I don't typically write flash fiction, but every now and then I bang out 1,000 words or less that could stand on it's own. More often than not I go back to those pieces and keep writing. And that works too. So, how do you guys decide if a piece should be flash fiction or if you should keep going? A lot of the literary journals say they take flash fiction, according to their duotrope pages, but when I read these publications I don't often come across flash fiction. I think flash could be a harder sell, maybe. I'm finding myself at this crossroad with my current story. I've got 997 words, and it does feel complete, but if I even tinker with it a little I will probably be over the limit for flash. I would love to hear what some of you do when it comes to really short works and the possibility of expanding them or keeping them really short.
Flash or full-length story?
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Personally, I'd leave the story at the length that felt right. There are markets for every word count.
On the other hand, if you think your story is perfect for a market except that it's a little bit too short, I could see looking at the story again and seeing if there's anywhere you could add some depth and development.
Okay, that's not much of an answer. It really does depend on you and the story itself.
On the other hand, if you think your story is perfect for a market except that it's a little bit too short, I could see looking at the story again and seeing if there's anywhere you could add some depth and development.
Okay, that's not much of an answer. It really does depend on you and the story itself.
I think flash is one of the hardest things to write. Most journals LOVE flash fiction stories because they can print more stories while holding to whatever page limits they have (for cost reasons), but it's hard for something to feel complete in such a short format. Most flash tends to feel like either the beginning of something interesting, suddenly cut off, or else like a homily, too cutely contained. If you feel like it is completely, keep it like that, because ideally a story should only ever be as long as it takes to tell the whole thing right.
+1 to blacbird. I tried both ways with a science fiction story only to realize it needed a novel....and the word counts were 6000 and 1500 words respectively.
My flash pieces have all been things that started out as short story ideas and then just took less than 1000 words to tell. Generally, I think if it can be a flash fiction piece instead of a short story then it should be because otherwise it means padding until you reach the 1500 word mark.
It grew to 4,000 words and is a much better story.Sometimes I have something short enough to be flash, and it feels like I have written the beginning of something. I spent some time training myself to write stories between 3,000 and 5,000 words. Now it is kind of my comfort zone. I bet everyone has a comfort zone that works best for them.
I guess I did write both versions, and the longer one is just a better story. Or maybe it's more of a story. The flash attempt was a really good setup. For me, personally, I think I was just being lazy and wanted it to be done sooner than it was. That's not to say flash is lazy or anything like that. It can be quite difficult to write short like that. For me, I find writing flash easier if I have a writing prompt, but I hate writing prompts for anything longer.
There is a reading series by me that showcases flash fiction and poetry and puts out a print issue of the best that year from the readings. I did read a flash piece for that, and it was published in an issue. But that's not a credit really because most people haven't heard about it outside my city. I think I did a really good job with that piece of flash, but haven't been able to write something as short that is equally as good since then. And when I wrote that piece it was based off a prompt, but I don't think you would ever know that by just reading it.
I guess I did write both versions, and the longer one is just a better story. Or maybe it's more of a story. The flash attempt was a really good setup. For me, personally, I think I was just being lazy and wanted it to be done sooner than it was. That's not to say flash is lazy or anything like that. It can be quite difficult to write short like that. For me, I find writing flash easier if I have a writing prompt, but I hate writing prompts for anything longer.
There is a reading series by me that showcases flash fiction and poetry and puts out a print issue of the best that year from the readings. I did read a flash piece for that, and it was published in an issue. But that's not a credit really because most people haven't heard about it outside my city. I think I did a really good job with that piece of flash, but haven't been able to write something as short that is equally as good since then. And when I wrote that piece it was based off a prompt, but I don't think you would ever know that by just reading it.
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