Flash Fiction Chronicles

by Jim Harrington

Critique Groups

• FanStory
• Scribophile

Flash Fiction 101

• Camille Renshaw’s The Essentials of Micro-Fiction
• Randall Brown’s Eleven Essentials of Writing Great Flash Fiction

The Craft

• Raymond Carver’s Principles of a Story

Flash Markets

• 50-Word Stories (exactly 50, M-F)
• An Electric Tragedy ($, 1,000, monthly)
• Stanley The Whale ($, 1,000, monthly)
• Bosley Gravel’s Cavalcade of Terror ($, 1,000, varies)

Publishing and Promotion

• Six Questions For. . .

Writing Books (new category)

• Creating Short Fiction by Damon Knight
• Immediate Fiction by Jerry Cleaver
• On Writing by Stephen King
• Ron Carlson Writes a Story by Ron Carlson
• Story by Robert McKee
• The Art of Writing Fiction by John Gardner
• The Rose Metal Press Guide to Writing Flash Fiction edited by Tara L. Masih
• The Writer’s Diet by Helen Sword
• This Won’t Take But a Minute, Honey by Steve Almond
• Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

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Jim Harrington discovered flash fiction in 2007, and he’s read, written, studied, and agonized over the form since. His Six Questions For. . . blog provides editors and publishers a place to “tell it like it is.” He’s also the Markets Editor for Flash Fiction Chronicles’ Flash Markets Page. He can be contacted at jpharrin [at] gmail [dot] com.

This Sunday, the staff of Flash Fiction Chronicles has picked at least two stories each which they deem as “read immediately” pieces of work.  Here they are:

Erin Kelly

ABOUT THINGS THAT ARE LOST AND THE PLACES THAT THINGS GET LOST
 

by Andrea Kneeland

Erin says:  One of my favorites. I had no idea where the story was going, but I wanted to know with each passing sentence. That is the mark of a great writer.

NIGHTTIME PENGUINS

by Jen Genn

Erin says:  Great satire and great writing, all in a quick fix — who could ask for anything more?

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Jim Harrington

THE BET

by Anton Chekhov

Jim says: Testosterone two, man zero

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Dennis Vanvick

WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT LOVE*

by Raymond Carver

Dennis says:  Two couples try to find love at the bottom of a bottle of gin. They don’t. Or do they?   Maybe the old couple defines love. You decide. Great gin dialog.

THE CHRYSANTHEMUMS

by John Steinbeck

Dennis says:  Another cautionary tale about trusting the male gender. Subtle. Poignant.

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Gay Degani

THE HARVEST**

by Amy Hempel

Gay says: This is longer than flash, but when I first started writing stories shorter than 7000 words, I found this piece from Amy Hempel a revelation.  I recommend it to anyone interested in learning how to make every word count.  ”Aren’t we all, I thought, somebody’s harvest?”

XARLES,  XAVIER, XENOS

by Matt Bell

Gay says: This piece is so devastating, so poetic, there’s no way I couldn’t love it.

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*Not available on line.

**Longer than flash but perfect.

by Rumjhum Biswas

Anuradha Kumar is a two time Commonwealth Short Story prize winner in the special awards category, in 2004 and 2010. That is just one part of her. An MBA from India’s prestigious XLRI institute, she also holds a masters in history, her favourite subject. She used to be a management consultant and has been an editorial consultant for the iconic children’s magazine Amar Chitra Katha. She worked as senior editor for Economics and Political Weekly, Bombay, assistant editor at The Book Review, Delhi, and continues to be involved in curriculum development for English Learning Programme, Idiscoveri.

Despite her many activities, including being mom to the very active toddler Devyani, she has written two novels for adults - Letters for Paul, 2006 Mapinlit and The Dollmakers’ Island, 2010,  Gyaana Books, which was adapted for theatre and staged on September 26, 2010, and her third ‘It takes a murder’ is forthcoming from Hachette India in 2012. She has also written six books for children, five of which were published by Puffin Books, Penguin India, and one from Hatchette, India. Two more are forthcoming from Puffin and Ponytale Books respectively.

Anuradha has a book of short fiction to her credit as well, from Writers’ Workshop, India, and a nonfiction book as part of Indian Business History Series from Penguin, India. Apart from the CBA awards, she has also won awards, accolades in India and fellowships, including a writing workshop at the Sarah Lawrence College, New York; she has also been frequently published  in India’s leading newspapers.

To be honest, a full bio on Anuradha Kumar would be an article by itself. I have just touched upon the salient points! Soft spoken and modest to a fault, her in-depth knowledge on just about anything takes a while to sink in. For Flash Fiction Chronicles I wanted to do an interview specifically related to Flash Fiction, a form that Anuradha confesses she does not necessarily read or write too much, despite winning two awards!

Rumjhum Biswas: You have written five books for adults and also won awards in the prestigious CBA short story prizes competition twice. The CBA awards is for a 600 word limit story to be read on radio, definitely flash fiction length. Can you tell us a bit about your flash fiction writing process?

Anuradha Kumar: All stories Iwant to write to begins with an image – someone saying something or just a visual that stays imprinted in the mind. And then I hope to develop them. Sometimes a story can tell itself in just 600 words, and both the stories I submitted – 2004, 2010 – did just that. So in 2004, the riots in Gujarat were just a few months old, and somehow I thought of this lone couple, and their lost son. and the story wrote itself. The story about the phone, has been replicated so many times in Indian villages and small towns that it was a familiar subject to write about. I could see the empty telephone booth so clearly, must have seen so many of them while travelling down highways and empty roads leading nowhere. Also, the trick, the bit   of flash fiction I’ve read is to convey almost an entire world  in a short word span. It’s difficult but it teaches you a lot of writing too.

RB: What are the difficulties and advantages you face as a writer when’switching from long story or novel length to flash?

AK: Every format is a challenge. A novel gives you more scope but the shorter format teaches you discipline. And I try and alter between the two. That is how I taught myself.

RB: When do you normally write flash fiction, when you want a break from your longer works?

AK: Yes, a break, and then as a challenge. When I am between assignments or find editing a novel (that’s already written) suddenly draining, I try my hand at this.  It’s fun!

RB: Do you carry a scribbling pad with you for flash (and also poetry)?

AK: No, no. I should. But of late, I just save text messages to myself on my cell!

RB: What is your favorite time and place for writing?

AK: I write best early in the morning. In fact, have done this since I had a more regular job at a magazine. It taught me discipline. I write every day, come what way. I get cranky and sad if I don’t, as if I’ve wasted the whole day. I write at a corner table, it helps me keep an eye on things too, especially on my daughter when she’s home playing.

RB: Which writers inspire you? If you have any short story writers in mind, even better.

AK: Too many actually. Alice Munro, Carol Shields, Anton Chekhov, then the east Europeanmasters – Ivan Klima, and Ismael Kadare. Hindi writers like Nirmal Verma, and Shivani. Manto (in translation), then of late Ha Jin, and enjoyed Nam Le’s the Boat very much.

RB: Do you have any favourite flash fiction piece or writer in mind?

AK: Some time ago, i read these pieces by Dave Eggers here in the Guardian. I’ve read short short stories by Chekhov, Kafka etc, but frankly, I havn’t read much flash fiction by design. I’ve come across them randomly on some webzines and some of the CBA stories (initially I read these to get an idea). and these have been pleasurable experiences. The Eggers pieces are here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/series/shortshortstories I thought they were impressionistic pieces, more than something that told a story.

RB: What do you consider a great piece of flash fiction?

AK: I think they are really difficult to write. For these should resonate long after you’ve read them and that may be difficult with 250-300 words even.  But I love Bradbury’s short short fiction really.

RB: Do you have any advice for aspiring writers (of flash fiction)?

AK: It should have one memorable character, an image, something that stands out. Build the story around that. And the first sentence should grip.

RB: What are you working on now?

AK: Editing a manuscript for a novel due out next year from Hachette. It’s for older readers (unlike my YA fiction) and is so far called, ‘It takes a murder’!

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Rumjhum Biswas is a writer based in Chennai, India. She blogs at Writers & Writerisms.

Among the challenges presented by writing in first person point-of -view, one of the toughest (for this writer at least) is describing the first person narrator. Offering details about your character’s age, physical appearance, and clothing is a great way to build that character, but there are only so many times he or she can walk past a mirror in a single story. I’ve looked through some of my favorite first person stories to find examples of how other writers have attacked this challenge.

Age is probably the easiest character trait to mention. In my opinion, the best way to dole out this information is in a simple declarative sentence. Sometimes writers try to bury it awkwardly in phrases like “my nine-year-old hands,” or “my experience as a forty-two -year-old.” They are working too hard and the machine of the story shows through clearly in these moments. In published stories, I usually find the narrator’s age stated directly, often right next to the age of another character, like this: “She was twenty-five. I was thirty-three” (Gaitskill, “Today I’m Yours”); “I was eight, and small for my age. Tim was seven” (Tartt, “The Ambush”); “I was eleven that summer, and my sister, Lila, was thirteen” (Swann, “Secret”). The lesson here? Don’t over-think it. If we need to know, just tell us.

Slightly more difficult is describing your character’s physical appearance (what he/she looks like or how he/she is dressed). One effective way to convey this information is by having your narrator compare himself to another character and point out the similarities, like Percy does in “Refresh, Refresh”: “Like me, my father was short and squat, a bulldog.” In other instances, you can point out differences between characters. Here’s an example from “The Conductor” by Aleksandar Hemon: “[He] was misclad in a dun short, brown pants, and an inflammable-green tie. I was a cool-dressed city boy, all denim and T-shirts…”

In special cases, you can describe your first person narrator as part of a group. Russell gives this very detailed description of a pack of wild girls in “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves”: “Our pack was hirsute and sinewy and mostly brunette. We had terrible posture. We went knuckling along the wooden floor on the callused pads of our fists…” Englander employs a similar technique in “How We Avenged the Blums“: “…Greenheath was like any other town, except for its concentration of girls in ankle-length denim skirts and white-canvas Keds, and boys in sloppy Oxford shirts, with their yarmulkes hanging down as if sewn to the side of their heads.”

I hope these ideas help you give your readers a picture of your narrator without dramatizing her getting dressed in the morning!

**Note: My very sharp copy editor/husband informs me that all of these examples are in past tense! I didn’t even notice this coincidence as I was writing the column. Perhaps it’s easier to write a first person story in past tense, to add a bit of narrative distance. Or perhaps the past tense lends itself more easily to descriptive moments like these. Or perhaps this is another column all together!

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Aubrey Hirsch is a native of Cleveland, Ohio. Her stories, essays and poems have appeared in literary journals both in print and online including Third Coast, Hobart,SmokeLong Quarterly, Vestal Review, The Los Angeles Review, PANK, Annalemma, and The Minnetonka Review. A two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, she has also been honored with a nomination for the Micro Award and as a top-25 finalist in Glimmer Train’s Fiction Open.  Her posts appear regularly in this spot the first Monday of every month.

by Jim Harrington

Flash Markets

• Thunderclap — editor interview added
• The Postcard Press (100)
• #flashfriday (1000)

Flash Fiction 101

• Randall Brown’s “What is Flash Fiction?”
• Pam Casto’s “Flashes on the Meridian”
• Jason Gurley’s “Flash What? A Quick Look at Flash Fiction”
• THE ROSE METAL PRESS FIELD GUIDE TO WRITING FLASH FICTION – a must-have for every writer of flash

Havens

• Fiction Factor — articles on all aspects of writing
• Grammar Girl — Have a grammar questions? GG has the answer.
• Gotham Writers’ Workshop: Resources — check out the Writer’s Toolbox
• Writer’s Groups Near You (by state–U.S. only) — list contains mostly in-person groups

Publishing and Promotion

• Publisher Interview: Press 53
• Publisher Interview: Rose Metal Press
• Publisher Interview: Untreed Reads
• Six Questions For. . . – where editors tell it like it is
• What Editors Want: A Must-Read for Writers Submitting to Literary Magazines – the editor’s job vs the writer’s job
• Writer’s Guide to Twitter – everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask about.  .  .Twitter

The Craft

• Rights: What They Mean and Why They’re Important — FNASR? FAR? First Electronic Rights? Aargh!

Writing Prompts

• Writer’s Digest — daily prompts for stories of 750 words of less

Do you have a favorite resource that you think our readers might find helpful? Post it in a reply or send it to jpharrin [at] gmail [dot] com.

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Jim Harrington discovered flash fiction in 2007, and he’s read, written, studied, and agonized over the form since. His Six Questions For. . . blog provides editors and publishers a place to “tell it like it is.” He’s also the Markets Editor for Flash Fiction Chronicles’ Flash Markets Page. He can be contacted at jpharrin [at] gmail [dot] com.

by Jim Harrington

Below is a list of online critique groups. They all cater to experienced as well as novice writers. The approximate number of current members, if known, is included in parentheses.

• Every Day Fiction: Our host has a very active flash critique forum. If interested, go to the Forums page and reply to the Join the Flash Fiction Workshop message. Membership is free, but users must register.

• Zoetrope.com: The Zoetrope Flash Fiction section is a moderately active forum. Members are required to review stories in order to submit their work for critique. A place to ask questions and join in on discussions also exists. Membership is free, but users must register.

• The Flash Factory (about 50): The Factory is a private office inside Zoetrope devoted to the writing, critiquing and discussion of flash fiction. Membership in Zoetrope is required. Weekly writing contests are held based on prompts provided by the previous weeks’ winners, and host Richard Osgood posts a 5 to 50/55 challenge every Sunday. Most users submit a few stories in the main Zoetrope flash section before contacting Richard requesting access to The Factory.

• Pam Casto’s Flash Fiction Workshop (FF-W) (limited to 65): “FlashFiction-W is a free online workshop for flash fiction (aka short-short stories, micro fiction, sudden fiction, skinny fiction) and related types of short-short writing (haibun, prose poetry, flash memoirs, flash creative nonfiction, short-short plays). Participation is mandatory and all workshop members use their real names.” Learn more here.

• CrimeFicWriters (30): CrimeFicWriters is an online critique group for authors of short crime fiction, including, but not limited to, flash. For more information, check out the group’s page, or email Chris Rhatigan.” Membership is free.

• A Flasher’s Dozen (25): This group formed in 2006. Sandra Seamans, the moderator, provides a prompt each Friday “to help nudge the muse,” or members may submit stories based on their own ideas. Learn more and sign up here.

• Prose-P: The prose poetry & flash fiction workshop (15): Prose-P is an active group that’s part of the Internet Writing Workshop. For more information, send a request to prose-p-request@LISTS.PSU.EDU.

If you know of any other flash critique groups–online or not–send me the group name and contact info. I’ll post a note about the group and add them to our list.

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Jim Harrington discovered flash fiction in 2007, and he’s read, written, studied, and agonized over the form since. His Six Questions For. . . blog provides editors and publishers a place to “tell it like it is.” He’s also the Markets Editor for Flash Fiction Chronicles‘ Flash Markets Page. He can be reached at jpharrin [at] gmail [dot] com.