Creative Writing

CHAPTER12

Short and Sweet Flash Fiction

In This Chapter

• A quick look at flash fiction
• Writing flash fiction well
• Flash fiction authors
• Venues for your work
• What to write about

What’s flash fiction? It might best be thought of as very short stories of 500 to 2,000 words. You might also see or hear this genre called blasters, postcard fiction, micro-fiction, sudden fiction, or short shorts. Whatever the name, the essence of the genre is the same: the writer quickly gets into the story and plot and establishes scene and summary. The critical backstory is filled in (often through flashback), and the author speeds toward the climax quickly in terms ...