Flash

[Guest]

I recently did a flash fiction piece for Stella_Omega's Kink Bingo over in the AH and I had fun with it. It seemed more like a poem to me and I bet poets would be especially good at writing them like they are in Anna's 100 Words.

I did research on Flash, but got a lot soft answers for my questions. So here, I ask (1) what is flash fiction and (1½) the elements that identify it? - (2) What do you think makes a good piece of flash?


.

 

[WickedEve]

I tried some flash fiction back some time ago. At the time, I had to look it up so I'd know what I was doing. Not like I know what I'm doing now. I'm sure there's more to it. It's probably like haiku, I bet -- it's more than 5-7-5.

Here's a link to wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_fiction
I do like the other names for flash fiction, like postcard fiction and a 69er.

Here's the info that I found interesting:

One type of flash fiction is the short story with an exact word count. Examples include 55 Fiction, the Drabble and the 69er. Nanofictions are complete stories, with at least one character and a discernible plot, exactly 55 words long. A Drabble is a story of exactly 100 words, excluding titles, and a 69er is a story of exactly 69 words, again excluding the title. The 69er was a regular feature of the Canadian literary magazine NFG, which featured a section of such stories in each issue. Short story writer Bruce Holland Rogers has written "369" stories which consist of an overall title, then three thematically related 69ers, each with its own title.

Flash fiction and vignettes
Flash fiction differs from a vignette in that the flash-fiction work contains the classic story elements: protagonist, conflict, obstacles or complications, and resolution. However, unlike the case with a traditional short story, the limited word length often forces some of these elements to remain unwritten, that is, hinted at or implied in the written storyline. This principle, taken to the extreme, is illustrated by Ernest Hemingway's six-word flash, "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."​

Anyway, glad you started this thread. I know I'm going to get some use out of the info!

 

[normal jean]

In my travels in cyberspace, I have come across many, many contests for FF and most of them pay. As good as you are, Jamison, with your poems, you could kick ass telling those super short stories.

PS, you don't mind my turning you into a frog, do you?

 

[WickedEve]

In my travels in cyberspace, I have come across many, many contests for FF and most of them pay. As good as you are, Jamison, with your poems, you could kick ass telling those super short stories.

PS, you don't mind my turning you into a frog, do you?

Oh, he needs to do some nun flash! I really want to hear more about his nuns.
And nj, you'd write a mean frog story, so get hopping.

 

[normal jean]

Oh, he needs to do some nun flash! I really want to hear more about his nuns.
And nj, you'd write a mean frog story, so get hopping.

re: the Nun flash, I have to say, that was one hot poem! I had no idea nuns could be so tantalizing.

as for a frog story...I started one a long time ago but never finished it. I think that was when my last computer died. I don't even have a copy of it.

Maybe having a word limit would make it easier, that way I wouldn't get all carried away and end up with something that consumes 1000 pages.

 

[Guest]

I tried some flash fiction back some time ago. At the time, I had to look it up so I'd know what I was doing. Not like I know what I'm doing now. I'm sure there's more to it. It's probably like haiku, I bet -- it's more than 5-7-5.

I think you're right about it being like a haiku and not just because of precise word counts. The writing has to be tight with a central image and a definite conclusion.

In my travels in cyberspace, I have come across many, many contests for FF and most of them pay. As good as you are, Jamison, with your poems, you could kick ass telling those super short stories.

PS, you don't mind my turning you into a frog, do you?

That Nun flash was fun, but some of my poems are certainly flash. Like my Flashback poems under my neo-san username.

And yes, you can make me into a frog.

 

[wildsweetone]

I think you're right about it being like a haiku and not just because of precise word counts. The writing has to be tight with a central image and a definite conclusion.

...

you're right, it does need to be tight. no extraneous verbiage whatsoever. not just that but you can consider deleting great long paragraphs if they can be removed without losing the essence of the flash.

the Snippettsville Group did some fantastic flash fiction - 600 word stories/vignettes.

a good beginning, and an ending with impact are a good start to writing flash fiction.

working to a specific word count can teach you exactly how important each and every word is that you include in your writing.