Short story/flash fiction outlines?

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kendallina

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I'm someone who works best with an outline for longer works, but have been writing short stories/flash pieces 'on the fly'. Keep in mind, these are very short stories, generally around 1000 words. Reading back on them, however, they're a very rough draft and maybe would have been better if I spent the time outlining or even doing a little character exploration first.

So, how do you write your short pieces? Do you outline first or just go with what's in your head?
 

ravenmuse

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Generally, I don't outline flash fiction. I go on an impression or a character, and see where that leads me. But, I am not necessarily the good example...
 

J.W. Alden

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Flash fiction I almost never outline. Short stories I outline sometimes, depending on the story itself. One of the reasons I started writing shorts to begin with was to experiment and play around with different approaches and see what I like best. It's been a complete failure in that regard though, as I seem to like both methods equally (though I've fallen in love with the short form). :tongue
 

Anninyn

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I only ever do sketchy outlines for novels. I never outline flash. Short stories, I jot down the core of the idea and than the 5 questions

It would end up looking like this:

Haunted house in post-apocalyptic world
- Who: MC = scavenger for small comm.
- When: Post apocalypse. 60 years post? over a period of three/four days.
- what: Ghosts of the pre-apoc dead. At least one ghost who died there as result of apoc.
- Why: Build up of fear and pain - psychic residue. MC trapped in house after staying there for night.
- How: Standard haunting stuff, doors that lock selves, clock that keeps chiming specific time, bad dreams.
 

feath

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I don't outline flash or short stores, cause I can hold it all in my head. When it gets past the point I can hold it in my head, it always becomes novella or novel size.
 

Charles Farley

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No time . . . . One main character, one scene, single plot, one conflict, start as close to the end as possible with as little back story as possible . . . every word counts . . don't waste them . . . done.

Or something like that . . .
 

defcon6000

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I've outlined a couple stories, but that's because they were longer and needed more time to develop; I just wanted to get the gist down. Otherwise, no. The plots are simple enough to keep in my head... although there might be some leakage. :tongue
 

squeaky pram

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I don't outline for two reasons. One, I never know where the story is going until I've written it. I "write into the dark", as they say. Two, I'm crap at outlines, even in my scholarship. I hate and shun them.

What I do do [insert a ten-year-old tittering: "doo-doo!"] is take inventories at various points in the process. I write down elements that I think may be important or may be blind alleys.... whatever is there at the time. It's just a little-something concrete that I can muse over and refer back to. I suppose that makes me a list-maker. Love them lists!
 

Buffysquirrel

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I never outline. But you should do what works for you, not what works for me.
 
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