I remember, decades ago now, my brother writing these short little one-scene short short short stories. The word Flash Fiction hadn't even been invented yet. I don't know that I'd ever tried writing one as my interests were always more towards epic SF&F, but I've been reconsidering it of late and have, in fact, written 2 and 1/2 stories with another one in the back of my mind.
It's hard to call them proper stories as <500 words is barely enough room to establish a character, their situation, the conflict and some sort of resolution. Most just summarize the first two, only "showing" the conflict, while "telling" the rest. The resolution is often only hinted at.
The good ones read like poetry. I think the limited word count restricts the scope of the story to something like that of a poem's and that may be the reason that, unlike most stories, many of these are written in first person present tense. In fact one could argue that Flash Fiction rest firmly in the intersection of poetry and prose.
I've been meaning to post about 365 tomorrows for some time now. I stumbled across them a few weeks back, but with a bunch of home projects (like pulling everything out of my house to replace the carpet), work, advanced java classes, and activities for/with the kids, I haven't had a chance to write about it. 365 Tomorrows is the reason why I've had an interest in trying my hand at flash fiction--as much as an exercise as anything else.
Many of the stories there are quite interesting. Unfortunately, they don't seem to be edited and a number have simple typos that, after all the editing I've been doing on other people's works, have me reaching for my editor's pen. Part of me thinks I should try looking for paying markets first, but the current market for SF is so abysmal, I doubt the pay for one of these (If one could even find a paying market) would be worth the effort or expense of mailing the manuscripts in. Still, I think I'll submit a few to this site just to see what the response is.
Now if only someone would set up a 365yesterdays for fantasy stories...
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Preparing for NaNoWriMo
I'm starting to get excited about NaNoWriMo, but I'm also a little anxious. I know it's several months away, but I want this to be a real attempt at a first draft and not merely a writing exercise. I've more or less completed (and either discarded or simply shelved) 2 novels (one of 60k words and one of 80k) so I have some idea of what's in store.
I've mostly done short stories of late which has been both more satisfying and more frustrating. Satisfying, because there's an easily attainable goal. Frustrating, because the market for short stories, particularly heroic fantasy short stores, is nearly nil. That, and most of the stories I want to write just require more space.
In both cases, the novels failed to achieve their goals because I didn't have a clear outline. The first, especially, was a muddled mess and I decided after that, that I would have some sort of outline before I tried again.
So I've been working on an outline. It just makes sense that I'll be more productive if I don't have to stop and think what the next scene will be. Unfortunately that is easier said than done. I have a general idea of where I want the plot to go and several key scenes to include, but stitching it all together and working out the details--a lot of that only comes together in the process of writing.
Still, if I can just come up with a list of name for all the characters, that alone will save me tons of time. For some reason having to come up with a character name on the spot just stops me cold as I sit and debate what it should be.
I've mostly done short stories of late which has been both more satisfying and more frustrating. Satisfying, because there's an easily attainable goal. Frustrating, because the market for short stories, particularly heroic fantasy short stores, is nearly nil. That, and most of the stories I want to write just require more space.
In both cases, the novels failed to achieve their goals because I didn't have a clear outline. The first, especially, was a muddled mess and I decided after that, that I would have some sort of outline before I tried again.
So I've been working on an outline. It just makes sense that I'll be more productive if I don't have to stop and think what the next scene will be. Unfortunately that is easier said than done. I have a general idea of where I want the plot to go and several key scenes to include, but stitching it all together and working out the details--a lot of that only comes together in the process of writing.
Still, if I can just come up with a list of name for all the characters, that alone will save me tons of time. For some reason having to come up with a character name on the spot just stops me cold as I sit and debate what it should be.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
dreaming with my eyes open
John Gardner, in his book The Art of Fiction, speaks of the “fictional dream” which is the experience readers enjoy when they are engrossed in a good story. Writers, before they can write such a story must, obviously, first dream it up. But they must do more than that.
It's not enough to just focus on interesting people doing interesting things in interesting places. A writer must also pay attention to voice, theme, tone, pacing and a host of more technical concerns—all while engaged in recording this fictional dream. In other words, a writer must dream with his eyes open.
This site then is a small space carved out to serve as my own literary playground as I record my adventures in this waking dreamland... .
It's not enough to just focus on interesting people doing interesting things in interesting places. A writer must also pay attention to voice, theme, tone, pacing and a host of more technical concerns—all while engaged in recording this fictional dream. In other words, a writer must dream with his eyes open.
This site then is a small space carved out to serve as my own literary playground as I record my adventures in this waking dreamland... .
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