In A Flash! An introduction to Flash Fiction
Week 1 - Reading
According to Wikipedia, Flash Fiction “is a fictional work of extreme brevity that still offers character and plot development. Identified varieties, many of them defined by word count, include the six-word story; the 280-character story; the "dribble"; the "drabble"; "sudden fiction"; "flash fiction"; and "microstory". You’re welcome to read more about it here.
What’s clear is that stories with a low word count make them very accessible to those without much time to spare on leisure activities.
So, take up to an hour (or more!) to read the following Flash Fiction over the coming week:
The Blind Man by Kate Chopin (1894)
https://www.flashfictiononline.com/article/the-blind-man/
Curriculum by Sejal Shah (2013)
https://www.conjunctions.com/online/article/sejal-shah-02-26-2013
Unnecessary Things by Tatyana Tolstaya (2019)
http://tastzine.com/2019/02/19/unnecessary-things-by-tatyana-tolstaya/
In the Darkness by Laura Tott (NYC Midnight Flash Fiction 2021 winner)
Trigger warning - scenes of an abusive nature.
https://www.nycmidnight.com/stories/in-the-darkness/
MORE FICTION WILL BE ADDED HERE!
Compare the stories - what did you like about it? Didn’t like? What can you find out about the writers? Prepare to discuss these questions and reveal your favourite one - and why - next week.
Week 2 - Discussion on Zoom
The live session will take place on
Thursday 16th June 2022 at 7.30pm UK time
Read the flash fiction and compare the titles, writing style of the author and the dramatic device(s) that make the story ‘work’.
Week 3 - Creative Writing Prompts
Respond to the following:
Write about a person in a place doing something.
Also, enjoy some more flash fiction:
A Haunted House by Virigina Woolf
Taylor Swift by Hugh Beam-Steinberg
As The North Wind Howled by Yu Hua, 2018, translated from Chinese
Six-word story by Hemingway:
For sale: baby shoes, never worn.
Four-word story by Joyce Carol-Oates:
I kept myself alive.
Week 4 - Sharing on Zoom
Thursday 30th June 2022 at 7.30pm UK time