The #1 Flash Fiction Writing Skill
Flash fiction is a very demanding art form. To succeed in the writing of flash fiction, a writer must have this one skill above all others in order to be a really good flash fiction writer.
What would you say is the #1 skill that a juggler must have to be a successful juggler? Do you know? I don’t know either. For the sake of argument, let’s say a juggler must have excellent eye-hand coordination.
Image via Wikipedia
Now my question is, what skill must a writer have to be a successful flash fiction writer? Well, I know the answer to this question. But before I tell you, let’s review what a flash fiction story is.
A flash fiction story is a significant event with closure.
I think most people get what closure is: an epiphany, a change in direction or a summation that throws the story into clearer relief.
It’s the significant event that may give writers a problem. Why? I have a theory.
We all can recognize a significant event in life: marriage, birth, death, a new job, a first kiss, getting fired from your job, leaving home for the first time, getting hit by a car…The list goes on and on.
But writing a flash fiction story is unique because it is so short. Writers rack their brains trying to come up with a good flash fiction idea. It is difficult enough to come up with a good short story idea, let alone a short story idea that will make sense in the confines of a few hundred words.
A writer can write a flash fiction story about the big significant events in life. Or, a writer can write about the small significant events in life. I think some flash fiction writers make the mistake of always looking for the big significant events to write about. This is a mistake because very often a pat on the back can be a significant event, too.
The most important writing skill a flash fiction writer must have in order to be a good flash fiction writer is the ability to recognize a significant event ”no matter how small it may be.”
Sex Videos is a flash fiction story.
The Topless Dancer is a flash fiction story.
Girls Kissing Girls is a flash fiction story.
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November 3rd, 2010 at 10:13 am
My efforts in Flash Fiction become an essay.You are the master, Guy. Thanks for this helpful article.
November 3rd, 2010 at 10:45 am
Thanks for sharing this information.
November 3rd, 2010 at 11:02 am
PR, you are problaby explaining too much in your flash fiction. Introduce your characters and let them “act out the story” with little or no commentary about why they are doing what they are doing. Write about things, actions and dialogue and don’t comment on the things, actions and dialogue. Maybe this will help.
November 3rd, 2010 at 11:03 am
Nice and well written article. I hope I’ll be like you someday
November 3rd, 2010 at 11:36 am
Thanks for explaining flash fiction so well. I have an idea, I am going to work on it.
November 3rd, 2010 at 2:30 pm
Good to read this, makes more sense of my latest efforts. Thank you.
November 3rd, 2010 at 3:11 pm
I think I can submit short flash fiction or possibly short flash non-fiction the way my life is going lately! Thanks for the info!
November 3rd, 2010 at 5:11 pm
Thank you very much for the lesson.
November 3rd, 2010 at 5:26 pm
A good tip. I now have a better understanding of flash fiction.
November 3rd, 2010 at 6:06 pm
This is great advice. I have never written a flash fiction story before, but now I know what I need to do in order to write one. Thanks for giving us this great advice about writing.
November 3rd, 2010 at 6:45 pm
Thanks for the tips, I can now try to write something soon.
November 3rd, 2010 at 7:28 pm
thank you for the information, maybe I will put it to use one day soon.
November 3rd, 2010 at 8:19 pm
great share
November 3rd, 2010 at 8:51 pm
thank you for this helpful info.
November 4th, 2010 at 5:00 am
I’d never heard of the term “flash fiction”. It sounds very interesting.
November 4th, 2010 at 6:24 am
Great tips, I must get back to my flash fiction stories. Just had one two many rejections last year. So I’m in hiding in Triond and trying to hone my skills. LB
November 4th, 2010 at 6:39 am
great share
November 4th, 2010 at 8:31 am
‘Recognise a significant event’. Okay.
I like the juggler graphic too Guy.
November 5th, 2010 at 8:38 am
Actually, the flash fiction form is perfect for illustrating the small significant event.
November 6th, 2010 at 1:06 am
good article with great tips
November 7th, 2010 at 8:10 am
So we need to alter our depth of focus to find significant events. Focus helps the juggler learn how to juggle balls. I agree with your point.
November 7th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
Are all of your flash-fiction stories about sex?
November 7th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
savannahcash, the majority of my flash fiction stories are literary short stories. They are in my Ebook and a lot of them are on my blog under Short Stories by Guy Hogan in the sidebar on the left. My blog is the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette http://pittsburghflashfictiongazette.com
November 10th, 2010 at 11:08 pm
I had to come here after reading your later articles, to find out more about this skill. After reading this I googled and found out that there is apparently no definite required length that constitutes Flash Fiction – anywhere from 100 to 1,000 words, with a popular length of 300 words. I always thought that 500 – 1000 words constitutes a short story. What length would you consider it to be Guy, to be able to call it Flash Fiction?
November 11th, 2010 at 8:16 am
J M, I consider anything under 1,500 words to be flash fiction. I publish flash fiction of 300 to 700 words by guest writers on my blog. My best length for my own flash fiction stories seem to be around 800 words. It’s all relative.