{"id":71,"date":"2024-03-11T11:34:25","date_gmt":"2024-03-11T08:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reflexfiction.com\/?p=71"},"modified":"2024-03-11T11:35:38","modified_gmt":"2024-03-11T08:35:38","slug":"how-to-write-flash-fiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/reflexfiction.com\/how-to-write-flash-fiction\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Write Flash Fiction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>If you want to know how to write flash fiction, read some advice compiled from aficionados of this most versatile of forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Let your title do some of the work, but don\u2019t give away the story resolution with it either.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Thirteen Tips for Writing Flash Fiction, Flash Fiction Online<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Perhaps the greatest asset for a flash writer is the ability to create character through voice. That skill is well worth exploring, and the best exploration is either through just doing it, or by reading what others do.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Vanessa Gebbie, Flash Fiction, Writers &amp; Artists<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>How to write flash fiction:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Start in the middle.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Don\u2019t use too many characters.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Make sure the ending isn\u2019t at the end.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sweat your title.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Make your last line ring like a bell.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Write long, then go short.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><em>David Gaffney, Stories in your pocket: how to write flash fiction, The Guardian<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>When it comes to flash fiction you have to be clever. There will be instances where you will <em>want<\/em> to tell, instead of show. One sentence may be all you need to explain a sordid past as a stripper, hitman, or crooked banker. Think of the tip of the iceberg\u2014show us that, but not the entire mountain of ice and snow.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Richard Thomas, Storyville: How to Write Flash Fiction, LitReactor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>You only have room for one main character, so choose her well. What\u2019s more, in a flash piece, this character has only one compelling need. Because flash fiction is about focus, all of her qualities focus themselves on supporting her single compelling need.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><em>J Timothy King, 10 Flash Fiction Writing Tips, Be the Story<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Common clich\u00e9s that can mean a story lands in the reject pile:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cheap, throwaway, jokey twist endings.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Earnest meditations on the meaning of life, with no plot or characters.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Crazy surrealism for no purpose.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Poems submitted as flash-fiction.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Yet another story about suicide.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Over-writing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cheap sentiment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cIssue\u201d stories, where the ending is supposed to teach us an important lesson.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Strong stories with weak endings, where the writer seems to have lost courage.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Calum Kerr, Flash Fiction: What Not To Do, Litro<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Writing short stories is about learning how little you need, about what isn\u2019t written as much as about what is on the page. Flash fiction takes this to the extreme.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Tania Hershman, Want Tips from Short Story Author, Tania Hershman?, daily(w)rite<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Try simplifying your story so that you focus on one idea or emotion.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Richard Thomas, Storyville: How to Write Flash Fiction, LitReactor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,<br>And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,<br>I will be brief . . .<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cHamlet\u201d by William Shakespeare<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Katharine Hepburn<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The best way to improve your flash fiction writing is to write more flash fiction and read more flash fiction! We publish a new flash fiction every day. You can also search for flash fiction stories by author.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you want to know how to write flash fiction, read some advice compiled from aficionados of this most versatile of forms. Let your title do some of the work, but don\u2019t give away the story resolution with it either. Thirteen Tips for Writing Flash Fiction, Flash Fiction Online Perhaps the greatest asset for a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Write Flash Fiction - reflexfiction.com - Betting Odds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you want to know how to write flash fiction, read some advice compiled from aficionados of this most versatile of forms.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/reflexfiction.com\/how-to-write-flash-fiction\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Write Flash Fiction - 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