Post by Denise on her L'Aussie Writer site:
http://laussieswritingblog.blogspot.com.au/2010/06/flash-fiction-writing.html
Recent Post by Cathy Oliffe-Webster:
http://romanticfridaywriters.blogspot.com/2011/11/inaugural-guest-post-cathy-olliffe.html
What is flash fiction (FF)?
'Each drop encases its own separate note, the way each drop engulfs its own blue pearl of light.' This description of rain, from Stuart Dybek's story "Nighthawks," is as close to a definition of flash fiction as I can offer. A successful flash enchants us, each small story successfully rendered engulfing us for a brief moment - in a 'flash,' in its own brand of light, or truth. And the effects linger on...(Rose Metal Press)
- FF is a place for reckless daring - you write strange sentences in a new voice. The ambition of a short short piece of fiction is not to get the readers to 'lose themselves' - how far can you get lost in a few hundred words? The effect of FF is just that, fast, (even if writing it isn't) and yet complete. The shape of the piece leaps out at the reader and is taken in as a whole, as if it were a picture, sketchy.
- FF is about ambiguity, a singular moment, a slice of life, a sketch.
- Consider how much you can leave out and still create a moving, complete narrative. Can you write a story that consists of only dialogue? How is it still a story? What is a story?
Go here for a list of flash fiction sites where you can learn more.
Denise
