I’ve been racking my brain over flash fiction the last couple of weeks. The idea of getting a full story in 500 words makes my brain all snotty and oozy. So, I was pretty happy when my submission to 365 Tomorrows was accepted. It’s a cyberpunk story titled Shutters on Main, and it leans pretty heavy on some neo-noir themes. You can read it here.
Peeling away the excess fat of a story to try and get to the most import core elements is something that I’m still getting used to. I have to say though, I’ve been having a lot of fun writing flash fic (how much if it sees the light of day is another matter).
My guidelines have been to try and tell a full story in 300-500 words. That means it has to be as lean and efficient as possible. I’m far from mastering it, but there are already things I’m learning that I hope will benefit my long form writing. It feels a little more like an instinct than a technical skill, like I’m getting better at sniffing out unwanted fat and cutting it from the draft.
There is still a long way to go, but I like to think of this as a positive step forward.