Flash Fiction, Defined

Flash fiction is extremely short fiction. Two common forms are 200-words-or-less and 50-words-exactly. In both cases, the length of the title does not count, but keep it reasonable.

Writing flash fiction can be satisfying in and of itself, but I find it’s particularly useful as an exercise in simplicity with lessons to teach writers of longer forms.

Simplicity in Word Choice

The primary lesson that flash fiction writing teaches is simplicity in word choice. When every word counts, it’s important to make them perform double duty, or even triple duty. Words convey emotion. They convey perspective. They add flavor.

• The magician showed us his empty palm.

Changing the word magician in that sentence to a nearly-synonymous alternative can greatly affect how the entire sentence is interpreted. For example, changing magician to mind-reader changes the meaning from “See? There’s nothing up my sleeve,” to “Quiet! I’m concentrating.” Changing magician to medicine man or wizard changes the setting from a Victorian stage to an Indian reservation or a medieval castle — without actually having to say so.

Simplicity in Plot Development

The plot in regular form fiction usually begins with establishing a premise (a hook to draw the reader in), followed by plot development(s) that eventually reach a climax, followed by a resolution. The resolution may or may not be a twist. The plot developments may or may not be twists. Sometimes the initial premise requires development of its own, although it’s usually considered a mistake to delay the hook.

In flash fiction, especially 50-word fiction, there’s little time for developments. The premise leads directly to a (twist) ending, perhaps with one minor development in between.

Deliberate Practice

Flash fiction is also a good basis for applying the notion of deliberate practice. That’s where one performs a simple exercise over and over again, but each time focusing on a different aspect of the skillset needed for that exercise. Computer programmers, for example, use deliberate practice by solving the same coding problem over and over, but using different programming algorithms, applying different language tools, or adhering to different constraints.

So, in our case of writing flash fiction, we might try telling the same story over and over again in different ways. For example, an author who is used to writing stories in the third person, might try it again in the first person. A male author might try writing in a female voice. What if the tale was told from the perspective of a secondary character? How about a pass that’s 100% dialog — or one that has no dialog at all? How about a pass that’s as plainspoken as possible — or the opposite, a pass that’s exceptionally flowery?

Feedback Mechanism

Writing flash fiction also has the benefit of producing bite-sized chunks of fiction that are easy to discuss and critique. When joining a new writer’s circle, it might be advantageous to set aside your great American novel at first and whip up some flash fiction instead. Use it as a sandbox to hone specific skills and then apply those skills towards your novel before seeking critiques of the novel itself.

The Flash Fiction Process

So, exactly how does one go about writing flash fiction? Where do the stories come from?

The first thing to realize is that flash fiction written as an exercise need not be especially remarkable. It doesn’t have to be pithy or profound. It doesn’t even need to be a good story, just an ordinary story — like relating to one’s spouse over dinner what happened during the day at the office.

Then, as far as inspiration for a starting point goes, I know of two story-generating formulas that might help, as follows:

Story-Generation Formula #1

Before you can write a piece of flash fiction, or any story for that matter, you’ll need a character, or two, and a plot premise. David Lee Summers, author of a dozen vampire and steampunk novels, including Owl Dance, gives one formula that works if you already have an inkling of an idea, or at least a genre/sub-genre in mind.

1. Start with a character who has a problem.
2. Describe how the character attempts to resolve the problem.
3. What is the result? Does it work? Does it backfire? Does it reveal a second problem? Does a second character intervene?
4. Bring it to a conclusion (or leave it in a cliffhanger).

Story-Generation Formula #2

On the other hand, if you, like me, suffer from complete writer’s block whenever you stare at a blank piece of paper (a.k.a. the blank-page syndrome), then the following formula might work better. I came up with it by harking back to the Mad Libs that my fourth grade teacher loved to fill out.

Simply get out a set of D&D dice (or visit https://www.wizards.com/dnd/dice/dice.htm) and randomly pick one entry from each list below. Use what you get as the foundation to build a story, but don’t feel too confined. The point it to inspire, not to constrain.

The main character is:

1. an acrobat/clown/entertainer
2. an archaeologist/paleontologist/geologist
3. an assassin
4. a botanist/zoologist
5. a bounty hunter/tracker
6. a cattle rustler
7. a clergyman/nun
8. a con artist/pickpocket
9. a detective/inspector
10. a doctor/veterinarian
11. an explorer/adventurer
12. a farmer/rancher
13. a forest ranger
14. a gold/silver/copper miner
15. a gourmet chef
16. a gunslinger
17. a horse trainer
18. a lawyer/judge
19. a librarian/archivist
20. a magician
21. a military leader
22. a millionaire
23. a minister/aristocrat
24. a monster or a monster hunter
25. a mountaineer
26. a newspaper reporter/photographer
27. a painter/songwriter/artist/poet
28. a pharmacist/chemist
29. a pilot/navigator
30. a pirate
31. a political activist/suffragette
32. a politician/statesman
33. a professor/schoolteacher
34. a railroad conductor
35. a scientist/engineer
36. a sharpshooter/bombardier
37. a sheriff/lawman
38. a shipwreck victim
39. a snake oil salesman/sideshow barker
40. a stowaway
41. a student/cadet
42. a suspect/prisoner
43. a tinker/inventor
44. a torturer/executioner

The secondary character is:

1. a bodyguard/door man
2. a butler/personal assistant
3. a competitor
4. a child/young apprentice
5. a mentor/senior partner
6. a nemesis/sworn enemy
7. a sidekick/junior partner
8. a (freed) slave/indentured servant
9. a spouse/love interest
10. a witness/bystander/victim
11. along involuntarily
12. crazy/chaotic
13. fastidious/overly neat/overly deliberate/slow
14. overly moral or overly ethical
15. unreasonable/a pompous ass

Their starting point is:

1. in a caravan/wagon train/merchant fleet
2. in a house of worship
3. on a deserted island
4. in a dirigible/balloon
5. in a general store
6. in a hospital/operating room/animal clinic
7. in a large city
8. in a small town
9. in a frontier town
10. in a storeroom/armory
11. at Town Hall
12. at an academy/university
13. at an ambush point
14. at an excavation site
15. in a courtroom/chambers
16. in a cubbyhole/hideaway/panic room
17. in a detective agency/squad room
18. in a fort/castle/barracks/high ground
19. in a laboratory
20. in a library/archive
21. in a machine shop
22. in a mining town/ghost town
23. in a prison/jail/cage/dungeon
24. in a studio
25. in a pharmacy/chemist/apothecary shop
26. on a battlefield/shooting range
27. on a beach/riverbank
28. on a mountain/hilltop/cabin/chalet
29. on a pirate ship/pirate island
30. on a ranch/farm
31. on a steamship/private yacht/in port
32. on a theater stage
33. in a circus ring/sideshow
34. on board a train/at a train station
35. on safari/in a jungle/rain forest
36. in a primitive village

Their goal is:

1. a quest/treasure hunt
2. fame/honor/glory
3. to be rid of each other
4. to bring justice/avenge a wrong
5. to cause trouble/stir things up/create anarchy
6. to save the day
7. to save themselves/reach safety
8. understanding/enlightenment

The plot twist is:

1. the story is not real/a dream/a movie set/an hallucination
2. an anachronism/a time-traveling anomaly
3. the character(s) are not whom they seem (shape shifter/apparitions)
4. it’s only practice/a simulation
5. it was all done on a dare
6. there’s an inobvious cause
7. there’s an unexpected third party
8. it’s all just illusion/smoke and mirrors
9. the secret sauce is revealed
10. there are skeletons in the closet
11. a third party is in control (mind control/extortion)
12. they took a wrong turn
13. it’s all a con/bait and switch
14. there’s a role reversal
15. technology goes awry
16. there’s a double cross/a double agent
17. a string of bad luck
18. someone pushes the boundaries
19. there’s a change in the rules
20. someone violates protocol
21. a witty observation/a moral to the story
22. a pun/a play on words

Example #1

The main character is a suspect/prisoner.
The secondary character is a witness/bystander/victim.
Their starting point is in a hospital/
        operating room/animal clinic.
Their goal is to save the day.
The plot twist is they took a wrong turn.

As I mulled over this random combination, I realized that “prisoner” plus “wrong turn” equals “mistaken identity.” That lead me to this story:

200 words, not counting the title.

It ain’t no Moby Dick, but I’ll be happy to use it as a basis for further experimentation and feedback.

Example #2

The main character is a millionaire.
The secondary character is overly moral or
        overly ethical.
Their starting point is in an apothecary shop.
Their goal is to bring justice/revenge.
The plot twist is it's all just illusion/
        smoke and mirrors.

For this one, as you’ll see, I did not literally begin in an apothecary shop, but that line inspired the drug-trial aspect of the story. Also, I completely ignored the suggested twist ending and came up with my own.

200 words, not counting the title.

Example #3

The main character is a scientist/engineer.
The secondary character is a butler/
        personal assistant.
Their starting point is in a cubbyhole/
        hideaway/panic room.
Their goal is a quest/treasure hunt.
The plot twist is an anachronism/a
        time-traveling anomaly.

Again, I riffed on time-travel but not to use as a plot twist. This one doesn’t really have a twist, just a moral to the story.

197 words (counting numbers as words), not counting the title.

Tags: deliberate practice, fiction, flash fiction, writing