Tips For Writing Very Short Stories
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FLASH FICTION MARKETS
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WRITING FLASH FICTION
by Stuart Leventhal
The writer’s market is open and hungry for micro fiction, flash fiction, short tales or whatever else you want to call the cute little stories that can be read in five minutes or Less. New electronic media devices; Kindle e-reader, iphone, ipad, android phones and others are catering to this niche. Editors are looking for shorter works, more easily read on the popular, smaller computer screens. The public has adopted a fast paced lifestyle. Demand is big and growing bigger for lots of varieties of short text that can be read entirely while standing in line at the grocery store, waiting for the bus or smoking a cigarette.
The in vogue term is ‘flash’ for these tales crafted using with less than 1000 words. Over 1000 is now officially considered a traditional short story. Both flash fiction and flash nonfiction have become very hot items. Ask any author and they’ll tell you crafting a small tale is no picnic. Smaller tales are actually harder to pen than long writing. The writer still has to accomplish all the same things he accomplishes when writing a long story except he has less words to do it with. A word count seriously handicaps a creative writer. Here are a few strategies and guidlines for writing flash fiction.
1 Focus the whole story on one brief, interesting event.
2 Set the story in one location.
3 Don’t create too many characters you won’t have time to describe a lot of characters or to explain them.
4 Look for smaller niche topics within the larger overall topics. Make your article, story or opinion more specialized and specific.
5 Dive right into the tale. Forget about the pre-story completely or if absolutely necessary keep the pre story set up extremely brief and definitely be done with the pre-story by the end of the first paragraph.
6 If you can, start right in the middle of the action.
7 Think like a painter. A painter doesn’t have the luxury of using five canvasses to get his point across. Yet, a good artist can tell a story with one painting. We’ve all seen paintings that have more than one story going on. A writer of ‘flash’ paints a picture in his reader’s mind using well, chosen words that convey his story.
8 Let the power and intrigue of mystery work in your favor. Leave the reader guessing until the very end. Humans are curious creatures. We are filled with pride when it comes to figuring things out. As long as you haven’t let your readers down in the past, most readers will stick with you. Just make sure you deliver.
9 Write with hints. Lure your reader on to get him to continue. It’s okay to be illusive but again, make sure you deliver in the end.
10 Use references to conserve on words. Mentioning well known events, famous situations, common known facts can save you from actually penning a lot of words to explain settings and scenes. Just be sure to choose references that everyone is familiar with.
11 In the same vein as using references, it is okay to use stereotypes and clichés to cut down on the words needed to describe characters.
12 Remember your poetry training. Metaphors and similes can save you a lot of descriptive words. Imagery saves words.
13 When ever possible, leave out the names of places and even characters names, if knowing their name doesn’t add something to the tale.
14 When every word counts, you need to make use of your title to convey something too. Craft your title wisely so it propels your reader right into the tale.
One technique that works for a lot of authors who tackle short tale projects is to write backwards. Write the ending first. This will help ensure you end your piece with a wallop. Once the ending is written it should be a lot easier to figure out how to write the lead up, quick and conservatively. The structure of the piece will be like a good joke. You have the set up followed by a punch line.
Another technique is not to sweat the length of the work at all, until after the first draft is complete. Write a full story from start to finish even if it’s 3000 words long. Next, edit and cut. But, don’t try to cut to under 1000 words all at once. Cut out a few hundred words during the first read through, then edit again and scribble out another couple of hundred words. Keep reading through taking a few more words out each time getting rid of everything that is not necessary until you hit the mark.
Writing quality flash fiction, small stories with a beginning, middle and end, with character development, coherent descriptions and everything else contained in a full length story takes cultivation. Don’t describe any more than you have to. And give your reader credit to be able to fill in some of the blanks.
The in vogue term is ‘flash’ for these tales crafted using with less than 1000 words. Over 1000 is now officially considered a traditional short story. Both flash fiction and flash nonfiction have become very hot items. Ask any author and they’ll tell you crafting a small tale is no picnic. Smaller tales are actually harder to pen than long writing. The writer still has to accomplish all the same things he accomplishes when writing a long story except he has less words to do it with. A word count seriously handicaps a creative writer. Here are a few strategies and guidlines for writing flash fiction.
1 Focus the whole story on one brief, interesting event.
2 Set the story in one location.
3 Don’t create too many characters you won’t have time to describe a lot of characters or to explain them.
4 Look for smaller niche topics within the larger overall topics. Make your article, story or opinion more specialized and specific.
5 Dive right into the tale. Forget about the pre-story completely or if absolutely necessary keep the pre story set up extremely brief and definitely be done with the pre-story by the end of the first paragraph.
6 If you can, start right in the middle of the action.
7 Think like a painter. A painter doesn’t have the luxury of using five canvasses to get his point across. Yet, a good artist can tell a story with one painting. We’ve all seen paintings that have more than one story going on. A writer of ‘flash’ paints a picture in his reader’s mind using well, chosen words that convey his story.
8 Let the power and intrigue of mystery work in your favor. Leave the reader guessing until the very end. Humans are curious creatures. We are filled with pride when it comes to figuring things out. As long as you haven’t let your readers down in the past, most readers will stick with you. Just make sure you deliver.
9 Write with hints. Lure your reader on to get him to continue. It’s okay to be illusive but again, make sure you deliver in the end.
10 Use references to conserve on words. Mentioning well known events, famous situations, common known facts can save you from actually penning a lot of words to explain settings and scenes. Just be sure to choose references that everyone is familiar with.
11 In the same vein as using references, it is okay to use stereotypes and clichés to cut down on the words needed to describe characters.
12 Remember your poetry training. Metaphors and similes can save you a lot of descriptive words. Imagery saves words.
13 When ever possible, leave out the names of places and even characters names, if knowing their name doesn’t add something to the tale.
14 When every word counts, you need to make use of your title to convey something too. Craft your title wisely so it propels your reader right into the tale.
One technique that works for a lot of authors who tackle short tale projects is to write backwards. Write the ending first. This will help ensure you end your piece with a wallop. Once the ending is written it should be a lot easier to figure out how to write the lead up, quick and conservatively. The structure of the piece will be like a good joke. You have the set up followed by a punch line.
Another technique is not to sweat the length of the work at all, until after the first draft is complete. Write a full story from start to finish even if it’s 3000 words long. Next, edit and cut. But, don’t try to cut to under 1000 words all at once. Cut out a few hundred words during the first read through, then edit again and scribble out another couple of hundred words. Keep reading through taking a few more words out each time getting rid of everything that is not necessary until you hit the mark.
Writing quality flash fiction, small stories with a beginning, middle and end, with character development, coherent descriptions and everything else contained in a full length story takes cultivation. Don’t describe any more than you have to. And give your reader credit to be able to fill in some of the blanks.
FLASH FICTION
by Stuart Leventhal
Flash fiction is a story that’s been chiseled down to your main character’s defining moment. You simply don’t have the words needed to focus on anything else. There is room for a single plot, no subplots and no secondary conflicts. Spin your flash fiction plot directly out of your main conflict. Stick to one simple theme. There’s enough time to get one point across so pick a point that’s worthwhile. Pick a point that will leave an impression.
Start with a bang! There’s no time to mess around so thrust your reader right into the middle of the fire with your opening line. The fire is the main conflict. The story should start right in the midst of the conflict. Don’t bother with how it all started or how your character got there.
Immediately start moving your story towards its conclusion. Don’t veer off in any other direction. Use short, choppy sentences edited down to only the most essential words.
As soon as you’ve laid the necessary ground work start the conclusion. Once the conclusion is reached, the flash piece is finished. There is no epilog. The reader makes his own conclusions as to whatever is going to happen next.
Above is one basic formula for, how to write a flash fiction story. Below are some additional tips for writing flash stories. Remember to include all the elements of a story. You are still writing a tale so it must have a beginning, middle and end. And like all stories, it must have character, setting, plot, conflict etc. Keep in mind that something must change during your story. A character discovers something about him/herself, a simple event turns out to have far reaching consequences. Another words, though short, there still must be a point or reason for us to read the piece.
Decide what main story element is primary. For a flash, you can only focus on one element of story telling. Is your story about character? An event? An idea? Everything else you include will become secondary in importance. All but your primary element is inconsequential and can be cut or left out completely if need be.
Your entire story must be designed to unfold in one location. Use clichés, stereotypes, tropes, metaphors, similes and any other literary device that helps conserve words. Mentioning things we are familiar with quickly establishes images in your reader’s mind. A misty, dreary night, taking a short cut through a cemetery, a deserted warehouse, walls covered with graffiti and strewn with garbage, Times Square on New Years Eve, the top of a snow covered mountain over looking a small village in the distance; all provoke feelings and convey expectations, setting their scenes immediately.
When your reader will only be with you for a short time, you must establish as much as you can in the very first two paragraphs; setting, character, conflict, everything! You also need to hook the reader in immediately to assure they read on. Try to create the mood, set the tone or even set up the whole setting with your title.
One thing to skip when writing a short, short story; don’t write a bizarre piece and then end with. “Ahh!...” I woke up. It was all a dream! Another no, no is to end with ‘To be continued.’ Or ‘stay tuned for the conclusion’ or ‘stay tuned for part two’. The followers of Flash Fiction will not tolerate this kind of laziness from their authors. Flash Fiction is not a scene from a larger story. No matter how well-written, something must change over the course of the story. You must supply a complete tale. Your short, short story should slam into your reader’s mind and start entertaining immediately.
A twist ending is fine. But, be aware that fans of flash fiction are on the lookout for obvious twists so be creative and come up with something new that your reader doesn’t expect.
Assume your readers are smart. Give your readers credit to be able to fill in some of the details that you leave out. Trust them.
Writing Flash has a lot of benefits for the creative writer. You have to push yourself to develop different aspects of your writing style. It helps the creative writer trim the fat out of his/her writing. It helps develop the elements of surprise and suspense in an author’s stories. Your prose becomes more compelling and gripping which naturally carries over into all your writing. There is an undoubtedly growing market for Flash Fiction and the fans of Flash Fiction are very loyal.
Start with a bang! There’s no time to mess around so thrust your reader right into the middle of the fire with your opening line. The fire is the main conflict. The story should start right in the midst of the conflict. Don’t bother with how it all started or how your character got there.
Immediately start moving your story towards its conclusion. Don’t veer off in any other direction. Use short, choppy sentences edited down to only the most essential words.
As soon as you’ve laid the necessary ground work start the conclusion. Once the conclusion is reached, the flash piece is finished. There is no epilog. The reader makes his own conclusions as to whatever is going to happen next.
Above is one basic formula for, how to write a flash fiction story. Below are some additional tips for writing flash stories. Remember to include all the elements of a story. You are still writing a tale so it must have a beginning, middle and end. And like all stories, it must have character, setting, plot, conflict etc. Keep in mind that something must change during your story. A character discovers something about him/herself, a simple event turns out to have far reaching consequences. Another words, though short, there still must be a point or reason for us to read the piece.
Decide what main story element is primary. For a flash, you can only focus on one element of story telling. Is your story about character? An event? An idea? Everything else you include will become secondary in importance. All but your primary element is inconsequential and can be cut or left out completely if need be.
Your entire story must be designed to unfold in one location. Use clichés, stereotypes, tropes, metaphors, similes and any other literary device that helps conserve words. Mentioning things we are familiar with quickly establishes images in your reader’s mind. A misty, dreary night, taking a short cut through a cemetery, a deserted warehouse, walls covered with graffiti and strewn with garbage, Times Square on New Years Eve, the top of a snow covered mountain over looking a small village in the distance; all provoke feelings and convey expectations, setting their scenes immediately.
When your reader will only be with you for a short time, you must establish as much as you can in the very first two paragraphs; setting, character, conflict, everything! You also need to hook the reader in immediately to assure they read on. Try to create the mood, set the tone or even set up the whole setting with your title.
One thing to skip when writing a short, short story; don’t write a bizarre piece and then end with. “Ahh!...” I woke up. It was all a dream! Another no, no is to end with ‘To be continued.’ Or ‘stay tuned for the conclusion’ or ‘stay tuned for part two’. The followers of Flash Fiction will not tolerate this kind of laziness from their authors. Flash Fiction is not a scene from a larger story. No matter how well-written, something must change over the course of the story. You must supply a complete tale. Your short, short story should slam into your reader’s mind and start entertaining immediately.
A twist ending is fine. But, be aware that fans of flash fiction are on the lookout for obvious twists so be creative and come up with something new that your reader doesn’t expect.
Assume your readers are smart. Give your readers credit to be able to fill in some of the details that you leave out. Trust them.
Writing Flash has a lot of benefits for the creative writer. You have to push yourself to develop different aspects of your writing style. It helps the creative writer trim the fat out of his/her writing. It helps develop the elements of surprise and suspense in an author’s stories. Your prose becomes more compelling and gripping which naturally carries over into all your writing. There is an undoubtedly growing market for Flash Fiction and the fans of Flash Fiction are very loyal.
