I am a huge fan of flash fiction. Flash is typically defined as stories around 1,000 words. To the uninitiated, that seems like it should be an easy endeavor. It’s not that many words to put on paper, especially when we consider the average novel is around 80,000 words.

Surprise. Flash is actually really hard. Good flash is not a vignette or a scene, but a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end. It requires a complete plot, conflict, stakes, character arc, backstory, world building, and all the other things that make an engaging story.

So how the heck do you squish all that in 1,000 words?

I recently had a chance to offer some thoughts about writing flash alongside some absolute juggernauts of the form: Ai Jiang, Matt Tight, Lisa Fox, Andrea Goyen, Kai Delmas, Myna Chang, and Sumitra Singam.

Check it out here: Flash Fiction: the what, the why, and the how with tips from the experts. with Pauline Yates. (Pauline is an accomplished writer herself, so take the opportunity to check her out while you are there!)