Flash Fiction: The Essence of Great Storytelling
by Elizabeth Solar
Taking a cue from my Acts of Revision Tribe member Cindy Layton and her post on writing constraints, some of my own thoughts about the constraints of flash fiction. Flash or micro fiction requires facile, impactful storytelling in equal measures of brevity. Brevity can provide a powerful impactful too. And it is said, the soul of wit.
While I love to write meandering pieces filled with descriptions of scenic vistas and chatty dialogue, my former career in broadcasting taught me brevity is a necessary and often dynamic way to work within a format constrained by time and commerce. Programs are timed to the second, at times, a fraction of a second.
Most professional broadcasts require one to distill complicated news stories and complex policy decisions into headlines and soundbites. ‘Wo/man bites dog’ is an iconic example of an attention grabber. We respond to novelty, the unexpected, weird and provocative. This satisfies busy humans with ever-shortened attention spans. Broadcast journalism often dictates paring a story down to its essence, so the viewer or listener can get on with their day.
Effective advertising gives people what they want before they know they want it - or at least convinces you want/need it – in a mere 30 to 60 seconds. Extra points for the 15-second sell.
Time constraints in commercial production motivate creatives to innovate, explore attitudes and mindsets, then often take gonzo chances they may not otherwise take if they had the luxury of say, a full two minutes!
The best writing, whether it’s poetry, prose or advertising, is memorable, shareworthy, impactful emotional and actionable.
How many 400-page books have we read that left us feeling ‘meh’? Why? They failed to engage us, be provocative – in the best of ways – and be memorable. That’s not to say there are not great 400-plus-page books. I’m looking at you Wally Lamb, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Stephen King, Leo Tolstoy.
There is a genius to flash and micro fiction that contain an entire life, often in fewer than a thousand words. Sometimes far fewer. Amy Hempel can write a life story in just 17 words.* The title story of Hempel’s Sing to It marks the final moments of a life in an exchange as heartbreaking as it is concise.
Ernest Hemingway famously bet he could write a story in six words. Ready?
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Like another of our AOR tribe members, Nancy Sackheim, authors might write flash, but they don’t write it in a flash. Each word is considered, weighed, curated. Each passage refined for maximum impact. It takes a long time to write short. Good micro fiction is the beautiful vessel, formed or chiseled from mounds of words, sentences and paragraphs.
Often the constraints we or circumstance impose on our writing improve it, create greater urgency and elevate our stories on both a literary and emotional level.
To encourage you to challenge your own perceived limitations, keep in mind this mash-up of two iconic advertising slogans:: Think Different. Just Do It.
*Here’s an analysis of an Amy Hempel story completed in just 17 words on YouTube.
