Published: April 16, 2011
Words: 747 (approximate)
Language: English

Short description

Writing “flash fiction”, a properly structured short story, is a piece of piss to a trained dick. If that is not you, read on.

Extended description

This is a brief (400 word) guide to writing and assessing short stories. Especially my own. Some writers object to a structure for stories. That is fine as long as you realize that no structure is a structure still. You just write and hope to pull the reader along. Readers, speaking for myself and one or two others, like to know where you’re taking them.
Structure is what holds your story together. It’s like an itinerary. If you don’t have one, you’ll end up somewhere and you’ll have to happy with where you end up when you’ve run out of words. Readers may decide, at any time, to let you go on ahead without them. That’s what’s so democratic about writing. You can’t make readers stay with you on the bus. They can get off, put your book down and even more brutally, dismiss you with a mouse click. A structure will entice the reader to stay with you to the bitter, sweet, surprising or whatever end you have us awaiting.
Finally, leave readers wondering, not what will happe... (Read more) This is a brief (400 word) guide to writing and assessing short stories. Especially my own. Some writers object to a structure for stories. That is fine as long as you realize that no structure is a structure still. You just write and hope to pull the reader along. Readers, speaking for myself and one or two others, like to know where you’re taking them.
Structure is what holds your story together. It’s like an itinerary. If you don’t have one, you’ll end up somewhere and you’ll have to happy with where you end up when you’ve run out of words. Readers may decide, at any time, to let you go on ahead without them. That’s what’s so democratic about writing. You can’t make readers stay with you on the bus. They can get off, put your book down and even more brutally, dismiss you with a mouse click. A structure will entice the reader to stay with you to the bitter, sweet, surprising or whatever end you have us awaiting.
Finally, leave readers wondering, not what will happen next in your story, but what else you have in store. Leave them hungry.
(Less)

Tags

guide, flash fiction writing, short story structure

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Reviews

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Review by: StreetWise Publications on Oct. 20, 2011 :
I think Kurt has grokked the flash fiction piece totally and expresses it well in this essay. I will be emailing him to ask permission to use his essay in my lecture on flash fiction to my 'Become A Published Author' course students. I think it will be both explanatory and expository and thus, create some healthy debate as to what exactly makes a good flash fiction piece.
Perry Gamsby MA(Writing)
(review of free book)

Review by: Joe C Combs 2nd on April 28, 2011 :
Well done! There are many authors today who would benefit greatly from 400 Words. Kurt writes specifically about writing flash fiction, but his advice is great for longer works as well (and non-fiction too). The thing I liked most (besides the direct advice of the essay) was that even the timing and pace of this article is a lesson in how to write successful flash fiction. Sometimes writers use exotic themes or characters to make up for a lack of structure or planning. Follow Kurt’s advice and even something as mundane as washing the dishes could be an exciting piece of literature.
Well Done.
(review of free book)

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