Flash fiction: the fast writing form
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Flash fiction is a relatively new form of creative writing, one that's perfect for our low-attention-span society. It can be written and read quickly, although ideally, it should be more than the sum of its carefully chosen words. It often draws on familiar references and cultural memory to bring more to the story than what's actually said. Flash fiction is intense fiction, with lots of meaning packed into a handful of characters.
I love flash fiction because of its brevity: as someone who can be intimidated by huge projects, I love a writing form where an entire work can be written in one or two sittings. And I appreciate the way the form can be combined with new communication tools like Twitter to inject little bits of fiction into our everyday lives.
Many authors use Twitter to dispense their fiction, and while long stories or even novels have been shared one tweet at a time, it didn't take long for writers of flash fiction to embrace Twitter as the perfect vehicle for their work. A few of my favorite twit-fiction streams are linked below, along with current publishers of flash fiction (UPDATED with new publications, 12/12/11). If you know of other good ones, please share them in the comments!
I love flash fiction because of its brevity: as someone who can be intimidated by huge projects, I love a writing form where an entire work can be written in one or two sittings. And I appreciate the way the form can be combined with new communication tools like Twitter to inject little bits of fiction into our everyday lives.
Many authors use Twitter to dispense their fiction, and while long stories or even novels have been shared one tweet at a time, it didn't take long for writers of flash fiction to embrace Twitter as the perfect vehicle for their work. A few of my favorite twit-fiction streams are linked below, along with current publishers of flash fiction (UPDATED with new publications, 12/12/11). If you know of other good ones, please share them in the comments!
Contents at a Glance
Twitter fiction from VeryShortStory
Twitter fiction from Twitfics
Twitter fiction from Nanoism
Nanoism is open to submissions! See http://nanoism.net/submit/ for submission guidelines.
Writing prompts
Read to try writing flash fiction yourself? Here's a few story prompts to inspire you!- Use the following words in a story: water, rough, distant.
- You open a dusty box. Write a story about what you find inside.
- Write a story involving a broken object that has been repaired in some obvious way (that is, the damage and the means of repair - scotch tape, rubber bands, superglue, rubber cement, or similar - are still visible) but is still being used.
- You're walking down a familiar hallway. At the end of the hallway is a door which is normally locked. You've never been beyond the door and have no idea what might be there. You see that the door is ajar. You open it. What happens?
- Use the following line in a story: "Even before I opened the letter, I knew what it was going to say." (from Writer's Digest.com)
- Write down the first word (or name) that comes to mind when you think each of the following letters: P L M E A. Write a scene or story that uses all five of the words/names you chose.
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Publishers of very short fiction
This collection is by no means complete, but I plan to keep adding to the list as time allows. Publishers are listed according to the submission length they accept (shortest to longest). Links go to the submission guidelines for each publication. (NOTE: some publications do not accept submissions during summer months.)
You can also search the database at Duotrope for other venues.
You can also search the database at Duotrope for other venues.
- Nanoism
- Publishes Twitter-length fiction (under 140 characters).
- PicFic
- Publishes Twitter-length fiction (under 140 characters).
- escarp
- Publishes Twitter-length poetry and fiction (under 140 characters)..
- trapeze magazine
- Publishes Twitter-length fiction (under 140 characters): Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror.
- Seedpod Publishing
- Accepts both Twitter-length stories and longer fiction.
- Blink|Ink
- Accepts short fiction, around 50 words approximately, for quarterly print issues.
- Leodegraunce
- Accepts flash fiction of up to 200 words.
- Postcard Shorts
- Accepts stories of roughly 250 words for its online anthology.
- NANO Fiction
- Publishes flash fiction, prose poems, and micro essays of 300 words or fewer.
- Quick Fiction
- Accepts stories under 500 words. Has both print and online journals.
- Vestal Review
- Accepts stories under 500 words. Prints two issues annually. Also publishes stories online.
- Brain Harvest
- Accepts speculative fiction stories of 100 - 750 words for its online magazine.
- Metazen
- An online magazine that publishes short fiction and poetry. Metazen is a flytrap for metafiction, existentialism and absurdism.
- Every Day Fiction
- Accepts stories under 1000 words for its online magazine. Also prints an annual anthology.
- The Flash Fiction Offensive
- Accepts stories under 1000 words for its online magazine.
- SmokeLong Quarterly
- Publishes flash fiction up to 1000 words for its online magazine.
- Bacopa Literary Review
- Accepts short literary fiction (up to 1,000 words) and longer stories (up to 3,300 words) for its print annual. Submission period for the 2012 annual is June 1 - August 31, not including contest entries (open September 1 - November 30).
- Scribble
- Accepts stories under 3000 words for its print magazine.
- The Los Angeles Review
- Accepts short (up to 500 words) and longer (up to 4000 words) fiction for their print magazine.
- Shimmer
- Accepts unusual and beautifully-written speculative fiction stories of under 5000 words for their print magazine.
Creative writing guides
No genre too long
I started reading science fiction and fantasy in college and started writing it then as well. My love of science fiction (at least in written form) has waned over the years, but I still remain a lover of fantasy and its offshoots, urban fantasy and (to a lesser extent) supernatural romance. When I started writing fantasy, I was almost instantly frustrated, because the stories I wanted to tell always seemed larger than my ability to tell them; even when I tried to write short stories, I almost always felt like I needed a larger format to do them justice. But writing a novel scared me; it was too big, bigger than I thought I could manage.Oddly, though, somehow I found that I could tell a fantasy story with flash fiction. The scope of the story had to be fairly narrow, but I could do it, and I wrote a handful of flash fiction stories that I'm proud of (even if I only did manage to get one of them published). I still haven't tried the challenging realm of Twitter fiction, though. The 140 character limit means you have a sentence, maybe two, to communicate the story. I'm not ready for storytelling that short, but the authors here prove that it can be done and done well. Are you up for the challenge of twit-fiction? Talk back and let me know if you're pursuing this trend in your own work.
Discuss creative writing or say hi
submit
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Nonersays
Jan 28, 2012 @ 9:34 pm | delete
- About 100 words is as short as I can get, and even then it takes A LOT of editing down.
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purplecone
Jan 27, 2012 @ 2:06 pm | delete
- I enjoy reading and writing flash fiction. Great lens!
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jadehorseshoe
Jan 27, 2012 @ 1:36 am | delete
- Color Me Inspired.
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cffutah
Jan 23, 2012 @ 7:49 pm | delete
- nice easy reading I've done here, thank you for sharing.
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kathysart
Jan 21, 2012 @ 1:16 pm | delete
- I write poetry.. sometimes it is good and sometimes not, it depends on how much I allow myself to enter that unsaid world and really feel it. Angel blessed lens.
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DANCINGCOWGIRLDESIGN
Jan 20, 2012 @ 6:04 am | delete
- This sounds very interesting. Haven't heard of this type of writing before. Just barely can make it through a lens. ha ha ha
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Lifeboost
Jan 19, 2012 @ 4:55 am | delete
- What a fabulously interesting topic! I hadn't heard of flash fiction before - really fascinating, and I'm going to have to give it a go! Love the writing prompts you give here as well :) Blessed. :)
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kitty222
Dec 18, 2011 @ 12:13 am | delete
- Interesting -- The few fiction projects I've come up with tend to become multi-story sagas that I can't quite seem to get finished. I get one main story going, and then there's the backstory and a few future stories. Flash fiction isn't for me but, if you're into it and want an extra challenge, try writing a story that is exactly 100 words long. I hear it's fun.
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lravidlearner
Dec 10, 2011 @ 3:58 pm | delete
- You have some useful links for writers of flash fiction. Certainly the best form of creative writing for today's short-attention span readers.
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CruiseReady
Dec 7, 2011 @ 5:38 pm | delete
- Flash fiction sounds quite interesting. I think it would be fun to read, and then maybe try writing some.
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