Lex Williford, Superman on the Roof (forthcoming Aug. Sarah Shun-lien Bynum, Madeleine Is Sleeping Matthew Salesses, I’m Not Saying, I’m Just Saying Lance Olsen, Architectures of Possibility Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street Break down the action to its bare essentials for more impact.Ĭhris Bower, Margaret Patton Chapman, Tiff Holland, Meg Pokrass, and Aaron Teel, My Very End of the Universe: Five Novellas-in-Flash and a Study of the Form When wanting to draft a pivotal moment, take the time to draft a flash piece – with a beginning, middle and end - to represent that moment between your characters. Think of writing a flash piece as a scene when working on something longer, say a longer short story or as a novel chapter. Tell the story backward or play with the idea of memory and nonlinear time in a story. Use pictures, paintings, or music to inspire a flashpoint. This memory should be specific enough to work into a moment. Stay away from punchline endings or “joke” flash fiction.įictionalizing a true moment: Start a flash piece with a specific memory of your own grounded in the five senses (touch, smell, feel, seeing, hearing) – For example: the feel of an aunt scratching your scalp or the smell of your child’s bedroom.

Write the whole story, then eliminate useless words. Replace that word with an actual concept, image, noun, etc, that explicitly participates in the image you are portraying. Eliminate the word “thing” or “something,” for example. Play against expectations with a sense of narrative mystery or devastating twist, a poignant implication or declarative last sentence that leaves the reader breathless, and going back for more. Hit them where it hurts-Go for an ending that offers an emotional impact.

Start at the flashpoint-by definition Flash begins at the moment of conflict, when all the action is nearly complete.įocus on the powerful image(s)-Find one or more powerful images to focus your story on. You can still find it on Kindle right now if you’d like to check it out. I should’ve mentioned the book is currently out of print, although it is being re-released in early 2017 by Santa Fe Writers Project. Our panel, The Long from the Short: Turning Flash Fiction Pieces into a Series or Novel, was so well-attended that we ran out of handouts! As promised, I’m posting our tips, prompts, and further reading list here.Īlso, thank you to the folks who asked about Modern Manners For Your Inner Demons. I had a lovely time presenting at this year’s DC Conversations and Connections conference with Tyrese Coleman, editor of District Lit, and Abigail Beckel, publisher at Rose Metal Press.

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