A Crash Course in Flash Fiction

By Ian Emery

Table of Contents
- Background...................................................................1
- What exactly is flash fiction?........................................2
- Example.........................................................................2
- Analysis of Chopins Story............................................4
- What to Look for in a Flash Fiction Tutoring Session...5
- Strategies with Flash Fiction..........................................6

Background
One day I found myself sitting in my Forms of Fiction course thinking about the different
stories I had written over the semester. We discussed Gothic, Horror, and Letter Narratives, to
name just a few of the many forms of fiction existent in our imaginative world. However, the
brevity and sharp-minded conciseness of flash fiction stories stuck with me in a major way. I
loved utilizing razor sharp consciousness when picking and choosing every single word I placed
in my stories. I felt so artistic, so meticulous, like a clockmaker setting tiny gears into a
wristwatch. With flash fiction, literally every word has to make a big impact. This is why I fell in
love with the art, because it taught me to choose my words wisely and how concise,
contemplated wording makes for a more effectively and efficiently told story.

What exactly is flash fiction?

Some experts think you should limit flash fiction pieces to 300 words. Others are more
generous, raising the word cap to 1,000. Since there is no true standard, any story between 3001,000 words is generally accepted as flash fiction. Some writers enjoy a challenge in writing
stories with an exact word count, say 100 or 750 words.
This genre is not to be confused with prose poetry, which shares a similar word length.
Both often contain a short narrative, yet prose poetry maintains its poetic qualities by focusing on
descriptive language which takes precedence over plot. Flash fictions language is usually more
sparse, to the point, and more concerned with telling a story as efficiently as possible.
Flash fictions are frequently nicknamed microfictions, short shorts, or a similar term in
that vein. They usually do not contain a full-circle plot with all the standard story elements:
protagonist, antagonist, conflict, obstacles, and resolution. Due to space constraint, many
elements are left to the readers imagination, but the missing elements can usually be inferred
from the details in the story.

Example
The Blind Man by Kate Chopin is a classic example (755 words):
A man carrying a small red box in one hand walked slowly down the street. His old straw
hat and faded garments looked as if the rain had often beaten upon them, and the sun had as
many times dried them upon his person. He was not old, but he seemed feeble; and he walked in
the sun, along the blistering asphalt pavement. On the opposite side of the street there were trees
that threw a thick and pleasant shade: people were all walking on that side. But the man did not
know, for he was blind, and moreover he was stupid.
In the red box were lead pencils, which he was endeavoring to sell. He carried no stick,
but guided himself by trailing his foot along the stone copings or his hand along the iron railings.
When he came to the steps of a house he would mount them. Sometimes, after reaching the door
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with great difficulty, he could not find the electric button, whereupon he would patiently descend
and go his way. Some of the iron gates were locked, their owners being away for the summer,
and he would consume much time striving to open them, which made little difference, as he had
all the time there was at his disposal.
At times he succeeded in finding the electric button: but the man or maid who answered
the bell needed no pencil, nor could they be induced to disturb the mistress of the house about so
small a thing.
The man had been out long and had walked far, but had sold nothing. That morning
someone who had finally grown tired of having him hanging around had equipped him with this
box of pencils, and sent him out to make his living. Hunger, with sharp fangs, was gnawing at his
stomach and a consuming thirst parched his mouth and tortured him. The sun was broiling. He
wore too much clothinga vest and coat over his shirt. He might have removed these and
carried them on his arm or thrown them away; but he did not think of it. A kind woman who saw
him from an upper window felt sorry for him, and wished that he would cross over into the
shade.
The man drifted into a side street, where there was a group of noisy, excited children at
play. The color of the box which he carried attracted them and they wanted to know what was in
it. One of them attempted to take it away from him. With the instinct to protect his own and his
only means of sustenance, he resisted, shouted at the children and called them names. A
policeman coming round the corner and seeing that he was the centre of a disturbance, jerked
him violently around by the collar; but upon perceiving that he was blind, considerably refrained
from clubbing him and sent him on his way. He walked on in the sun.
During his aimless rambling he turned into a street where there were monster electric cars
thundering up and down, clanging wild bells and literally shaking the ground beneath his feet
with their terrific impetus. He started to cross the street.
Then something happenedsomething horrible happened that made the women faint and
the strongest men who saw it grow sick and dizzy. The motormans lips were as gray as his face,
and that was ashen gray; and he shook and staggered from the superhuman effort he had put
forth to stop his car.
Where could the crowds have come from so suddenly,as if by magic? Boys on the run,
men and women tearing up on their wheels to see the sickening sight: doctors dashing up in
buggies as if directed by Providence.
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And the horror grew when the multitude recognized in the dead and mangled figure one
of the wealthiest, most useful and most influential men of the town, a man noted for his prudence
and foresight. How could such a terrible fate have overtaken him? He was hastening from his
business house, for he was late, to join his family, who were to start in an hour or two for their
summer home on the Atlantic coast. In his hurry he did not perceive the other car coming from
the opposite direction and the common, harrowing thing was repeated.
The blind man did not know what the commotion was all about. He had crossed the
street, and there he was, stumbling on in the sun, trailing his foot along the coping.

Analysis of Chopins Story

Protagonist: The blind man
Antagonist: None named. You could argue that whoever sent him on his way with the
pencils could have been fleshed out as an antagonist if this were a larger story. However,
this detail hangs in the background of the story, and no real antagonist exists in the story.
Conflict: A poor, hungry blind man struggles to make a living by selling pencils door to
door, but is vastly unsuccessful and not helped.
Obstacles: The mans blindness, his many failures as a blind pencil salesman, the
incident with the children and his need to protect his livelihood, etc. The story is filled
with many small obstacles that center around the mans handicap.
Resolution: There is no clear resolution. The mans condition never changes throughout
the story. He does not find success or any more failure. There is a random car accident
and he goes on about his business. Based on the details in the story, you could infer that
his position in the world will probably never improve.

What to Look for in a Flash Fiction Tutoring Session

Ok, so Ive familiarized you with the genre complete with an example. Now lets talk
tutoring sessions. You dont have to major in Writing or English to conduct a successful tutoring
session in flash fiction. The majority of the tips below are commonsensical and broad enough to
relate to basic experiences with composing research papers or critical essays.

- Conciseness: Every word counts. Does the writing reflect this? Does the story have brevity
while still reading like an effective and well-edited piece of writing? Look for adverbs and
adjectives; are they gratuitously used? Snag the uses of very and other words that look
unnecessary right out of the story and see if it reads smoother.
- Word Choice: The story may look concise, well-polished, and sparse in language. However, is
the wording effective enough? Could stronger words be used to replace weaker words? Or
could some words take the place of two or more words while still conveying the same
meaning? Flash fiction pieces are all about brevity in synergy with effectiveness. A worthwhile
flash fiction contains an effective balance of both.
- Story Elements: Remember that every story might not have a protagonist, antagonist, conflict,
obstacles, and resolution. However, the story needs to read like nothing is missing. Can you
read the story and at least infer some of these elements that the writer implied? If you cannot at
least assume how the story probably resolved, then maybe there needs to be a resolution or
details in the story that hint at a probable resolution. If you can read the story and feel satisfied
that it functions as a solid narrative, it is probably fine. If you feel a void, or something is off

with the plot, discuss including a missing element with the writer, or even excluding one (and
implying it instead) for space to further develop the use of the others.
- Entertainment Factor: A reader could still grow bored reading a satisfactorily complete 300
word story. Is the story compelling to you? Are the characters believable or relatable? Is the
plot compelling? As a reader in every day life, you can intuit if you like a story or not. If you
dont, what can spice things up? Whats holding it back from greatness?

Strategies with Flash Fiction

Youre familiarized with the definition of and how to tutor a writer in this genre. Now
lets look at ways you can use flash fiction exercises to strengthen a writers core skills. For
example, lets say a student is writing a short story, a novella, or even a novel. If this writer is
experiencing word choice problems, have him or her write a simple flash fiction piece with a
certain length, say three paragraphs. Such an exercise causes the writer to think about
conciseness, which goes hand-in-hand with precise word choice and overall effectiveness (refer
back to the background section of this guide). Even a full-length novel needs concise, effective
writing for its message to be powerful and its story to flow well.
You can also use flash fiction as a brainstorming session. A case of writers block can
potentially be alleviated, or even overcome, when a tutor has the writer free-write a flash fiction
piece during a session. As a creative writer myself, I can find inspiration for an entire novel
seeded in observing my surroundings or in a free-writing exercise.
Id even suggest it as a fun exercise for an overwhelmed student trying to think of essay
ideas or in need of a warm-up to get creative and critical juices flowing before tackling an essay.

Sometimes after a long summer or even winter break, a student may feel rusty in his or her
writing skills. And lets face it, many students who come into the writing center are as pained
about that essay as I am about dividing fractions. This could function as a good warm-up before
brainstorming--a student is put in that writing mode, and his or her creative juices are bubbling
and ready to brainstorm.
The flash fiction genre sharpens a writers storytelling skills as well as technical
proficiency. It teaches brevity, conciseness, and word count awareness. I am now a stronger,
more conscientious writer and editor of my own work as a result of being introduced to this
genre. It is also a fun concept to put in any tutors tool bag, one that takes up little session time
and is flexible enough to relate to a broad spectrum of writing assignments. Its also a stressrelieving warm-up that may be just the thing to break the writers dread towards an essay
assignment.