Flash Fiction – Page 2

To Nano or Not

In November each year NaNoWriMo (National National Novel Writing Month) begins, with Flash Nano (Flash Fiction) also running for short writers of short fiction.

National Novel Writing Month formed in 1999 and began as a challenge between friends in the US to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. It’s not a complete novel but it’s a start. Now, every year hundreds of thousands of writers sign up. NaNoWriMo supports writing fluency and education through various writing programs, and many novels have been formed through NaNoWriMo and been traditionally published – Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants, Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus, Hugh Howey’s Wool, Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl, Jason Hough’s The Darwin Elevator, and Marissa Meyer’s Cinder.

Although I have mixed feelings and reservations about the concept (some say you can’t write a good book in a month, and that’s possibly true), but it’s also a good incentive, and it forces you to carve out time. For me, that’s often late at night or in snatched moments on rainy days. We’re all really busy, even with intermittent and partial or full lockdown. For those of you who read this in years to come, I’m talking about Covid-19. It was not a pretty time.

Here are some tips to get you started from Reedsy:

Find a story you absolutely love.
Understand what people like to read.
Come up with strong characters.
Write a single-sentence story concept before you start.
Consider writing a chapter-by-chapter outline.
Or plot only your most important scenes.
Research and “build the world” of your novel.

If you prefer to write short fiction, Nancy Stohlman runs the flash fiction nano, where the challenge is to write 30 flash pieces in 30 says. This is anything up to 1000 words, but can be much shorter.

SkyLightRain has some helpful tips on writing short fiction:

1. Form a vision of the story you’ll be aiming to tell, with the beginning already shaped in your mind. If possible, do the same for the ending. Having an idea of the finale you’re working towards will mean you’re far less likely to veer off track!

2. Spend some time considering your characters – working out who they are, how they think, what their goals are, how they might help or hinder each other.

3. Know your setting. This is one of my favourites, particularly if it offers a valid excuse to meander in a much loved wilderness or similar.

4. Pick out a few dramatic moments your plot will cover and brainstorm them, then set them aside. Whenever your enthusiasm wanes over the intensive NaNoWriMo period, treat yourself by delving into one of those to reinvigorate your writing energy.

5. Finally, make sure you have plenty of sustenance to hand. For me, the essentials are coffee and chocolate. What are yours?

I write both flash fiction and novels and am seriously considering both, even though I really don’t have the time. If you sign up for either, or both, good luck and and leave a message in the comments to let us know how you get on. Sometimes, having a deadline really helps.

https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/nanowrimo/

‘Publication of the Month’ Nomination by Spillwords Readers

I was thrilled to discover that my story, You Bruise Easily, has been nominated by readers of Spillwords Journal for Publication of the Month. Voting is now closed, but I will keep you posted. The nominations are based on readership popularity within the last 30 days. One very happy author!

I have also reached a landmark of 5,000 followers on Twitter. I really value and appreciate all the support of readers. With six short stories published this year, and two more forthcoming in Fully Lit Magazine, it has been a productive year. If you have missed any, there is a list of publications on my website.

Watch this space! I hope you’ve all had a reasonable summer, despite the current circumstances. Stay well.

Short Story Publication – Circling the Nasturtiums, Anti Heroin Chic

Butterflies were circling the nasturtiums in a frenzied race to find nectar, but it had not yet flowered. It was a lush green and ripe for bloom, when the flame flower would climb, scrambling through other plants, covering unsightly fences. She had not yet flowered, when the ‘gardener’ had grabbed her by the waist and forced her onto his lap, kissing her neck and asking her to marry him. She had been nine years of age, he sixteen. She had tried to explain the age difference. He had told her that he didn’t care. The thought had repulsed her, her fierce kicks into the centre of his shins adding weight to her no, and her get off me. He had eventually let go, accepted her resistance too late… read the story at Anti Heroin Chic

Runner up in the Lunate Fiction Flash Competition

I’m thrilled to share the news that my story was longlisted, then shortlisted, and was this week placed as a runner up, along with 3 other wonderful stories. You can read my story at Lunate.co.uk

Entries were judged by the fantastic founding editor of EllipsisZine, Steve Campbell. You can read a blog interview with him here. If you haven’t come across this literary magazine, I would highly recommend a read. You might also find a few of my stories in there.

I hope you enjoy the stories. I’m off to celebrate the news!

Shortlisted in Lunate Fiction Flash Prize and two more publications

I discovered yesterday that my story has been shortlisted for the Lunate Fiction Flash Prize, judged by EllipsisZine Editor, Steve Campbell. Very exciting news!

Flash Prize Longlist

Another story was also published today by Lunate Fiction – A Place of Unfinished Sentences

A Place of Unfinished Sentences

The woman sitting opposite me looks like the guy I used to date. Her face is angular, her eyes fixed to the page of a book I cannot see. I wonder why she reminds me of him, and whether her features are particularly masculine, or his more feminine; maybe both. The door clunks back into the frame of the train’s carriage. A thud as it stops makes me jump and a man with a trolley walks through and scans the seats.

“Tea? Coffee?” he asks, glancing at the ex-boyfriend lookalike.

“Neither,” she says, her eyes remaining fixed on the pages in her hands.

He looks at me. “Coffee, black, no sugar,” I say, without waiting to be asked. He lowers his shoulders, exhaling slowly as he pours me a cup from a large metal coffee pot. Steam rises from the spout, the scent of it licking at my nostrils. Saliva fills my mouth in anticipation….continued at Lunate.co.uk

And, in case you missed this one, Do You See Me Coming, was also published in July at the new Burnt Breakfast Magazine.

Do You See Me Coming?

Do you see me coming, when the days are short and the nights feverish, when the family gathers round, wondering whether to call the doctor or let you slip away, peacefully. Do you see me coming when the flicker of evening light reminds you that your ancestors are beckoning you home. You think about your childhood and remember days where you came inside, covered in dirt and Mother shooed you away with a flap of a hand, and the smell of creosote where Father had painted the fence. You loved the smell but you weren’t supposed to. It was toxic, you were told, but you also loved the hot scent of tarmac. You always liked the things that you weren’t supposed to. You remember the way the swallows came in to nest then left, like Father, when I had come to him, too. He saw me coming. The rest of you only saw me leave, taking him with me …. continued at Burnt Breakfast