I wish I had thought of it.

 

I've also had this thought, but I think the idea that flash fiction is the future is wrong. The sentiment seems to imply that people are going to start ditching YouTube shorts and TikTok to start reading flash fiction. These days, the vast majority of people who read literary journals are writers. In this way, I don't think that catering to people's low attention spans makes sense. If somebody is reading short fiction in, say, Ploughshares, they are likely already highly interested in short fiction, so it's not like they need to be pandered to, need to be motivated to read short fiction. To me, it doesn't make much of a difference if a piece is 4,000 or 400 words; if the piece engages me, I'll read it til the end. Most short stories in the journals I read are around 2,000 to 6,000 words long. If somebody's attention span is so bad that they refuse to read a, say, 3,000-word short story due to its word count, I doubt they would be much interested in reading a 500-word flash piece, either; in fact, I doubt that such a person would be interested in reading literary journals at all. I don't think people's decreasing attention spans need to be accommodated; I think people's interest in literature needs to be better fostered.

Now, if the sentiment that 'flash fiction is the future' is based on the idea of drawing in a new readership, - a readership comprised of people with low attention spans - then I guess I can sort of understand it. But I don't like this premise because it strikes me as patronising. A few years ago, a short story that went viral - "Cat Person" by Kristen Roupenian. "Cat Person" is a 25,000-word story. It was published in The New Yorker, and many people - people with no particular or active interest in the world of literary journals - read and discussed this story. I use this story as an example because I think it shows that word length is an arbitrary way of anticipating or producing engagement. I also agree with the other commenter who said that, due to its length, it can be harder for flash fiction to leave a lasting impression on a reader.

So, my question is this: If flash fiction is the future because it is the literary establishment's answer to decreasing attention spans, then who exactly is this catering aimed at?

 

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I can always find a little space to get in trouble. But I did want to go off something you said here. Subtext. With flash fiction subtext often needs to play an even bigger role. How much story can you really tell? Because sometimes subtext can tell more of a story than what we actually write. I think that's one of the best things about flash.

There is always the option to return to a piece and perhaps continue with it. I've tried doing that with flash before. However, that is not always the answer. I think some pieces need to be and want to be short.

In many of the classes I took, a flash piece was due every week. This was in addition to all the other projects and reading homework. And we always got feedback.

I think writing flash can be a good experience and a good way to keep from getting rusty if nothing else. I think another great things that comes with flash is that feeling of completion. The practice of finishing things is never bad to have.

And you can just about always find a fun writing prompt for flash, whether on sites like this or companions or anthologies.

I see no reason not to at least dabble in some flash here and there.

 

I keep forgetting to mention that when I'm talking about submitting and publishing and everything, I'm only talking about genre fiction. I don't want to sound like a broken record, but yeah, people who don't know me aren't going to know that. I don't write literary fiction, nor do I consume much of it. So, whatever you have to say about literary fiction, I have no comment, really.

I don't see why they would. It isn't a thought that would ever have entered my mind. I said, "flash is the future of short story writing." My opinion is based on my frequent perusal of purchasers of short fiction listed on Duotrope. Anecdotally I would say that the majority of genre magazines are interested in shorter fiction over longer (I'm mostly looking at those which pay 0.05/word or more).

I'm sorry you feel that way, I guess?

I alluded to my own declining attention span. It's just a side effect of this crazy modern world for most people, I think. I'm currently watching a hockey game while reading and posting on a forum, and occasionally checking in on conversations on a Discord server. I watch long movies like they're miniseries now, and rarely consume them all in one go. And I'm someone who grew up with rabbit ears TV and didn't cave and get a mobile phone til 2014. I think this focus on sub-1000 word stories that I've noticed is a reaction to changing consumer tastes.

As with the previously mentioned low risk/high reward of writing flash fiction, it goes the same way for the consumers of said fiction. If a story doesn't land, well, at least you didn't blow half an hour reading it.

 

I'd just like to mention that I have one of the shortest attention spans on record, but if a story is good, it will suck me right in. Everything comes together - voice, intrigue, suspense, language, character stakes - and I read.

It it's good, people will read.

There's been many stories in the short story contest on this site that pulled me in that way, including this month's contest.

 

This runs counter to what I've read about them. I'm pretty sure it was in one of the articles I linked some time ago on a thread about short story structure, I should be able to dig it up. But as I recall, it said the structure for a very short story (like flash) is more like one moment—just one part of the narrative structure. It could be an inciting incident, a turning point, or the moment just before a climax or resolution. It could be a climax in fact. But it doesn't need to include much else, and often there's no real resolution, just a suggestion of a change in the character's attitude that suggests a future resolution. Let me look up that thread real quick.

Here:

• Need help to write my first short story

That's the thread. Now I'll try to find the relevant article.