So here goes I'll try not to ramble. I have a unique outlook on life at the moment, but that isn't why I'm here doing this.
I have a brain tumor, and can't hold a thought for very long at this time. So I'm going to take a shot at flash fiction, while I can still fit into that category.
So are there any no, no's. Can I just write a couple of thousand words and call it a day. Is there a special place I need to post them for the reader's convenience.
Thanks for the advice
So are there any no, no's. Can I just write a couple of thousand words and call it a day.
First, sorry about your tumor. Best of luck to you.
A few thousand words can be a short story. Flash fiction is shorter. I have a flash fiction story on SOL that's (I think) 789 words. I think the Writer's Digest contest it was entered in limited me to 790 words. It's under 1,000 for sure.
The key is, you have to tell a story. And that's hard to do in so few words.
Like any short story, it's one event with one or two characters.
Just think of a problem for a character, what causes it, what will happen to him if he fails, and how he will overcome it. Then write it.
Good luck.
A few thousand words can be a short story. Flash fiction is shorter.
...
It's under 1,000 for sure.
Unless I'm missing something, there's no SOL definition of 'flash'. (Should there be? It's a genre option.)
In the first ten results returned to me by Google, 'up to 1,500 words' seemed to be the most common limit but the was a '2000 words' and even a '3000 words' too.
I don't think a word limit is particularly important. Mystery Writer should write the stories he wants to tell to the best of his ability and not worry about the length.
And if anyone complains a story is too long to be flash, just ask how they can see to read with their head up their rectum.
AJ
And if anyone complains a story is too long to be flash,
It's just that there are word ranges for flash, short story, novella, novel, epics, etc. It's an industry thing. You'll get different numbers from different places, but they're out there.
I believe the OP was asking if it was okay to write something short and post it on SOL. He called it flash. I simply said a few thousand words could be a short story.
I believe the OP was asking if it was okay to write something short and post it on SOL. He called it flash. I simply said a few thousand words could be a short story.
Despite the cavilling, Mystery Writer is welcome to post stories of any length.
Personally I was brought up with flash being a few hundred words at most, but it's up to each publisher to set the rules and if they say 2000 words is okay, that's their decision.
With flash stories creeping upwards in size and novels creeping downwards in size, perhaps they'll meet in the middle.
AJ
So I'm going to take a shot at flash fiction, while I can still fit into that category.
So are there any no, no's. Can I just write a couple of thousand words and call it a day. Is there a special place I need to post them for the reader's convenience.
Examples:
The Proposal
Scrunchie
Our Last Night Together
I tried doing flash a few times, but it actually turned out harder than I thought, as I tend to ramble a bit. As a writer, I didn't find it that much fun as I couldn't let the characters grow, and if I did, then there wasn't much room for anything else.
Likewise, I don't enjoy reading flash either as I like a bit of meat and bones on my characters and as such, find flash a bit soulless. Each to their own I suppose.
I would give it a bash M-Writer and see how you get on, see how you feel with the end result.
Likewise, I don't enjoy reading flash either as I like a bit of meat and bones on my characters and as such, find flash a bit soulless.
Not necessarily. True, SOL readers prefer longer stories, but my flash fiction story "Coming Home" is actually my 4th best-rated story (score = 7.42, VA score = 8.51) and it doesn't even have sex. It's about the emotional turmoil of the main character so I believe it isn't "soulless."
It's incredibly hard to do that in so few words, though.
Now if you want to read complex plots and such, flash isn't the right choice.
Sorry about the tumor.
I post flash fiction just like my other stories. The only difference is that the story is always finished.
I think a 1,000 words is too long for flash. There have been contests for pieces of precisely 100 words apiece, and I have done some of these. My shortest story is shorter then that; it was all-dialogue which tends to force shortness on the stories.
OTOH, the shortness of the story doesn't come from a short attention span of the writer.
Good luck with the tumor. hit me up with an email if you ever want or need somebody to listen.
The shortest known flash story is:
For sale: baby shoes, never worn.
I think the shortest flash I've written is 150 words. It's definitely its own art form.
Classically, there is a much shorter flash.
"Veni, vidi, vici" attributed to Caeser.
"I came. I saw. I conquered." Nuf said.
Classically, there is a much shorter flash.
Some gravestone epitaphs are very short and very evocative.
AJ
As always, you start at the beginning tell the tale and bring it to an end. Brain tumors are shit to have and very limiting. So now your story just has to be shorter than what you would like to write. Don't worry about what category if is, just call it a short story. After all, flash is just a very short story. Enjoy your writing.
VD
When you can't top his comment, smother him in information.
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Look up VD, vd, or Vd. in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
VD may refer to:
Contents
1 Arts and entertainment
2 Holidays
3 Science and technology
4 Other uses
5 See also
Arts and entertainment
The Vampire Diaries
Ivan Vdoviฤ (1960โ1992), Serbian drummer
Veni Domine, a Swedish metal band
Vicious Delite, a metal band featuring Ratt's Stephen Pearcy
Holidays
Valentine's Day, a holiday
Veterans Day, a holiday
Victory Day, a public holiday in several countries
Science and technology
Vd, design diving speed for an aircraft, see V speeds for further information
Vaginal delivery, a natural birth
Vapour density, the density of a vapor in relation to that of hydrogen
Venereal disease, now more commonly known as sexually transmitted disease or sexually transmitted infection
Virtual desktop, expansion of the space of a computer's desktop environment beyond the physical limits of the screen
Virtual directory, in computing
Volume of distribution (VD)
Other uses
Van der (v.d.), a prefix in Dutch language surnames
Vaud, a canton in Switzerland
Volunteer Officers' Decoration, a Crown honour or long-service award made to auxiliary army officers of the British Empire between 1894 and 1931
See also
V&D (Vroom & Dreesmann), a former Dutch retail chain
495 (number), in roman numerals can be represented as "VD" (500-5)"