## Metadata - Author: [[Lisa Elis]] - Full Title: On writing flash fiction - Category: #articles - Document Tags: [[Misc./Funny/Writing]] - Summary: tips on how to write short and punchy - URL: https://medium.com/@lis_ellie/on-writing-flash-fiction-bcd0a6996f81 ## Full Document Photo by [Farzad Mohamadi](https://unsplash.com/@farzadmohamadi?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText) on [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText) Flash fiction has risen in popularity in the past forty years, and these days, there are many publications dedicated solely to publishing such micro-stories. I cannot remember how I started writing these short-shorts, but I’ve been doing it on and off for several years, and even more so since I started working at Havok. In honor of the upcoming release of [Havok’s season five flash fiction anthology](https://gohavok.com/2021/08/29/season-five-prismatic-anthology-winners/), and my little mermaid retelling that will appear in it, I started thinking jotting down some tips that have helped me in penning flash fiction. #### The piece is a snapshot. One cannot tell a long and epic tale in flash fiction. This is not to say flash fiction cannot be epic, but its scope cannot be the same as that of a 5,000-word story and certainly not that of a novel. Especially not when writing *genre fiction*, as Havok authors do. Fantasy, sci-fi, and mystery often tend to involve complex world-building or plotting, but it’s hard to do that in under 1,000 words while still telling the story. So don’t try to craft it like a longer story that has space for that. Flash fiction is often a snapshot of a larger work of imagination, a moment in time, a day in the life, the beginning of an adventure, or perhaps the end. It’s like one episode of a series, one chapter in a book. My editor calls it a “story starter”—where you don’t try to tie up all the loose ends or complete a character arc, but where you introduce, share a glimpse, or surprise. #### The piece is a complete story, nonetheless. But just because you cannot write a story with the scope of a novel doesn’t mean flash fiction isn’t meant to encompass all the elements of a story and be full in itself. It isn’t a vignette. The story must have a beginning, a middle, and an end. The character must grow, but this growth is usually not the same sort of arc one finds in a book—rather, it’s more of a small step, one decision, a realization, a moment of truth. Especially for genre fiction, the piece must feel complete. The character encounters a problem; they have conflict; they find a resolution. #### Write your first draft short, rather than long. Flash fiction needs to be under 1,000 words, and it can be a great pain to cut down words in the editing stage. Once the words are down, they start feeling more essential to the story than they are. It is far easier to add to one’s word count than to cut (especially if you’re over a few hundred words). There have been countless times my story has been around 1,200 words and I’ve had to stress for hours trying to trim it down to 999. So when you begin drafting, consciously try to write it shorter and more concisely than you normally would. #### Know how it ends. Plotters will probably have outlined the whole story before they begin writing, but as a pantser I never plan anything for my flash fiction. I just run with whatever ideas I have. However, something that helps me immensely in wrapping up the story within four pages is knowing how it ends. With that in mind, I can bring the story to a close quickly, rather than dragging it out. This can also help you write the character arc and the conflict in quick, swift strokes. The better you know the story’s end, the quicker you can close it, because flash fiction is all about speed. #### Don’t start too early. A very common mistake that adds unnecessary length to flash fiction is writing too long a beginning. Because flash fiction is meant to be one quick punch, it’s better to start the story as late as possible, rather than having a long introduction. If the plot is about a character on a quest, don’t begin the story when the character is preparing or leaving. Have him already on the road. If your plot is about a character in a fight, start the story in the middle of a fight, rather than with how it began. It brings suddenness and action to the story. #### Simplify verbs and descriptions. Descriptions can be redundant, so use a minimal amount of words. I often fall into the trap of writing, “She was speaking” instead of “she spoke”, or “she began running” instead of “she ran”. Simplifying verbs and action descriptions can go a long way to shortening a story. Editors often ask me to add “action beats” as well, especially between dialogue paragraphs. When it comes to flash fiction, too much description tends to bog down the pacing. Including little moments of action help the plot flow faster and readers see the story more clearly. #### Be sudden, be surprising. The appeal of flash fiction is how quick it is, how sudden, how much of a punch the author packs into its shortness. Susan Tiberghien emphasizes the “surprising” nature of flash fiction in [*One Year to a Writing Life*](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2123941.One_Year_to_a_Writing_Life). > “The short story has to do with a sudden crisis…” > > “It contains all the elements of the short story plus the element of surprise. Everything depends upon its intensity.” > > In a nutshell, use plot twists and surprise endings. That makes the story memorable—like a bird swooping in suddenly to catch its prey.