posted
I've been conscripted into a contest in which I need to write a 112 word flash story. If you have any pointers, I'd appreciate reading them--and if I win, I'll win for my country, myself, and the people of Hatrack!(sorry for the melodrama.)
That's a very sad story--at least for what it conjures up in my mind.
This contest is not timed--other than a due date. The subject matter is open, no key words or anything. The only limit is the word count. Due date is November 15.
Shane
[This message has been edited by Smaug (edited October 15, 2005).]
posted
Here's my opinion, and please note that it's only my opinion based upon the dozens and dozens of flash pieces that I've read that were submitted to Shimmer.
1. Name your characters, especially the main characters.
2. Conflict is your friend; avoid "slice of life" pieces.
3. Avoid writing a first-person narrative. So few of them work well. When they do work, they can be stunning. But... most of them don't work, sadly. And most of them apparently forget to name the narrator. Always sad.
4. Avoid redundacies. Don't repeat anything. If something is covered in the narrative, don't repeat it in dialogue later. And vice versa.
5. Don't skip setting or milieu. It doesn't have to be lenghthy, but the reader needs a very clear idea of where the story is taking place.
6. Write pithy prose. Avoid exposition. Let the characters' motivations be developed through action and dialogue.
7. Avoid back-story and flashbacks. Make everything happen in present time. Very short flash fiction cannot handle flashbacks.
8. Give us a reason to care about your main character. Character development is crucial.
posted
HSO: I think all your tips are wonderful in general, but I've been thinking about this overnight and I don't know that they apply here.
The trouble is, a 112-word story isn't a story. Character, millieu, conflict, plot that goes beyond slice of life...they just don't get done in that many words.
In fact, Beth's example, which is very clever, is not a story, IMHO. There is a lotof meaning in that one line but no beginning, middle, and end, no character, no conflict that is immediately and necessarily apparent. We assume the baby died before it got a chance to wear the shoes, but maybe this was someone trying to get pregnant who never did and finally gave up. That, aside from the more obvious answer that the baby died or came out stillborn. The diverse stories that are associated with what I can only call a trigger keep it from having that "thing" that makes it a story.
Now, I've participated in short short short "story" contests with as little as 69 words as the target, but they end up being a clever play on words, almost more like poetry than anything else. As with Beth's example, they should drum up a powerful image.
In fact, I think if I had any advice to give, that's what it would be...find a way to evoke a powerful image that lets the reader fill in the story for themselves.
posted
Yep, that's too short to be a story, but it might be long enough to evoke an emotional response. I'd go for that approach.
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posted
Flash stories are very short stories. Some say 1000 words or less, some say 500 or less. Depending on who you talk to. Micro-fiction is a sub-category of flash (I suspect) and depending on who you talk to can either be 250 words or less, 100 words or less, 55 words or less, or somewhere in between all of those. As to why someone would want to write them, there's a huge market for them. It's also a challenge to see whether or not you can cut away enough fat from your prose to tell a complete story (beginning, middle, and end, as has been described previously in this thread)in very few words. Frankly, I got dragged into writing flash about a year ago, and now I'm having trouble writing longer stuff. Also, I'm a columnist/editor for an e-zine called The Muse Marquee, and the head editor of said e-zine is making all her columnists/editors submit in this contest, with the readers as judges. Mostly, I'm not writing much of anything at the moment--only doing a major edit of my novel.
posted
Eric James Stone has a couple of very short stories that he passes around on the back of his business cards. The one I remember was about genie wishes gone bad. Very funny and pretty darn close to a complete story--far less than 112 words.
Anyway, one other thing to add to HSO's list (especially for a story THAT short-- Concentrate on a MAXIMUM of two characters. Period. One is better. The longer the story the more characters it can support. Concentrate on a single simple point of conflict. One that doesn't require a bunch of complicated background. For a story THAT short, avoid fantasy worlds. You really don't have time to 'build' a world or explain rules of magic, etc. In a story like this, cliched phrases are bad, but familiar situations are your friend. Like in the very short story I mentioned of Eric's--he depended on the average reader's knowledge of genies to fill in the bulk of his background information. That way he didn't have to write that information into the story.
Good luck. And is it a contest you'd be willing to share with the rest of us?
quote:And is it a contest you'd be willing to share with the rest of us?
As far as letting you read the entries, I think I can arrange that. As I mentioned above, it's a contest among the columnists/editors of The Muse Marquee, so I'm not at liberty to allow others to enter. The Muse Marquee is a fledgling subscription e-zine on all aspects of writing, but the chief editor, Lea Schizas, is allowing us to point to our articles and let folks read them so that readers can get some idea of whether or not it's worth their money to purchase the compilation of tips etc. that are part of this e-zine. Her way of advertising, but at the same time giving something away for free.
Anyway, I'm not sure what you meant by sharing the contest--but I can probably figure out a way that you can at least read the entries, if you're interested. They're going to be from all genres--not limited to SF or fantasy.
posted
Thanks. Sounds interesting. Maybe I'll give it a shot. I think I'm normally geared toward writing longer stuff though - lots of characters, plot twists, and whatnot. Still, sounds cool.
What kind of market is there? I mean, how much could you make?
posted
Before I read the trigger, I wrote down two male and two female names.
90 minutes doesnt really give me time to give the characters literarilly significant names. But having the names chosen ahead of times saves me a few minutes.
I then read the trigger and thought for 5-10 minutes, still not writing anything. Your time is limited but a rushed beginning can lead you to nowhere fast.
You are looking for a simple single conflict to resolve, if you can add in a sub plot or two in flash fiction, you have my hat off to you.
quote:What kind of market is there? I mean, how much could you make?
That's a good question. Try going to the market listings at this site and I think there's a post or two on where to publish flash. I say that, because so far, I've made five bucks!!! So I'm not really the person to ask. My advice is to write what works for you then find a market for it.
The genie story is actually 133 words, so it's longer than Smaug's limit. I'm using a very small font to get it on the back of a business card.
quote:In a story like this, cliched phrases are bad, but familiar situations are your friend.
I'll second that. You need to rely on the reader to fill in the backstory, so using what readers are already familiar with saves you a lot of words.
With flash fiction, I think you need to forget about adhering to the beginning-middle-end structure and focus on the absolute basics of a satisfying story: a person taking action to resolve a problem.
You can imply a beginning and middle, and just give us the end. You can imply the end (and even the middle) and just give us the beginning. You can imply the beginning and end, and just give us the middle.
But unless you give us a person attempting to solve a problem, then it won't really work as a story.
posted
I've been mentioning this one a lot lately, but if you get the chance, try e-mailing Edmund and ask about his deal with the devil story. As I recall, the limit he was working with on that one was 65 words.
The beginning and ending were implied, but the story feels absolutely complete.
posted
How did they come up with 112? Where did the twelve come from.
Pick a single goal for your character. The story will answer the question "Does your character achieve his/her goal?" You've got four answers; yes, no, yes-but, no-and. The last two keep the story going and the first two end the story.
For example:
quote:The weight of death pulled the lines from John's face, making him look years younger. All that remained for Melissa was to close her husband's casket. She nodded to the undertaker; it was time.
The man raised his eyebrows and smiled.
Was he going to make her say it? Melissa swallowed. "Could you close the casket, please."
"Of course." With a narrow hand, he pulled on the lid. It stayed upright. Grimacing, he yanked and with a pop, the lid slammed, bouncing against the casket. John's head rolled to the side, as if he were waking.
And then the lid was closed. Melissa put her hand to her throat. It was done.
The goal: Close the casket. Will Melissa close the casket. No, and the undertaker is not paying attention. She asks him to close the lid. Does he? Yes, but the undertaker has trouble with the lid. Does it close? Yes, but it bounces showing her husband move. After it bounces, is it closed? Yes. Story is finished.
I could have kept repeating that structure and in this scenario turned out a speedy little farce. The smaller the wordcount, the smaller your goal needs to be.
[This message has been edited by MaryRobinette (edited October 18, 2005).]
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