The first thing we often think of when we think of flash fiction or creative nonfiction is length. Flash is under 1,000, or under 750 words typically, with micro at 500 or fewer words.
But that’s just scratching the surface.
Flash is a compressed form of writing. Every word, every sentence counts. Many revisions may be necessary to pare your story down to what’s essential. It’s a challenging art, and I have much to learn.
Since there’s limited space to tell a complete story (and yes, the story must have a beginning, middle, and end), flash must hit the ground running. There’s not time for meandering preamble, for lengthy setup, for the long walk of establishing scene. It’s a jump into the deep end. (That’s it for swimming pool/ocean/lake metaphors for me today).
It also needs to pack an emotional punch or have resonance. Does it leave you thinking about it hours, days, or years later, like Kathy Fish’s Collective Nouns for Humans in the Wild or Rachel Reeher’s Lobster, stories that somehow seem never to leave me.
Let’s consider beginnings
Behold the opening paragraph of Deliver Us by Maureen Langloss, or The Problem With the World Ending is No One Remembers Your Birthday by Mario Aliberto III. Stunning, right?
Look at how much work is done in the first two sentences of Mario’s story:
“This specific disappointment stews in Todd’s head as he slumps on an Adirondack chair on Marcy’s boat dock. There are four such chairs, painted hellfire red, evenly spaced in a semi-circle affording those gathered an equal view of the Withlacoochee River.”
Setting, tone, tension, character — it’s all in there in both of these examples.
What Flash Isn’t
Some people think of flash as being a moment, captured. That’s not impossible, but it’s also not accurate. Some flash stories span an hour, a day, many days, many years, or a lifetime, as in Martin Hansen-Verma’s The Only Things I Didn’t Love About My Wife. (This one is also a list, a form I like.)
It’s also not necessary (or even recommended) to have a twist ending. Remember The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry? That’s been done. No need to surprise the readers.
The Last Word
If flash is your jam, I recommend following Tommy Dean and Kathy Fish on Substack. They are both excellent and teach wonderful workshops.
Tomorrow is First Friday, and that means Friday Night Writes at New Dominion Bookshop. I’ll be signing up to read. Open mic starts at 7pm. If you’re not in Charlottesville, Va., I encourage you to attend an open mic wherever you are, and let me know if you participate!
I shared some of my favorite flash pieces in this newsletter — please share some of yours!