Writing Fiction - Flash Stories
A flash is a story that is distilled to its core. It is brief, but it exploits the briefness, by packing a punch, by holding the readers' attention and never letting go. Flash is a form of storytelling that is ancient and ultra-modern at the same time. The length limit acts not as a restriction but as a liberation, freeing authors to focus on what they really what to write.
Everyone is a storyteller, filling our heads, pages and nearby ears with tales and anecdotes. This class will focus on honing expression and on aesthetics. Beginners and experienced writers are welcome.
In the first session, we will address some concepts for storytelling in general, beginning with narrative and conflict, and briefly visit point-of-view, dialog, etc. Then we will focus on flash fiction, and through reading examples, we will explore the diversity of the flash form that spans from snappy sentences to lyrical prose, from the whimsical to the profound, and from genre to literary.
For the second and third session, students will bring in their work, which we will read and discuss in the context of the first session, focusing on the positives. A few additional reading material will be chosen based on the student writing to illustrate some of the discussion points.