There is some disagreement on what the length of flash fiction is. The average word count runs anywhere from 100 words to 1000 words. Sometimes less, sometimes more.
Flash fiction stories require the same elements of short fiction and they must have not only a beginning, middle, and ending, but they must also have character, setting, situation, and theme. The difference in flash fiction is that the pacing is swifter. The story must begin immediately and move swiftly to the end. You must cut every non-essential word. The goal of any flash fiction is to present a single effect derived from a single cause. No subplots. No long passages of description. The character or situation must change radically. The outcome is swift. There are two different outcomes that are characteristic of flash fiction:
� an unresolved (open) or sad ending
� a surprise or unexpected twist (or irony)
According to Stephen Minot (Sudden Fiction: American Short-short Stories) flash fiction has its origins in five different traditions:
� true experience�a significant, hard-hitting and sometimes shocking life experience
� anecdote�short, interesting or humorous account of a fictitious event.
� Speculation�an analytical story that explores �why?� or �what if?�
� Dream story�A story that relies on mood
� Poetic story�metaphorical language, alliteration, repetition, and imagery are used.
Flash fiction stories can also be written in the form of a letter, flashbacks, interior monologues, and fables.
Philip F. O�Connor (Sudden Fiction: American Short-Short Stories) said flash fiction stories �are about individuals struggling to maintain dignity in a culture which does not threaten so much with guns as with reasonableness. There are few dramatic resolutions because the antagonists, which are often conditions, not people, engage the character stealthily, like cancer, not tornadoes.�
When you write flash fiction, expect to do a lot of editing. Select your details carefully. As in short stories, include only the details that are relevant to your story. Eliminate redundancies, vague words, and unessential modifiers like very. Actions should be meaningful and should advance your story. Use concrete nouns and verbs, soul-stirring words and recurring images. Know when to end the story. Don�t overwrite. Implication is a common ingredient in flash fiction.
To read some examples of flash fiction, check out these sites:
Furious Fiction
http://www.slip.net/%7Effiction/index.html
Doorknobs and Body Paint
http://iceflow.com/doorknobs/DB.html
TheCase.com
http://www.thecase.com
Pif Magazine
http://www.dimax.com/pif/rules.htm
The Exercise:
(maximum 250 words)
Begin by describing in one sentence your story idea. For instance,
*An adult son meets his estranged father in a restaurant where he is rude to the waitstaff. (�Reunion� by John Cheever)
*A man leaves his first wife for his mistress, who becomes his second wife. (�Pygmalion� by John Updike)
*A woman walking home late at night when a boy tries to snatch her purse. (Thank You, Ma�am� by Langston Hughes)
*A man tells his wife he is going for a long drive and disappears.
*A woman steals her best friend�s wedding rings.
Use one of the above ideas or use your own. It might be easier to start this exercise by writing a small outline. Write a few sentences about each character. Then write a few sentences each about the conflict and the outcome.
When you�re ready to start writing your story, begin it immediately and write quickly from start to finish. Use only as many characters that is necessary to tell the story. Use only relevant details. Your story must present only one single effect derived from one single cause as discussed above.
You might want to pull out an old story and cut it down to 250 words.
Do not merely delete sentences and paragraphs. Weigh each word, image, phrase, and choose only the ones that are relevant to the single effect derived from a single cause idea.
Happy writing!
