Flash fiction
|
|
Flash fiction, also called sudden fiction, micro fiction, postcard fiction or short-short fiction, is a class of short story of limited word length. Definitions differ but is generally accepted that flash fiction stories are at most 200 to 1000 words in length. Ernest Hemingway (1899 - 1961) wrote a six-word flash: "For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn." Traditional short stories are 2,000 to 10,000 words in length.
Flash fiction differs from vignettes in that the works contain the classic story elements: protagonist, conflict, obstacles or complications and resolution. However, unlike a traditional short story, the limited word length often forces some of these elements to be unwritten, that is, hinted at or implied in the written storyline.
Flash fiction has roots leading back to Aesop's Fables and authors include Anton Chekhov, O Henry, Franz Kafka and Ray Bradbury. The Internet has brought new life to flash fiction with its demands for short, concise works. Ezines are a ready market for flash fiction works, however many print magazines publish them as well.
One type of flash fiction is the short story with an exact word count. An example is 55 Fiction or Nanofiction. These are complete stories, with at least one character and a discernible plot, exactly 55 words long. Another is the Drabble, named after Phil Drabble, exactly 100 words excluding titles. Storybytes.com is a web site and email newsletter with stories whose lengths are powers of 2.
External links
- Acmeshorts (http://www.acmeshorts.com)
- Fiction in a Flash: 55 Fiction (http://www.fictioninaflash.com/55fiction.html)
- Storybytes (http://www.storybytes.com/)
- flashquake: An Online Journal of Flash Literature (http://www.flashquake.org/)
- Who Wears Short Shorts? Micro Stories and MFA Disgust (http://www.storysouth.com/fall2004/shortshorts.html) Essay questioning the rise of flash fiction.
- Indeterminacy: One minute short stories paired with found photos (http://indeterminacy.blogspot.com/)
- Bittersweet Chocolate: 300-word daily flash fiction blog (with RSS, podcast) (http://www.theverylongview.com/)
- Daily Interactive Flash Fiction at Everyauthor.com's Untitled Forum (http://www.everyauthor.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=7)
- Vestal Review magazine (http://www.vestalreview.net)