Flash for Big Cash Contest
All right, then. I've writtena flash-fiction piece that doesn't seem to adhere to anyspecific genre. Dark, but not what I consider blatant horror. Dark mainstream fiction, perhaps? Anyway, I've been debating where I could possibly send this, and in the end, I decided to submit itas anentryin the Flash for Big Cash Contest(presented by Flash Me Magazine). Is anyone else around here entering this contest?
...guess not, then.
(crickets chirping)
Hey, Chaos-
Considering it. I have a few pieces submitted elsewhere that I'm waiting to hear about first. If a no go there, I maysubmit them to the contest. When is the deadline again?
I'm not entering it. I have lots of intentions but no time to follow though it seems.
Never meddle in the affairs of a wizard unless you are soggy and hard to light!
Visit my art gallery on art wanted at
http://artwanted.com/crystalwizard
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I avoid contests that require a fee unless I think it's a good cause--Ralan's Grabber Contest, for example. I don't know these folks, so I won't be submitting.
--Jeff Stehman
'The Goblin Hunter,' Jim Baen's Universe (Feb 2007)
It appears that the deadline is February 28.
Nik said...
Hey, Chaos-
Considering it. I have a few pieces submitted elsewhere that I'm waiting to hear about first. If a no go there, I maysubmit them to the contest. When is the deadline again?
I don't often, myself, but the piece I submitted is one that I haven't had an easy time finding amarket for. As I said, it's rather hard to categorize. Also, I suppose it wasmyonly piece not currently in circulation, so I decided to give it a shot. We'll see what happens.
Jeff Stehman said...
I avoid contests that require a fee unless I think it's a good cause--Ralan's Grabber Contest, for example. I don't know these folks, so I won't be submitting.
I've never really been able to write flash. It's too hard for me to develop an effective character and a good plot in such a small amount of words. Anyone have any advice?
Jordan Lapp
start with a normal short story and then start cutting out parts. cut out everything you can, re-read it, adjust a bit and cut out more. Keep cutting till you're down to the word count you need.Jordan Lapp said...
I've never really been able to write flash. It's too hard for me to develop an effective character and a good plot in such a small amount of words. Anyone have any advice?
I know some places what 500 words, I know of one that wants 100 words. I know of a couple that consider anything of 1000 words or less to be flash, so maybe look for a market that takes larger word counts rather than smaller.
Never meddle in the affairs of a wizard unless you are soggy and hard to light!
Visit my art gallery on art wanted at
http://artwanted.com/crystalwizard
All my books in print:
http://sojourn.omnitech.net
Jordan-Jordan Lapp said...
I've never really been able to write flash. It's too hard for me to develop an effective character and a good plot in such a small amount of words. Anyone have any advice?
G.W. Thomas's FLASHSHOT site has some great tips on writing flash fiction, including examples.
The key, in my opinion, is to really understand what details don't matter to the point of the story and make sure to exclude them. Character development doesn't matter as much in flash - you have to rely on the reader to fill in the details. More often, it's what the character says or does that's crucial, and the rest can fall by the wayside because the doing or saying is so poignant, interesting, weird, or just plain clever.
Does that help? Not that I'm an expert - I submitted my first two flash fiction stories ever for publication this week. If I get published, I'll let you know - then you can listen to my advice.
Yep, I'll second Nik on character development; you don't want it in flash fiction. The only stories I use for flash are ones where the characterizations are bound up with the basic plot. I'd go by this rule: If you can rewritea storyusing a different character as the protagonist, that story can't be flash fiction because you need all those extra words to establish the character. Flash fiction leaves room only for the story; if the character doesn't come out as part of the story, then there is no character at all.
Okay, so I'm not really an expert either. But Mount Zion promises that my first flash story will be published this week, so I have some qualification at least. [img]/emoticons/wink.gif[/img] Hope that helps!
Robert Orme
Out now:
'Such Dreams' in Amazing Journeys Magazine #12 (www.journeybookspublishing.com)
'On the Tree Top' in Ultraverse vol.3 #5 (www.ultraverse.us)
Coming soon:
'The Scab, the Man, and the I.V.' in Mount Zion Speculative Fiction Review #3 (www.mountzionpress.com)
'More Than One Way to Protect' in Lords of Justice (www.carnifexpress.net/blogs/)
'And Afterward' and 'Candy Lover' in Flashshot, April 30 and May 23 (www.gwthomas.org/subscribe.htm)
Heh. I wrote my one flash piece accidentally. A bit of dialogue had been floating around in my head for months. I finally wrote it down, figuring I'd come up with the full story later. Every now and then I'd reread those 239 words, hoping for inspiration. And I eventually found it: there's no more to the story. The reader already knows that the protag fought off the bandits, slew the monster, saved the girl, and was revealed as a villain. Why bother filling in the details? [img]/emoticons/smilewinkgrin.gif[/img]Jordan Lapp said...
Anyone have any advice?
If I'd tried, I couldn't have done it.
--Jeff Stehman
'The Goblin Hunter,' Jim Baen's Universe (Feb 2007)
Here's a good site to use to practice writing stories in a short a space as possible:
http://espressostories.com/index.php
Never meddle in the affairs of a wizard unless you are soggy and hard to light!
Visit my art gallery on art wanted at
http://artwanted.com/crystalwizard
All my books in print:
http://sojourn.omnitech.net
I've written a few flash pieces, but I don't ordinarily begin with the intentions of keeping the word count down. In my case, it just tends to happen. Flash fiction usually results when I write a story and thenfind that there'sno more to tell. The flash fiction(or what Iconsider to beflash fiction)I've writtenseems toremainover 500 words and less than 1,000.
I wouldn't say that character development is out of the question, but obviously you're limited with what you can work with because of the word count. What was said above about characterization being bound with the basic plot is likely pretty accurate, I think.
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