Flash Fiction: How To Use It To Supercharge Your Writing

You may have noticed that in this blog, I sometimes use Flash Fiction (and other short fiction) to help illustrate concepts so they come alive. Writing about fiction is fun, but actually writing fiction is even more fun.

What is Flash Fiction, and how can it be used to supercharge your writing?

Flash Fiction is a Short, Sharp, Shocking Story. 

• Short - less than 1,000 words
• Sharp - cut to the bone, no wasted words, few characters, few scenes
• Shocking - strong images, surprise twists, ending that resonates
• Story - complete plot in miniature, not just a fragment

Writing Flash Fiction SHAPES your writing craft: It will Spark your passion for storytelling, Hone your writing, Accelerate your growth and audience-building, serve as a method for purposeful Practice, provide opportunities to Experiment, and plant Seeds for longer stories. 

Let’s take a deeper dive, so you can decide whether you want to try your hand at (or reacquaint yourself with) Flash Fiction. 

Before we start ...
do you want to write fiction faster,
while practicing your craft and your writing process to consistently get better? 

Check out this link to the FREE "Write Fiction Faster ... and better" guide and workbook,
which comes with a FREE companion course
with 23 bite-sized video lessons and 4 worksheets.

Flash Fiction Formula:
Write a Short, Sharp, Shocking Story

Flash Fiction is a “short, sharp, shocking story.”  Each of the elements — "short," "sharp," shocking," and “story” — of the "Flash Fiction Formula" is important.

SHORT

The first thing that comes to mind is that Flash Fiction is short. In fact, it's shorter than a “short story.”

There are many definitions of what constitutes Flash Fiction ranging from as short as six words (yes, a whole story in just 6 words) to as much as 1,500 words. Anything longer would be classified as a short story or a longer piece of fiction. 

I am a proponent of “less than 1,000” words because I think it gives you enough range to write a full story, while still constraining it in a “Flash Fiction” container. But let’s take a look at the whole range from 6 to 1,499 words.

6 Words

So, how could a six-word story be a story at all and include all the elements of the Flash Fiction Formula? Let's take a look at arguably the most famous 6-word story: 

“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

It's clearly short and sharp. Does it have a shocking image that resonates? Certainly. Does it tell an entire story? It does, doesn’t it? No single word is wasted but you still get the tragic story hidden within that short sentence of six words. Since it is so brief, you have to fill in almost all of the story yourself, but that sort of subtext is what makes for great writing. 

The unsubstantiated legend is that Ernest Hemingway was challenged to write a complete short story in six words, and the result was “Baby Shoes”. Even though the attribution to Hemingway is most likely not true, it does fit with Hemingway's iceberg theory of writing.

Less Than 150 Words

This length — which can range from "less than 100 words" to "less than 250 words" — is often called “microfiction” as distinct from Flash Fiction.  In my opinion, there is a tendency at this length to end up with just a fragment, and it's much more challenging to write a full story.

Less Than 500 Words

This length is quite popular, and it can result in more fleshed-out stories that are still very tightly written. 

500 to 1,000 Words

This is my personal favorite, since it is a short read that requires tight writing, yet has enough room for a full story.

Less Than 1,500 Words

There is nothing wrong with using this as the definition, and in some cases, you can cheat a little when you have a story that just insists on spilling over past the 1,000 words. So, your occasional 1,001-word masterpiece would still be considered (by most) as Flash Fiction.  

Whether you want to write 6 words or 1,499, just keep it short. In order to do that, here are some tips:

• Small Idea - make sure that your idea is honed down to something small enough. If you have a bigger idea — one that could fill a novella, a novel, a trilogy, or the Spellmonger series (14 books and counting) —  then either it’s not a good idea for Flash Fiction OR you need to pick just a small component: that one scene, one aspect, one character (or just a few).
  
  
• Focus - in general, whatever idea you have, it pays narrow it down to a close focus. Zoom in to the immediate moments that will tell the story.
  
  
• Jump Into the Middle - which is a great practice in general, no matter the length of your story. Get into the middle of the action, no preambles, plunging the reader into something that's already happening, a story in progress, and let them catch up. In addition to keeping it short, the added benefit is that this is a compelling way to pull your reader right into the story’s spell.
  
  
• Title - consider leveraging the title to draw the reader in and tell part of the story. This is a bit of a trick because the title is not part of the word count. Also, great story titles (like great headlines) are powerful magnets to pull your reader into the story.

SHARP

In order to be “sharp”, the story itself should be narrowed down to just a few scenes, even just one scene, with 1-2 characters (3 is stretching it), and it needs to be tightly written. Here are some tips:

• Crystal-Clear Conflict - Be clear about the main conflict (hint: you probably only have room for one major conflict, no subplots, except as subtext).
  
  
• Focused Point-of-View - The best point-of-view for Flash Fiction is usually first-person (“I”) or third-person limited point of view (“he/she/they”). Within the tight word count, you usually don’t have room to jump between multiple characters. One exception is a story that has a distinct break — perhaps in the service of the “shocking” part of the Flash Fiction Formula — where you suddenly switch from one character's viewpoint to another. 
  
  
• Strong Emotional Tone - Take some time thinking about the emotional tone of your story. You don't want to be melodramatic, but you want to make sure the reader feels something. Is it a dramatic or sad feeling? Or suspense? An action-oriented, high-paced, excited emotion? Is it romantic? Is it funny? Is it confused/disoriented (on purpose, not because you wrote a confusing mess)? 
  
  
• Write Longer, Then Cut Back - Allow yourself to write a little bit too long first, and then look for ways of cutting it back. That “little bit too long” probably should be no more than 50% over the target word count. 1,500 words can be cut back to 1,000 or less, but if you're sprawling beyond that, you probably don't have a Flash Fiction story — you have a full full-on short story, or perhaps a novella, novel, or the beginnings of an epic multi-volume tale. Even if you find yourself in this predicament, you can zoom in on one aspect of the too-long story, and mine that Flash Fiction diamond out of your huge, bulky story mountain. 

SHOCKING

The word “shocking” in the Flash Fiction Formula, doesn’t mean that every story has to have a surprise twist — like O. Henry or M. Night Shyamalan  — although those can be fun.

What I mean is that your Flash Fiction story should include some form of a strong image or some other component that resonates and makes the story stick in the reader’s mind after they’ve read it. 

Giving the reader a gasping, hair-tingling surprise twist is great. A minor jolt is fine. Even a mild shift in perception will do. What you don’t want is to leave the reader with a flat — “What was the point of that?” — sense that the story just ended, nothing special happened.

In order to achieve the “shocking” element, consider writing the ending first — or right after you have your beginning — so that you know where the story is going. 

You may think that the best stories place that shocking surprise twist right at the end, in the final line. That is actually not recommended — in most cases. For your story to resonate, the “shocking” element should NOT be the very end. It should NOT be the final line. Instead, after the “reveal”, provide a brief wrap-up — also called a "denouement" — so that the reader can process the “shocking” element and fully absorb the emotional impact. 

STORY 

By this, I mean that in the very short format of fewer than 1,000 words — and even when you choose to write microfiction such as 150 words or less —  you still want to have a complete plot in miniature, not just a fragment. 

A lot of short fiction falls into the trap of presenting the reader with a fragment, essentially an “interesting scene,” without a true story arc with beginning, middle, and end — or the three C's of "Challenge, Complications, Conclusion" in the StoryBuzz FictionMap. 

Just as I suggested for the “shocking” element, you may want to write the beginning (the “Challenge”) first, then jump directly to write the end (the “Conclusion”) so you know you have the overall story arc. You can then fill in the middle (the “Complications”). An added benefit of this approach is that you can avoid the "bloated middle" and choose to simplify the “Complications” — cutting the straightest path from the "Challenge" to the "Conclusion" — so as to write tight and fit within the word count. 

As you think about the “story” component of the Flash Fiction Formula, are you writing a story that fits in a certain genre? If so, what are the reader’s expectations of that genre? For example, if you are writing a mini-mystery, do you have the crime (the “Challenge”), some form of investigation, or heightened stakes in pursuit of (or flight from) the criminal (the “Complications”), and then the solution (the “Conclusion”)? 

As you write, does a theme emerge? I say “emerge” on purpose. It is actually better to let the theme emerge naturally and organically. Writing to a theme that you’ve already determined at the outset may be good for an essay (or a college paper), but in fiction, writing this way can sometimes result in a story that feels “preachy”. So, let’s assume you’ve written your first draft, and reading through it, you realize: "Oh, wait, now I see it, that’s the theme!” Then go back over the story and see if you can foreshadow, highlight, and call out the theme in subtle ways, through word choice and small twists in the action and the narrative. 

CYCLING THROUGH

It can be helpful to think about how the four aspects of the “short, sharp shocking story” interplay and impact each other. 

As you write your story — and especially after you have completed the first draft — you may want to consider cycling through the elements of the Flash Fiction Formula. Something like this:

• Now that I have the first draft, is it SHORT enough? If not, where can I cut it back? That leads me to think about where I can make it SHARPer, such as by using fewer words or cutting entire sentences, paragraphs, and even sections of the story. 
  
  
• As I SHARPen the writing, cutting down to the bones, what has happened to the SHOCKING effect? Does the strong image stand out in sharper relief? Does it resonate even stronger now? Or has it lost something? And if so, do I now have the word count budget — after having SHARPened and SHORTened my writing — to either add more to that shocking effect or enhance the wrap-up (denouement) to give the twist or the strong final image room to resonate? 
  
  
• Finally, can I use the SHOCKING effect of the narrative twist and/or that strong, memorable image to bring out all the elements of the arc and flow of the STORY? Now, as I look at my story as a whole, have I been able to tell the whole arc of “Challenge, Complications, Conclusions?” If not, what's missing, and how could I work the missing piece(s) in while still staying within the SHORT constraint of fewer than 1,000 words? 
  
  
• And so on ... keep cycling through the elements.

How Flash Fiction Helps You Grow As a Writer 

Writing Fash Fiction is a great way to help you improve your writing craft and take it to the next level as a writer. Let’s use the acronym mnemonic SHAPES to illustrate how writing Flash Fiction will Spark your passion for storytelling, Hone your writing, Accelerate your growth and audience-building, serve as a method for purposeful Practice, provide opportunities to Experiment, and plant Seeds for longer stories. 

SPARK

When you're in the middle of writing longer-form fiction, such as a novella, a novel, or a multi-volume series, you can often feel bogged down and less than inspired. You’re working the writing-mine, making your daily word quota, but it feels like it will never end.

Or worse, the thought of mining that 50,000 - 100,000+ word-mountain to complete your novel is so daunting that you lose momentum.

You lose your passion for writing.

In the very worst case, you stop writing.

Writing Flash Fiction can be a great way of recovering your spark and your passion for writing because in a relatively quick time you get a sense of completeness, seeing the polished final work.

In turn, this will stimulate, trigger, animate, excite, energize, and create psychological momentum for writing your longer-form fiction. It can spark your writing passion back to life. 

HONE

Flash Fiction forces you to hone your writing and take out any kind of bloat. In order to tell a full story in 1,000 words or less, you are forced to strip sentences down to the essence, cut characters, reduce scenery, drop meandering sub-plots, and get right into the action. 

These are great tools to have in your toolbox — sharpened, honed —  for when you work on your longer-form writing. 

ACCELERATE

Consider using Flash Fiction as a deliberate strategy both to grow as a writer and also to build your audience and your authority as a writer. 

Flash Fiction lets you more quickly create completed stories that you can share with other writers in writers' groups, including online writers groups. 

You can also publish Flash Fiction. I've included — in the "Resources" section of this blog — a link to a list of websites that accept submissions to publish as well as those that sponsor Flash Fiction competitions. 

Compared to traditional publishing of short stories and novellas, Flash Fiction has a lower bar with far less of a barrier to entry and more places where you can get your work in front of an audience. 

Sharing your Flash Fiction with an audience of readers and fellow writers lets you accelerate the feedback loop, which serves as a catalyst to develop your writing craft, while at the same time building your audience and authority as a writer. 

PRACTICE 

According to Anders Ericsson (a professor at Florida State University who studies how people become experts in any field), there are three ways to practice in order to hone your skills and become an expert:

• Naive Practice - which is what most of us do: we put in time at something we like doing, but we never (or not consistently) challenge ourselves to push ourselves beyond our current level of abilities.  
  
  
• Purposeful Practice - In this more advanced mode of practice, you get outside your comfort zone in a focused way. 
  
  A great example of this is Benjamin Franklin who taught himself to write (non-fiction) by reading an essay by a writer he admired, next re-wrote the essay from memory while only looking at his notes, then compared it to the original and found all the places where he could learn from the original writer.
  
  Here are the steps for Purposeful Practice:
  
  
  • You set a goal (for example in writing, it may be to work on broader topics of character and plot, or the details of writing dialogue or scenes if that is where you feel you have a weak spot),
    
    
  • Next, you develop a plan (for example: study the writing craft of dialogue, read great dialogue by writers you admire),
    
    
  • Then put it into practice (for example: write a story that features a lot of dialogue),
    
    
  • And finally get feedback (for example: read your story critically, compare it to your admired writers and “score yourself”, or give it to an online writers' group to critique, or publish it on an online Flash Fiction site where the audience of readers can provide feedback).  
    
    
•  Deliberate Practice - this is the most advanced form of practice. In addition to all the steps in “Purposeful Practice,” you also need an experienced teacher/coach working side by side with you.
  
  In addition, true "Deliberate Practice" is limited to fields where you can objectively determine where you are compared to the “next level” in your journey as a practitioner.
  
  For example in the game of chess, there is an established rating system with ranks from “novice” through “Grandmaster.” Similarly, in martial arts, there is an established ranking and grading system (Kyu and Dan) and an established program for “deliberate practice”  which typically involves studying with a licensed instructor in a formalized training structure.

If you want to learn more about this, read Anders Ericsson’s book “Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise.” 

EXPERIMENT

Since you can write Flash Fiction quickly and without the great investment that is required for the longer forms of fiction, this can be a great way of experimenting with genres, characters, viewpoints, any manner of things that you want to try your hand at. 

A good book (or website) of writing prompts can give you that push to go a little bit outside of your normal comfort zone.

SEED

Flash Fiction can also serve as a seed for longer stories. A good example is Stephen King’s “Carrie” which started as short fiction before he turned it into the novel that launched his career.

In that example, the longer work evolved from the short fiction. But you can also use Flash Fiction to deliberately work on elements of a much longer story that you already have in mind (or are working on). For example, you could choose to write a self-contained Flash Fiction about one of your main characters, or about one of your minor characters that is featured within the overall plot of a longer work. 

Resources

These are some resources for writing (and reading) Flash Fiction:

THE CRAFT OF FLASH FICTION

• The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction: Tips from Editors, Teachers, and Writers in the Field
  
  
• Flash Forward: How to use Flash Fiction to Grow Your Writing Muscles 
  
  
• Going Short: An Invitation to Flash Fiction (Master Class)

INSPIRATION (READ FLASH FICTION)

First, here are links to Flash Fiction stories I have written for this blog. After the end of each story (and also in the list below), you will find a link to a blog post where I share the writing process for the story:

• Getaway (here is the writing process for this story).
  
  
• What Could Be Worse?  (here is the writing process for this story).
  
  
• His Wounds Green (here is the writing process for this story).
  
  
• Kill The Messenger (here is the writing process for this story). 
  
  
• The Monsters (here is the writing process for this story).
  
  
• Like the Skin of a Snake

These are collections of Flash Fiction:

• Sawn-Off Tales (by my definition, these are really microfiction of 150 words or less)
  
  
• Flash Fiction International: Very Short Stories from Around the World 
  
  
• FLASH!: A celebration of short-short fiction
  
  
• Worth 1,000 Words: 101 Flash Fiction Stories by 101 Authors
  
  
• Baby Shoes: 100 Stories by 100 Authors
  
  
• Flash Fiction Magazine - Books 1-3
  
  
• Shallow Waters Vol.1: A Flash Fiction Anthology (A Series of Supernatural Stories)
  
  
• Ernest Hemingway's collected short stories include the following stories that would fit the definition of Flash Fiction:

Old Man at the Bridge

A Very Short Story

Today Is Friday 

Banal Story

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place

God Rest You, Merry Gentlemen

The Sea Change

The Mother of a Queen

One Reader Writes

A Day's Wait

The Good Lion

The Faithful Bull

A Man of the World

Great News from the Mainland

ONLINE FLASH FICTION: READ, PUBLISH, COMPETE

Check out this list of Flash Fiction Online. These websites will give you even more great stories to read, friendly markets to publish your Flash Fiction, and competitions to challenge yourself head-to-head with other writers. 

MY FAVORITE ALL-PURPOSE RESOURCE

The Writer's Treasure Chest - everything in one place, curated, organized, this is a great reference for all things writing craft, with tons of prompts, plot/character generators and other tools to inspire you to write a great flash fiction.

RELATED ARTICLES

Here are some articles that will be helpful as you write that flash fiction story: 

• Write Fiction Faster! — How to Speed Up Your Story Writing 
  
  
• Need a Great Idea for Your Next Story? Try the Story IDEA Formula
  
  
• From Idea to Story: 3 Methods to Develop Your Story Idea 
  
  
• How to Write Characters Who Stick in the Reader's Mind 
  
  
• What Makes a Good Story? — Great Scenes! Here's How to Write Them
  
  
• Make Your Story Sing — Write Great Dialogue!
  
  
• Blast Through Writer's Block: How to Get Unstuck 

FREE COURSE, GUIDE AND WORKBOOK

Do you want to write fiction faster, while practicing your craft and your writing process to consistently get better? Check out this link to the "Write Fiction Faster ... and better" guide and workbook, which comes with a companion course with 23 bite-sized video lessons and 4 worksheets.