Writing Flash Fiction Tweets
Writing flash fiction and Twitter were made for each other.
I have a Twitter account. But I tweet very little. The idea of writing an understandable message of no longer than 140 characters does appeal to my flash fiction soul. I ghostwrite. I write flash articles. I provide online content. But I’m really a flash fiction writer.
Image via CrunchBase
I live, eat and breathe flash fiction. Most definitions of flash fiction mention its length. Flash fiction is only a few hundred words long. Like between 300 to 1,000 words long. Although most writers would say that flash fiction cannot be much over 1,000 words long many would agree that it can be shorter than 300 words long, a lot shorter than 300 words. There is a flash fiction publication that I subscribe to that accepts stories that are as short as 50 words long. Think about writing a narrative that is only 50 words long. Now we are getting into Twitter territory.
I have several flash fiction stories here at Triond. My definition of flash fiction does not mention the length of a story. My definition of flash fiction is: A significant event with closure. Talk about a definition that gives a writer complete freedom of action. Of course, I do put a word limit on my work. My best range seems to be 600 to 1,000 words. But I’ve been thinking about the challenge of writing something that was as short as a tweet. Below in bold print is my first flash fiction tweet. I hope no one is offended by the sex and violence. The title and the story including the punctuation is within the 140-character limit of a tweet and it also meets my definition of flash fiction.
Skyscraper
He escaped from the asylum and bought a gun. He backed her into a corner and ripped off her blouse and bra. After fondling her breasts he laughed then jumped out the window.
My blog is the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette.
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May 8th, 2010 at 3:51 am
Hey it works
Good article
May 8th, 2010 at 5:59 am
That would probably be micro-flash-fiction. Pretty ingenious! Haha.
May 8th, 2010 at 7:58 am
Right on I have a Twitter account and I love writing flash fiction. My work tends to be 2,000 to 5,000 words though! way too long for a tweet I’m afraid but I’ll give it a go. LB
May 8th, 2010 at 8:41 am
Well done. It leaves quite a picture in the mind.
May 8th, 2010 at 9:21 am
Nice entry, flash fiction is too restrictive. I am a long distance writer, novels run longer than 600 pages and that’s why I use twitter for marketing purposes only.
May 8th, 2010 at 10:22 am
a very good share– flash fiction sounds do-able forme LOL
May 8th, 2010 at 10:28 am
It did not take me long to write Skyscraper. Once I figured out what to write, which took about half an hour, the writing and re-writing only took about 10 minutes.
May 8th, 2010 at 11:40 am
Hehehehahahaha!
Damn .. I get the picture Guy Hogan!! 
May 8th, 2010 at 5:30 pm
Pretty interesting. I’ll definitely do it some time.
May 8th, 2010 at 5:43 pm
There is a real skill to be able to condense a novelette into a flash fiction piece, I like the idea.
May 8th, 2010 at 7:08 pm
A short post which makes a point is better than a long incomprehensible jabber.
May 8th, 2010 at 11:08 pm
This may be helpful to all
May 9th, 2010 at 3:08 am
OK, whenever I see your posts on flash fiction, I want to try but I end up never doing it. It is challenging but at the same time it seems so impossible to me. Like with Skyscraper! How did he escape the asylum? Why was he there in the first place? Who is she? Where is the window?
Sorry, I just think flashfiction is great but at the same time it can be used for brainstorming and producing a longer story.
May 9th, 2010 at 6:34 am
zoeyclark, the story is too short to answer any of your questions. These questions are left to the imagination of the reader.
May 9th, 2010 at 4:39 pm
Snap that is all my twitter acc is for my posts here…. cheers Guy.
May 10th, 2010 at 8:22 am
I never tried a flash fiction Tweet, but did you know there’s something called #fridayflash on Twitter? You write a flash fiction, post it on Friday, then announce it with a Tweet that has the #fridayflash hashtag. It’s a great way to get new readers. Also, I just posted my first YouTube video of a flash fiction story I wrote. There’s a link to it in one of my Triond stories.
May 10th, 2010 at 11:07 am
Interesting idea. I would never have thought about writing Flash Fiction Tweets.
May 12th, 2010 at 2:30 am
I haven’t tried flash fiction Tweet. To be very honest, I have never heard of one till I read your article.
June 12th, 2010 at 2:45 am
Love it! I’ve been thinking about erotica a lot recently, and I may start writing hot flashes for Twitter. Good stuff, I’ll check out more of your work.
June 12th, 2010 at 5:38 am
Guy, This sounds very interesting. What is your twitter page? Can you give it to me? I want to follow your flash fiction tweets.