Flash Fiction Online: Read, Publish, Compete

Reading Flash Fiction is fun, and also a great way to get inspired.

Writing Flash Fiction can also be a great way to supercharge your writing. 

Here I have compiled a curated shortlist of good online flash fiction websites (plus a link to a very impressive curated list of contests.) These websites will give you great stories to read, friendly markets to publish your flash fiction, and competitions to challenge yourself head-to-head with other writers. 

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 Magazines Online

• 3:AM Magazine - experimental fiction under 2,500 words (i.e. flash fiction + short stories) 
  
  
• Arcanist - fantasy, sci-fi, and horror flash fiction, max 1,000 words
  
  
• Daily Science Fiction - sci-fi and fantasy stories less than 1,500 words
  
  
• Dark Dispatch - dark fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and crime
   
• Every Day Fiction - categorized stories (hour, horror, sci-fi, literary, etc.)
  
  
• Flash Fiction Magazine - publish a flash fiction story daily 
  
  
• Flash Fiction Online - publish an annual anthology in addition to the online content
  
  
• Flash Point SF - science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, and everything in between, less than 1,000 words
  
  
• Molotov Cocktail - volatile flash fiction, the kind of prose you cook up in a bathtub and handle with rubber gloves
  
  
• SmokeLong - stories under 1,000 word
  
  

Flash Fiction Competitions and Challenges

• Fiction Southeast Ernest Hemingway Short Fiction Prize - 1,500 words or less, $10 entry fee, $200 first prize, publication in Fiction Southeast for the finalists.
  
  
• FlashNano - Can you write 30 flash fiction stories in 30 days?
  
  
• Jellyfish Review - monthly "submissions call" on a theme, no entry fee, $100 for their favorite submission, $25 for all others selected to be published in their monthly issue. 
   
• Lascaux Prize in Flash Fiction - 1,000 words or less, $15 entry fee, $1,000 first prize (plus a bronze medallion!), $100 prize for finalists, published in online and print editions of The Lascaux Review. 
  
  
• HUGE List of Flash Fiction Contests -- this curated list by Reedsy is amazing, and they keep it updated. It will take some sifting to find the ones that appeal to you. Happy hunting!

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).

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

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!
  
  
• Flash Fiction: How To Use It To Supercharge Your Writing 
  
  
• 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.