Posts Tagged ‘writing’
Writing an effective work of flash fiction isn’t just about writing a short story without lengthy explanations; it’s about compacting all of the elements of a full length story or novel into a pocket-sized version without compromising the integrity of the story. While many pieces of flash fiction or microfiction are straightforward short tales, what draws me to writing flash fiction above all other forms is the challenge of creating an intriguing story which transcends the superficial conflict and resolution by including elements of inference, foreshadowing, and character development. Even for the novelist this isn’t any small task, and for flash fiction writers it’s a challenge with which many struggle.
Challenges and struggles aside, fortunately there are ways to accomplish the goal, which is to produce a compelling piece of art that intrigues, captivates, and moves the reader. To help both the beginning and experienced flash fiction writer, below I’ve shared some tips and suggestions to accomplish the goal while maintaining the integrity of your story’s concept.
Write your story without regard to word count.
Sure, flash fiction by its very definition is contingent on its word count, but that doesn’t mean you can’t write it longer and edit it down later. I find that by writing without regard to the word count you will get the full breadth of the story without compromising it with small details. If you’re too busy thinking “I only have 100 words left and my conflict still isn’t resolved!” then the resolution of your story — perhaps the most important part — is going to suffer. If you write it as a short story or, heck, even if a novel, you can pull, delete, and combine pieces from the original work into the much shorter flash fiction while still effectively telling your story.
Show, don’t tell, the story.
Few readers want to be told every element about a story, as it makes for a boring, dry, and largely superficial work. Think of it this way: which would you rather read, a Biology text book or a Nova special covering the same information? Most people would choose the Nova special, as its visuals engage the viewer, making her think she’s right there with the bright yellow bees buzzing around the bundles of sweet pollen embraced by indigo pedals. Or I guess you could be satisfied with “the bees.” But probably not.
That said, it’s a legitimate concern that, with word count very important and inherently limiting that you take into consideration appropriate parts which should be “show” and other parts which should be “tell.” While many writers get better at this with experience and feedback from editors and readers, a nice litmus test to start out with is asking the question “Is this necessary for the comprehension of the story?” If it’s not, the long-winded description is likely arduous and bothersome to the reader, and you should simply tell the detail instead of show it.
Use inference to succinctly give details about your character or the conflict.
Perhaps the greatest challenge of flash fiction is what defines it: the word count. Depending on the publisher, you only have 300-1000 words to tell your story, and that’s not a lot of room to include all of the basic elements of a story, such as character(s), setting, conflict, and resolution, which all make up the plot. While some writers are satisfied with straightforward and superficial tales, if you’re an involved or deep writer, you’ll want to tell more about your character and the conflict to give the reader sufficient understanding of the breadth of the story. You can do this efficiently by using inference.
Inference is a difficult concept for many to understand, including many readers. So if you’re going for a popular piece, you might stay away from it. If you’re looking for an acclaimed piece, however, give it a whirl. Inference is when you take elements or details of a story and simply and succinctly refer to them, making the reader understand the details on her own. Take this example from my story, “Returning to Anna,” published in the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette:
As years of tears streamed down my face and through my fingers, I added the remaining glue to the back of the tile and fit it into the space she and I first found it 10 years ago.
Even without reading the whole story, you can infer several things from the excerpt. You can infer that a conflict occurred years ago, the conflict has tormented the character, it’s likely they’re no longer together (due to the conflict, perhaps?), he had a tile that he and she took 10 years ago, and now he’s putting it back in its place (resolution to the conflict, perhaps?). That’s a lot of information compacted into a 38-word sentence. By using inference you can pack a lot of information into very short but ultimately very important sentences.
Don’t push your great short story into a flash fiction.
Now that you’ve written a great story, compacted it a bit with inference, and engaged the reader, it’s time to compact it even more so that it conforms to the 300-1000 words that makes your work a flash fiction. Or not. My last piece of advice is don’t ruin your short story by trying to conform to others’ standards. Plenty of times I started out to write a great piece of flash fiction only to end up writing a 3,000 word short story. And you know what? I wouldn’t have that story any other way.
Hopefully you’re able to take into consideration the few tips and suggestions I’ve shared. They’ve helped me immensely writing not just flash fiction but any form of literature. And remember: write because you enjoy writing, not because you want others to enjoy your writing. Just because it isn’t critically acclaimed doesn’t mean someone doesn’t enjoy it, and your work might very well have moved them in ways you could never have imagined.
As I tweeted earlier, finding an inspiration zone – the place where most of your ideas arise — is key to being a productive scanner. While many people experience writer’s block or some other form of blocked thought process, the inspiration zone is the place you can always count on your inspiration, ideas, and free thought. Finding such a place is easy for those who have experienced the constant streams of ideas in a particular place, but others take years to finally realize where they should be doing their best thinking. I’ll describe one of the most common places, explain why it’s so common, and then describe my own inspiration zone.
First let’s get a few definitions out of the way. Unless you’ve read Barbara Sher’s book Refuse to Choose or Margaret Lobenstine’s The Renaissance Soul, it’s unlikely you’ve ever heard what the term “scanner” or “renaissance soul” means. In their most basic definitions, it refers to a person who has many differing interests and passions, and, often, simply can’t chose to concentrate on one out of fear of denigrating or neglecting another passion. So, for example, some of my passions include writing (screenplays, novels, and a children’s series), inventing (anything from household items to medical procedures, languages (Russian, German, French, and conlangs), websites, education (teaching, educational websites, not-for-profit organizations), and philosophy (bioethics). And on top of those major interests, you could easily add science (medicine, virology, genetics, theoretical physics, environmental science), sport theory (implications of structures and rules), and law into the mix. With so many interests and passions, it’s difficult to not only find the time to explore these passions, but also even just to sit down and concentrate on one at a time. By writing a novel I feel I could be working on a website, and by learning Russian I feel I could be theorizing a new medical procedure. Finding a balance has been difficult, and it’s a common problem for scanners.
The second definition I want to make clear is that of the “inspiration zone.” This zone refers to the place where most of your ideas come into mind. So, for example, while you might get ideas literally anywhere, be it while driving, playing baseball, or watching TV, your inspiration zone is where most of your ideas come from. Generally, while ideas may come sporadically, you might notice a trend in the place where many ideas arise. Usually this happens because of an action in that space or a certain quality of this space which makes generating ideas come easily. If you can’t find your inspiration zone off the top of your head, when an idea arises and you write it down, also write down the location where the idea came from. I’m sure you’ll soon find a general trend, and your inspiration zone will appear. Let’s go through one of these places which is common for being people’s inspiration zone.
The first and probably most universal inspiration zone is the bathroom. Whether it’s sitting on the toilet (often a man’s inspiration zone) or in the shower (often a woman’s inspiration zone), many ideas and thoughts come to us while in the bathroom. My theory on why the bathroom is such a great idea conductor, if you will, is because it’s one of the few places where we generally lack external stimulation, and have time that is seen by others as incredibly quiet and private. While men rarely talk in the bathroom, simply using it in a more utilitarian, private function, women see it as more communal, and thus the reason for the difference between the man’s toilet and the woman’s shower as being the inspiration zone. If this is your inspiration zone, then great! That was easy enough! But others’ have harder times finding their inspiration zones.
The most common reason some have difficulty finding their inspiration zone isn’t because they have sporadic ideas coming from literally any time and any place, but rather because they spend extremely little time in their natural inspiration zone. Particularly in modern society, we spend countless hours at a desk in a rather bland cubicle, which is probably the antithesis of the creative process. We then come home and relax after a long day in said boring cubicle, and sit on the couch in front of the TV – an external stimulus. And, likely, there are chores to be done, children running around, dinner needs to be made, and that’s not counting the other endless errands imposed on us by others. With such external stimulus putting external pressures on us and taking our concentration away from internal needs, we’re unable to spend quality time coming up with ideas and concentrating on our passions. So in order to find that place, you might need to do the opposite of what you might think: get away from the work desk, get away from the home office, get away from the TV, and, perhaps most importantly, get away from the computer. All you need to write an idea down is a piece of paper and a pencil or pen (or, at the most, a notepad application on your cell phone).
Finding my inspiration zone was actually quite easy, but at the same time is external to my home and work life. I found that my inspiration zone was, of all places, the movie theater. As I generally like to go to the latest show on the least busiest days (Monday through Thursday), I can often be found watching a movie alone or with very few people in the movie theater. And, because one of my passions is writing, I tend to get many ideas for storylines and fixes to others’ storylines while watching movies. There’s nothing more inspiring to me than to consider how someone else’s work might be changed. While there is still the external stimulus of a rather large screened and loudly playing movie, I’m still able to concentrate on writing, storylines, or other ideas which may come to me during the movie. Without others imposing pressures or obligations on me during the two-to-three hours, I have plenty of time to spend by myself and with my own thoughts. And, like I said, find some inspiration from mistakes I find in the movie.
So whether your inspiration zone is while on the toilet, in the shower, or at the movie theater, finding that zone is key to being a productive scanner. By having the time to yourself, with little if any external stimuli and pressures, you can spend time to think about whatever comes to you. Where is your inspiration zone?
A common question to established authors is: “What inspires you to write?” As someone who is constantly working on writing projects such as a book and multiple scripts, the answer in my case is, simply, happenstance. I find my ideas for stories anywhere from local entertainment attractions to other pieces of media and literature. But there are a few things I do to ensure those ideas never slip through my fingers and into the minds of others before I can write about them. Hopefully some of what I write here will influence you to write.
The first step to writing is coming up with an idea. And perhaps calling it “coming up with” is a bit of a misnomer: I believe the works we find most ingenious and famous are those which “happen to” the author or are influenced by other works, and aren’t “forced” or “required.” For example, when I have writer’s block, it’s my opinion that it’s better not to write at all. The only writing which happens during writer’s block is long-winded, vague, and tends to be inconsistent with the previous mindset of the work. It’s best to write only when you’re feeling inspired.
As I previously wrote, ideas I use to write my works tend to be inspired by things such as local events and locations, other pieces of media and literature (such as songs, books, and movies), and my interests. A great example of this is a psychological horror screenplay I’m writing that is somewhat influenced by a local entertainment attraction, SILO-X. I’ve never even visited the attraction, but the mere idea of the attraction inspired a complete screenplay. I’ve also been influenced by something as simple as The Grinch Who Stole Christmas! to come up with varying storylines, from another psychological horror to a thriller-turned-romance of sorts.
Oftentimes I also find inspiration in errors of others’ works. While a great fan of M. Night Shyamalan and, in particular, his works The Village, Sixth Sense, and Signs, I found The Happening to be perhaps one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen despite its great concept. That said, I’ve been working on an adaptation of sorts which fixes its problems with holes in the storyline, horrendous dialogue, and bad camera work/directing.
Once I find my inspiration, it’s important to write down, in detail, what exact your great concept is. If you don’t write it down, it’s likely to be lost. And if you only write down a one-line concept, it’s like you’ll forget exactly what the great idea is, which is what happened when I recently noted this vague storyline: “story about woman w depression makes crafts and is a cutter.” That’s not only vague, but is completely confusing, and doesn’t sound even remotely interesting. At one time I must have thought it compelling, but the inspiration was lost due to incomplete note taking. Now I can only hope that one day it returns.
I usually write down my ideas in my screenwriting program Celtx, which is a wonderful, free, open-source tool writers can use to plan and write their projects. In a pinch I can use my cell phone or, as I often do in the car, write my notes down on a small notepad. I also used to keep a very nice Moleskin pocket notebook, but it has since been replaced by the much more convenient cell phone. Whatever medium you use to write down your ideas, just make sure they’re complete. Include what inspired you, too, so that it can provide further influence.
Once you have your ideas, compile them in Celtx or another medium and use it as a sort of container for your project. I can go back into Celtx or my notebooks and write down more ideas. Don’t use Post-it Notes or small pieces of paper that are bound to be lost; try your best to keep the ideas together or at least readily available and able to be backed-up.
Hopefully this little post gives some insights into the method I use to get inspiration and turn them into works. It won’t make you an award-winning writer, but it will encourage and enable you to complete your projects with your original intent.