Flash in April

A late post about some good news:  This month, independent publisher, Reflex Fiction, featured my flash fiction story, D+C. It’s very short, less than 350 words. But I really enjoyed the challenge of compressing a powerful story into this micro-fiction format. 

Until a few years ago, I’d never heard of the term flash fiction but I’ve since become a big fan of the format.   It forces the writer to lean towards the elegance of poetry, distilling the essence into a few chosen words.  It’s difficult to do but thrilling when it works.  

Perhaps, the most famous example of flash fiction is the six-word story, apocryphally attributed to Ernest Hemingway: 

For Sale, Baby Shoes, Never Worn

Quoteinvestigator.com is not so sure Hemingway was, in fact, the author but I’ll leave that for others to run down.   It still stands, nonetheless, as a devastating story told in just six words.  

If you’re interested in reading more, Reflex Fiction posts a new flash fiction story every day. Also, Flash in the Pan from Berlin’s Fiction Kitchen, where I first started writing in earnest, is a great source of new flash fiction.

I’m now focusing on longer works with more characters and bigger plots.  I’m trying to gain some creative writing muscle.   Hopefully, I’ll have something to show for my next post.