Flash Fiction

The benefits of writing flash fiction are many. First, it allows me to experiment with writing styles and subject matter that would be nearly impossible in larger works of fiction, and extremely time consuming in shorter works. Yet with a piece of flash fiction, I can choose to write about something unusual without needing backstory. In the stand-alone piece Tracker, I decided to write about the sense of smell, so I developed a story around this single sense without any explanation as to why the detective is hunting the criminal.

The second advantage of flash fiction is writing in series. I write these “chapters” (for lack of a better word) without any consideration for the plot. I have no idea where the story is going nor do I care as I let the characters take me where they want to go. An example of this is Banano; the first two chapters are about finding Banano and the clown family. Whereas the third chapter (due to be released in a couple of days) is about Banano himself. I hadn’t planned any of this, I simply wrote and the characters decided who would star in the next episode.

Another great advantage is changing POV and narrative voice. In the series Steampunk Stories – Airships One: Dragonfly, I have Captain Samuel Tyler speaking in the first person, but in Steampunk Stories – Airships Three: Sarah Hunter, I have Tyler in the third person. Does this make any sense? Probably not. I would likely be roasted by an editor for doing this, but it allowed me to experiment writing the same person in a completely different way.

But how do I keep the flash fiction organized and timely? This is much easier than it seems because I give myself strict guidelines and I accept the results. I write the rough draft in a day and I allow myself two revisions. After that I publish the work no matter what. What if it’s not good enough? Who cares? It’s the freedom of writing that fuels this output and I think some of these pieces are pretty damned good.