What the Heck is Flash Fiction?
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Have you read this before? If so, you’re likely much more familiar with flash fiction than when I first ventured across the genre earlier this year. If not, these six words represent flash fiction, or more specifically, one type of it — a six-word story. I highlight this story because it’s long been associated, erroneously, with Ernest Hemingway, among others. If you’re interested in a bit of literary history, read here for more: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/hemingway-baby-shoes/).
Back to the question, what is flash fiction?
Although known by many names, such as short shorts, nano tales, micro-stories, postcard fiction, or napkin fiction (this last one is associated with the false Ernest Hemingway anecdote and how he wrote his alleged six-word story on a napkin while drinking at a bar to win a bet), flash fiction is really just a short story stripped down to its bare elements. No matter the type, though, the range of words is from as little as five to as many as 2000. I prefer tapping out at 1,500. Any of my stories that run longer are thrown into the short story basket and similarly developed.
Although flash fiction stories still contain plot and characters, their focus arguably is on movement. I prefer to use the words — impact and revelation. When you have so few words to choose from to convey a complete story, word choice comes at a premium. You literally have almost no space to concern yourself with development and arcs. Your momentum from the hook to the conflict and then to the resolution (or twist) must move quickly. But how do you do that? By choosing more precise words that leave the most impact and/or biggest revelation.
If you are wondering how to write flash fiction, let’s first organize the categories of flash fiction based on word count. Depending on who you speak with, there are usually five or six categories. I prefer to use the following five, smallest to largest:
1. Six-word story — Technically, any single-digit word story can count as its own category
2. Dribble — Single-digit word count to a max of 50 words
3. Drabble — 50 to a max of 100 words
4. Sudden Fiction — 100 to a max of 750 words
5. Flash Fiction — 750 to a max of 1500 or 2000 words (depending on your preference)
For those curious to know the sixth category, here it is:
1. Twitterature — Max of 280 words.
As you can tell from this final category, the modern world continues to evolve even this obscure literary genre. For example, a dribble is sometimes referred to as a ‘mini-saga,’ and a drabble is sometimes referred to as ‘micro fiction’ even though many people refer to any flash fiction with 750 words or less as micro fiction.
Now, is it essential to define your flash fiction by word count? Absolutely not. As we move into our final topic, writing flash fiction, it is likely best to consider the following three key features of any type, no matter the word count:
1. Brevity — By now, this feature should be clear! You must get your story across in fewer words.
2. An Entire Plot — Despite not focusing on plot and character, flash fiction is still a story. It must contain a beginning, middle, and end. Admittedly, the idea of a complete plot may become blurred when you significantly cut the word count. I mean — six words!!
3. A Revelation — While not becoming a gimmick, flash fiction will often throw a twist or an unexpected last line. The sincere intention is to make the reader revisit the story in a new way.
Now that we have our three key features in mind let’s look ahead to tips to consider when we write flash fiction…
If you are interested in reading the rest of this blog, please visit my website, Michael R Kiel Fictions. Link in bio.
