Like many novelists, I knew that writing short stories could improve my skill and marketability.  At a deeper level, though, I considered flash fiction unworthy of my time.  I had plot arcs and sub-plots to worry about.  I was busy doing nuanced character development.  What on earth could short stories do for me or my novel-writing?

Unfortunately, I had a habit of turning simple stories into Micheneresqe epics.  I was finally forced to admit that I needed to re-train myself, and my best options were to practice poetry or flash.  I’m no poet, so flash it was.

Two years later I’m a devoted fan.  Why should a novelist write flash fiction?  Here are five great reasons to give it a try:

1.  Cure Overwriting

When we were kids, a higher word count usually meant a better grade from our teachers.  We’re no longer writing school essays, though.  In fiction, too much padding slows your story down and loses the reader. Writing flash teaches you to eliminate everything that doesn’t advance the story.  You become economical and learn to choose your words carefully.  The result is powerful writing that draws the reader in quickly and keeps him reading.

2. Editing Skills

Writing flash requires you to be ruthless, aggressively paring anything that doesn’t add value to your story.  When you take this skill back to your novel, you’ll find words, phrases, and entire scenes that can be eliminated.  You’ll learn how to cut without losing meaning, and you will develop confidence to do the literary surgery that will make your novel better.

3. Promoting Your Novels

With books priced at $10 and up, readers want a safe bet, so build your fan base by offering snack-sized stories that show off your writing skills.  Scenes you cut from your novel can be turned into flash fiction, or you can write new stories about your characters and their world.  Not only will you introduce new readers to your work, but you will reward your fans.  Who hasn’t reached the end of a novel and been disappointed to let their new friends go?  Keep your readers coming back to your website by offering tie-in stories about their favorite characters.

4. Zine Markets

The online market for flash fiction continues to grow, providing writers with a wide variety of places to get their work published.  Some zines pay, others don’t.  Some zines have editors who will help you improve your technique.  What they all offer is a chance to reach new readers and promote your writing.  With reader attention spans notoriously short these days, flash will continue to gain in popularity, so be part of the movement.

5. Remembering Why You Write

Somewhere along the path to becoming a “serious novelist,” many of us lose sight of why we started writing in the first place.  Do your muse a favor and spend some time writing like a kid again.  Reconnect with who you were before writing became your job.  Storytelling is supposed to be fun, so write for the pleasure of it.  You’ll return to novel-writing recharged.

If you’re not sure how to begin, there are websites that offer weekly or daily writing prompts, and where writers can share feedback on each others’ stories.  Enjoy the fun of being part of a community of writers honing their craft.  Then take your new skills back to your novel and see what happens.

You just mind find you’ve become a better writer.

 

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Ann Pino had a creative childhood of art, dance, and music lessons, so naturally she wanted to be a writer.

After ten years in the hospitality business, meeting the famous and not-so-famous from all walks of life, she returned to college where she double-majored in History and Spanish and then earned a Master’s in Higher Education Administration.  She puts the latter to good use in her job at the University of Houston .

Ann lives with her husband Dan Olivarez and her rabbit, Cadbury.  When she isn’t writing novels and short stories, she can be found running the streets of Houston in preparation for her next marathon, in the kitchen trying new vegetarian recipes, or curled up somewhere with a good book.  Her comic urban fantasy, Maelstrom, is currently available in e-format on Fictionwise and in Kindle format on Amazon.  Print from L&L Dreamspell should be available soon.