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The soul of flash fiction is change.  A thing or a person precipitates this change.  This thing or person is called a catalyst.  Without a catalyst there would be no story.

The interesting thing about writing a flash fiction story is that since it is so short, many times the catalyst does it’s work before the story begins. 

In my story on Triond, “Flash Fiction: Black Stockings” the purchase of the black stockings happens before the story begins.  The story opens with the husband of the story giving a pair of black stockings to his wife as an anniversary gift.  The story is about her unexpected reaction to the gift.

Also, on Triond is my story, “Flash Fiction: Girls Loving Girls” in which a young woman at college has a date with a young man the night before; but the story doesn’t open until the next day in the young woman’s dormitory room as she relays to her female roommate what happened on the date.

And in my story, “This Man and This Woman in Love” the catalyst is a phone call the man gets before the story opens.

Now this does not mean that all flash fiction must be jump started with the catalyst happening before the story opens.  It just means its one way to jump start a very short story.  It’s the best way that I know of of jump starting a story.

If a story is started this way it tends to do three things, all of them good things, to the story.  It immediately tightens the story.  It immediately thrust the reader into the story.  It allows the writer to concentrate on the fallout from the catalyst, which is really all the writer has time to do.

Use a catalyst before your story begins to jump start your own short story no matter what length it is.