in Uncategorized 699 Words

As a reader, what do you think of flash fiction?

The novels I’ve drafted or at least outlined are not going to be short. They aren’t going to be 1,000-page tomes (300,000 words!) like the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon either. A sweet spot for historical novels falls somewhere between 90,000 and 120,000 words. I’m aiming for the low 90,000s.

At the other extreme is the genre called flash fiction or minimalist fiction. By definition, flash fiction falls somewhere between six words and usually 1,000 words. There are some 1,500-word exceptions.

For me, it’s easier to write a story of thousands of words than one of a thousand words. It’s a challenge to develop characters and a plot in 1,000 words.

But I mentioned a starting point of six words. The example of such a concise story is attributed to Ernest Hemingway, although, the efficacy of that attribution is not proven. Nevertheless, here is that six-word piece of flash fiction:

“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

Wow! You would be hard pressed to find six words that pack more of a punch! The author could have gone on to explain why the baby shoes had never been worn, but isn’t it more effective to let the reader’s mind fill in the blanks?

Photo by Drew Hays on Unsplash

In fact, it would have been easier for the writer to elaborate. Boiling down an entire story into six words is nearly impossible. I can’t imagine that I’d ever be able to do it, but fiction writers today are encouraged to delete all unnecessary words – to make every word count.

That’s the lesson flash fiction teaches a writer, so I think it’s a good exercise for aspiring novelists to practice.

I submitted a 28-word story to an “On the Premises” mini-contest in May. The guidelines were to write in any genre a story of 25 to 50 words in which two opposing points of view were shown. It was an interesting exercise. My first two versions were exactly 50 words. I continued to pare down the unnecessary words. Satisfied with my eighth version of the story, I hit the “submit” button.

Here’s the story I submitted:

This house has stories to tell. Close your eyes. Just listen. You hear that? Children laughing and playing.

Yeah, then going off to war and not coming home.

Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash

The winner out of the 212 entries was announced on May 10. My story wasn’t the winner. Perhaps I edited out too many words. I’ll keep trying.

If you’ve never read any flash fiction but are curious about it, here’s the link to an April 23, 2023 blog post on Reedsy: https://reedsy.com/discovery/blog/best-flash-fiction. The 25 stories are clickable. One of them, “Where Are You?“ by Joyce Carol Oates, was published in The New Yorker in 2018. Here’s the link: https://www.newyorker.com/books/flash-fiction/where-are-you. Take a minute (or maybe two) to read it.

Or, you can go to your public library system’s online catalog and do a search for it – or ask a librarian for suggestions. If you prefer, you can do a search on Amazon or a general search in your favorite search engine.

Since my last blog post

I finished writing the first draft of a devotional book designed especially for people who have Seasonal Affective Disorder in the colder months of the year.

With the family cookbook my sister and I have compiled finally formatted, we started the tedious proofreading phase.

I started proofreading the historical short stories I’ve finished writing.

Until my next blog post

I hope you’re reading a book that is so engrossing you didn’t want to put it down to read my blog.

Don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter by visiting https://www.janetmorrisonbooks.com. Thank you! I plan to send out my September newsletter the first week of the month. Remember, subscribers to my newsletter receive a free downloadable short story I wrote:  “Slip Sliding Away”, which takes place in the Appalachian Mountains in the 1870s.

Make time for friends and family. They won’t always be here.

Remember the people of Ukraine, Maui, and Jacksonville, Florida.

Janet

19 thoughts on “As a reader, what do you think of flash fiction?”

  2. I’ve dabbled with flash fiction for a number of years now, although I still don’t really have the hang of it. I’ve written a small group of 50-word stories, which I’m very happy with, and I’d like to do more. I just read the Joyce Carol Oates story. I didn’t like the ending. It felt like a “gotcha,” although I do think one could justify it as earned by the story.

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  3. Wonderful story Janet, which goes perfectly well with the illustration. It is a challenge, but using the power of synthesis you can create powerful work. I like to cut and cut as much as possible that’s why I started with the Euro-Ku as a form of short poetry. Best of luck with the proofreading and with the work you are engaged in. I am sure your historical novels will be a fabulous read. All the best Janet. We are out of town on the beach as the city was far too hot and uncomfortable.

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  4. Hi, Anita! Great to hear from you! Thank you so much. I’m hanging in there… too stubborn to give up. I hope you and all your family are well.

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  5. Thank you, Francis. Your Euro-Ku form of poetry is an excellent example of writing something down to the bare bones and making every word count. As I understand any forms of poetry, but especially haiku and your very own Euro-Ku, every word must justify its inclusion and at the same time it must paint a picture. Glad you enjoyed my post. I hope you’ve had a relaxing and refreshing day at the beach. I hope you’ve had a nice ocean breeze. The record-breaking heat continues everywhere, or so it seems. It hasn’t been as bad in North Carolina as in some parts of the US, although the heat index here was 104 F. on Saturday. And now Floridians brace themselves for Hurricane Idalia as the water in the Gulf of Mexico is 85 to 90 degrees, which is hotter ocean water than previous hurricanes have been fueled by in the US. It’s predicted to be a category 3 when it hits north of Tampa.

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  7. Yes we’ve been watching as our friends, who are from Florida are here and they are flying back Tuesday (tomorrow). The heat is leaving us, finally and for the last two days temps are in the low eighties (F) and not in the high 90’s like last Friday! All the best Janet. We will pray for those in the Florida panhandle.

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  10. Thank you, Laleh! I hope someday I will have written as many books as you have and that I receive just a fraction of the number of 5-star reviews your books have received. You inspire me.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. I write what are known as haibun, a small prose and an accompanying haiku or tanka. Not flash fiction but what a lesson in less is more. It has taught me so much and yet it encourages the use of beautiful words. I would love to try some flash fiction.

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  17. It’s so nice to hear from you, David. I’m afraid I’ve neglected friends and blogger-friends this summer as way too much of my time has been taken up by data breaches that were beyond my control. I must get back to your blog and catch up on your postings! I had to change my email address due to a data breach at Windstream. My account (along with tens of thousands of others) was frozen without notice in June. You wouldn’t believe how difficult it is to change one’s email address with every business/doctor/insurance company one does business with when one no longer has access to the email address one has used for 20+ years. The same people who hacked into Windstream, hacked into my Facebook and LinkedIn accounts two days later. I know this, from reading a thread online from others who had the exact same experience after the Windstream data breach. I’ve given up on Facebook and LinkedIn (and Twitter, just for good measure.) My Medicare records were compromised in the MoveIT data breach. Two weeks ago, the only credit card I use was hacked. Since things tend to happen in threes, perhaps things will calm down now. It’s been quite a summer technology-wise. I hope your health is good and the hackers will leave you alone. Thank you for checking in on me. Best wishes to you.

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  18. My goodness me, Janet, what travail you have encountered. I have had similar experiences during this period, but I hope you get back in a creative groove soon.

    I would hope you are able to read some of my posts. particularly the most recent “The Poetry of Riding Freight Trains Across America, “which is a major work. Most of my writing now is poetry. and I’m publishing, with favorable reviews.

    Stay healthy and productive/ Best wishes, David

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  19. I’m off for an appointment in a few minutes, but I’ll put your poetry on my list for (hopefully) later today. I look forward to reading it. I hate to hear that you’ve had experiences similar to mine this summer. I feel like all I did the last three months was struggle to rectify technical issues. Thanks for the information about your recent poetry.

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