Flash Fiction Tips

How does flash fiction make you a better writer?

By its very nature, it requires your writing to be the tightest it possibly can be. Your writing has to be stripped down to the bare minimum whilst still presenting a gripping story that will remain with a reader for a long time to come.

Don’t be afraid to tackle the big issues using barely any words – sometimes this can be a really powerful and personal way of talking about those deep emotional experiences. We all know the infamous short story attributed to Ernest Hemingway: For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

Helps you to refine the skill of choosing the best words possible.

It gives the writer the opportunity to really nail your character using only a few words or a small piece of dialogue.

Mechanisms

 

  •  Under 1000 words
  •  Takes place in one scene
  •  One point of view
  •  The shortest possible timeframe
  •  Still requires a beginning, middle and end
Tips

 

  1. Create the perfect ending, which is conveyed in just one line.
  2. Find a powerful image that will funnel your story and write around that.
  3. Start the story in media res.

Want more? Join us for our full day flash fiction workshop.

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