Flash fic...

[ninefe2dg]

Saw some comments, re flash fic yesterday...new term for me...I'll offer this ditty up for comment, not one I'd usually showcase, but it's short (1300 words)...the handful of people who cared to vote on it seemed OK w/ it.

Re number of reads...my two highest reads are Shopping Mall Hottie and My Dear Sister Sasha, I think both have two very popular keywords in the title...so look for my next story coming soon: "My Sister the Hottie"!


http://www.literotica.com:81/stories/showstory.php?id=324976

 

[elfin_odalisque]

nine, hi,

I've been mouthing off a bit about flash-fic recently so I may be your culprit.

As I see it, 'flash' is a single scene - usually erotic- story that concentrates on the 'here and now' emotions without covering the normal build-up of a short story. Iwon't quote number of words 'cos everyone has their own view.

No, you don't write 'flash', even though your stories are usually less than 1500 words. I think you fall between two stools because you try to write character and description without giving yourself enough room to make it work.

I like your writing and think you can do well. As I call it, you should do one of two things either expand your stories a bit to allow you to develop your characterization (honest, readers like it) or keep your short formats and cut out a lot of the background.

Either way, I think you will start getting better reaction - your writing deserves it.

Elle

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

Nine,

I second Elfin's thoughts.

The word count for flash fiction varies from publisher to publisher. The internet is the biggest marketplace. Here's a link to a good list of FF markets taken from the Sudden Fiction forum at AbsoluteWrite.com FLASH FICTION MARKETS

As Elfin said, your story, while good, either needs to be trimmed or expanded. For instance, the first two paragraphs could/should be deleted since, IMHO, they do little to "hook" the reader into continuing. The first sentence of the third paragraph is more intriguing.

But all that comes with studying the craft, reading the work of others, and writing, writing, writing. Keep up the good work.

Rumple Foreskin

 

[ninefe2dg]

nine, hi,

I've been mouthing off a bit about flash-fic recently so I may be your culprit.

As I see it, 'flash' is a single scene - usually erotic- story that concentrates on the 'here and now' emotions without covering the normal build-up of a short story. Iwon't quote number of words 'cos everyone has their own view.

No, you don't write 'flash', even though your stories are usually less than 1500 words. I think you fall between two stools because you try to write character and description without giving yourself enough room to make it work.

I like your writing and think you can do well. As I call it, you should do one of two things either expand your stories a bit to allow you to develop your characterization (honest, readers like it) or keep your short formats and cut out a lot of the background.

Either way, I think you will start getting better reaction - your writing deserves it.

Elle

Actually, most of my stories have run 2500-3000 words...Misty is the only one that's as short as it is...nonetheless, even at 3000 words, I'm probably still between the stools a bit with the other stories as well. The story I'm doing now will probably come in around 7000...not that that means anything per se...it might wind up being 7000 words of drivel! But I do hope in the story I have done a bit more with characterization, and drawing things out a bit (hopefully not interminably). So I hope I'll give readers a chance to either like or dislike the principals

The Misty story has been done a jillion times in porn flicks. What's different about mine, though, is that I bail on the 3-way!

Thanks for the comments, you're very encouraging! That's much appreciated.

 

[ninefe2dg]

Nine,

I second Elfin's thoughts.

The word count for flash fiction varies from publisher to publisher. The internet is the biggest marketplace. Here's a link to a good list of FF markets taken from the Sudden Fiction forum at AbsoluteWrite.com FLASH FICTION MARKETS

As Elfin said, your story, while good, either needs to be trimmed or expanded. For instance, the first two paragraphs could/should be deleted since, IMHO, they do little to "hook" the reader into continuing. The first sentence of the third paragraph is more intriguing.

But all that comes with studying the craft, reading the work of others, and writing, writing, writing. Keep up the good work.

Rumple Foreskin

Thanks for the link, will have a look. I appreciate the comments. I think I'll opt for "expanding", and we'll see how it goes.

I wrote Misty a while back, and see what you mean, re the first two paragraphs...they read now as if I'm procrastinating! Get on with it! Thanks!

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

Mysty could have been done better. The entire first half of th story is boring discription that could have been worked in a lot differently. You spent a whole lot of time discribing "me" (why don't you have a name?) and we still neither know nor care who "you" are.

Then when you come to the meat of the story, you don't even bother to tell us who the other characters are. Are they that insugnificant? If so just edit them out and look at what's left.

Your writing style is okay, but it seems to have entirely missed most of what makes a good, interesting story.

 

[ninefe2dg]

Mysty could have been done better. The entire first half of th story is boring discription that could have been worked in a lot differently. You spent a whole lot of time discribing "me" (why don't you have a name?) and we still neither know nor care who "you" are.

Then when you come to the meat of the story, you don't even bother to tell us who the other characters are. Are they that insugnificant? If so just edit them out and look at what's left.

Your writing style is okay, but it seems to have entirely missed most of what makes a good, interesting story.

I agree with your comments on this story, now that I think about it. I originally posted it to help give myself a feel for "flash fic", which this evidently is not. I'd call it, at this point, a short story in need of some more in-depth characterization, and less telly exposition. That's sound advice I should ALWAYS keep in mind for all my stories.

In my own defense , this was, I think, the third story I ever wrote, and I like to think some of my efforts since then do a better job of less "telling", and more characterization (with additional room for improvement). Stories I've posted on this board before were written after this one was, and I think they're better than Misty in those respects.

I do find it interesting (though the number of votes is too small to mean anything, not that votes mean much anyway), that the few who cared to vote on Misty rated it very highly. I think it being so short (given the number of stories out there), might have worked in its favor. (In fact the one public comment the story received mentioned it was quick and to the point)

Thanks for the comments. I'm hoping the next story I post here shows I've learned something from this board in the last six months or so. If it doesn't, the shortcomings will be mine, and not the advice I've received.

 

[Fuzzy_Peach]

You sound like you already have the right attitude about this, but I'd like to spotlight one real bright side to noticing an overabundance of 'tell' -- each 'tell' is just an underdeveloped 'show.' You didn't necessarily take a wrong turn; you just didn't make it all the way down the road.

It's like a little bony protuberance on a figure that hopes to be fleshed-out. When you notice a 'tell', consider it an opportunity worthy of some excitement. It’s the discovery of a bullet point on your outline, a bone hanging on the frame, or trailer begging for a full theatrical release. All you need to do now is revisit and develop those ideas, and it can often be done one 'tell' at a time (so long as you keep an eye out for skeletal wobbles too).

As you work through them, other foundational elements should benefit. I find that as I revisit underdeveloped ideas, images, and flat-out 'tells,' I end up naturally giving form and substance to the characters. There's something about making a prop character real, to the reader, that brings it alive in ones own mind, and, for me, that's when characters break their mold.

-Fuzzy

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

Hmmm... Maybe I'll write a "Flasher" Harry Dick mystery. Shouldn't be too hard (so to speak)

 

[elfin_odalisque]

nine

Flash is very hard to write, in an erotic genre. It is so much tighter than a normal 'stroke'story. Every word must be weighed, every dip into dialogue questioned.

I confess I find it a fiendishly difficult style.

Hmmm... Maybe I'll write a "Flasher" Harry Dick mystery. Shouldn't be too hard (so to speak)

Flash or Flasher? At least Harry Dick has the dirty raincoat for the latter.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

nine

Flash is very hard to write, in an erotic genre. It is so much tighter than a normal 'stroke'story. Every word must be weighed, every dip into dialogue questioned.

I confess I find it a fiendishly difficult style.

In retrospect, Elle, I do write something like flash fic, although the finished product is somewhere between 2500 and 5000 words. It's still flash fic. Once you finish a story and pick up a boning knife and begin carving away everything that is absolutly unnecessary, it becomes flash fic.

Harry is a little less so, because many of the story lines are set-ups for some silly joke. But even those lines end up being slashed.

 

[ninefe2dg]

You sound like you already have the right attitude about this, but I'd like to spotlight one real bright side to noticing an overabundance of 'tell' -- each 'tell' is just an underdeveloped 'show.' You didn't necessarily take a wrong turn; you just didn't make it all the way down the road.

It's like a little bony protuberance on a figure that hopes to be fleshed-out. When you notice a 'tell', consider it an opportunity worthy of some excitement. It’s the discovery of a bullet point on your outline, a bone hanging on the frame, or trailer begging for a full theatrical release. All you need to do now is revisit and develop those ideas, and it can often be done one 'tell' at a time (so long as you keep an eye out for skeletal wobbles too).

As you work through them, other foundational elements should benefit. I find that as I revisit underdeveloped ideas, images, and flat-out 'tells,' I end up naturally giving form and substance to the characters. There's something about making a prop character real, to the reader, that brings it alive in ones own mind, and, for me, that's when characters break their mold.

-Fuzzy

Hi Fuzzy, first of all, thanks for making this thread worthy of your first post!

I think, by virtue of starting a little discussion about flash fic, that it uncovered some of the shortcomings of Misty. To be honest, Misty is a porn scene in just about every XXX flick there is...two girls doing it, guy walks in...hey wanna join us? But now I understand just 'cuz it's short doesn't mean it's flash!

I may revisit Misty at some point, if I feel as though I could tell a story beyond that what one might see in "Good Will Humping", "Plan 69 from Outer Space", or whatever!

Your comments are well noted, and I'm finding out more and more how interesting characters hold peoples, well, interest!

Thanks!

 

[ninefe2dg]

nine

Flash is very hard to write, in an erotic genre. It is so much tighter than a normal 'stroke'story. Every word must be weighed, every dip into dialogue questioned.

I confess I find it a fiendishly difficult style.



Flash or Flasher? At least Harry Dick has the dirty raincoat for the latter.

Yes, I'm starting to see that now. It's an exercise in absolute economy of words, much like Jenny describes, which, to her point above, does not necessarily mean Flash is necessary X number of words.

I'm happy to see Misty has generated this chat. That was actually the intent...thanks

 

[ninefe2dg]

Mysty could have been done better. The entire first half of th story is boring discription that could have been worked in a lot differently. You spent a whole lot of time discribing "me" (why don't you have a name?) and we still neither know nor care who "you" are.

Then when you come to the meat of the story, you don't even bother to tell us who the other characters are. Are they that insugnificant? If so just edit them out and look at what's left.

Your writing style is okay, but it seems to have entirely missed most of what makes a good, interesting story.

Hi Jenny, what bothers me in retrospect, is that the female characters aren't developed at all. I totally missed that was the case, and that bugs me. I like to think I treat my fictional ladies a bit better than that, and I hope that I have in other stories!

Thanks again for all your comments on this thread...