#230 In a Flash
I’ve been reading a lot of flash fiction recently. It’s a great format for close study, as its compression forces writers to question the function of every sentence.
Since there are many lessons to be learned from reading, writing, and thinking about flash fiction, I thought we could make it the focus of this week’s contest. To be clear, this contest accepts stories between 1,000 and 3,000 words, but this week, I’m inviting you to try and stay as close to the lower limit as you can. Our usual word count range is still the official guideline, and stories that are closer to 3,000 words will not be disqualified — but I hope that with flash stories in mind, you’ll feel inspired to be as economical with language as possible.
Not sure how to begin? Check out our best tips for writing flash fiction.
This week's prompts
Start your story with someone uttering a very strange sentence.
Dialogue
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52 stories
Write a story that hides something from its reader until the very end.
Mystery
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100 stories
Write a story in the form of a list.
Narrative
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60 stories
Stories
The Six Must Decide: Quetzalcoital or Drext?
Submitted to Contest #230
January 1973 - A List Written by a Northern Irish Mother
Submitted to Contest #230