Get To The Point: The Art Of Flash Fiction
“If I had more time, I would write a shorter story.” -Mark Twain
And how true it is: the lower the word count, the more daunting the task.
Public speaking isn’t really different. Give me a listener who can’t talk back, and I can rant forever without getting anywhere.
Ask me to get to the point in a sentence or two, and that’s quite a task.
My writing process is much the same.
Of course, in those instances, I blame the characters not myself. As a writer I am merely taking dictation, if these fictional characters feel the need to drone on through use of unnecessarily long sentences and dialogue, take it up with them.
Shorter fiction is not only beautiful, it’s useful. And when a writer can portray a snapshot of a mood, a moment in time, or an idea in very few words — like a flash fiction story — it’s genius.
One of the main benefits of writing shorter fiction is a larger market for your work.
Though the payout isn’t as big in comparison to novel writing, there are many more submission opportunities: flash fiction contests, websites, e-zines, and literary journals. If you don’t get published in one place, simply recycle the story and submit it elsewhere.
It could be argued that novelists focus on quality, while short fiction writers go for quantity. But if your writing is inspired, the results can be just as rewarding.
If you’ve ever thought, “All this effort would be worthwhile if just one person ‘gets’ my work,” then submitting flash fiction may very well be for you. One of the main benefits of writing shorter fiction is the access to modern day readers.
Writers write to get those words out of their head and ‘translated’ into some readable format in hopes of others discovering their work. In all fairness, and to be a bit more realistic, it is important to consider, and accept, who the potential readers in today’s market really are.
Most readers are suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder or just don’t have the free time anymore to commit to reading anything longer than a magazine article, or a blurb just lengthy enough to detail the events that led up to the last public fight between Brad and Angelina and what this may mean for the future of their relationship and the gaggle of children they’ve accrued over their years together.
Writing bite-sized literary snacks, then, is a great way to capture the deficient attention of today’s fiction audience. Shorter fiction can also go ‘viral,’ meaning readers today are more likely to share links to your work on their blogs, Facebook profiles, or emails to friends, pulling even more readers for your work from the Internet ether.
Of course, there is a lot to be said for learning to perfect the skill of saying what you mean in fewer words, and making a more direct, effective impact.
My way of thinking has shifted tremendously in this respect. Taking an idea and expressing it in literary form now takes no more than 2,500 to 3,000 words. On a good day, I can get it down to 700 or 800 words, about the same length as this article.
I will say, this skill alone has helped my social life to a great degree. Instead of rambling on in conversations as was my proclivity, I can now say THE END.
Read flash fiction stories at Bari Ann Kyle’s site. You’ll also find submission guidelines for the next flash fiction contest that’s open to all aspiring and experienced writers.
