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- Jun 12, 2013
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Flash fiction is an exercise in getting as much content out of as few words as possible. I'm curious as to how you all deal with staples of longer fiction, which may prove problematic or distracting in flash.
Names, for instance. You might only have two characters, so naming them is hardly necessary to differentiate them, in fact it could be a useless and distracting addition. That said a name can be used to tell the reader something about the character (someone named Joe is probably an "average guy.") Or, it could provide a glimpse of a larger story-"He always thought of his mother by her first name, Mary."
Descriptions obviously go a long way towards providing a setting and atmosphere, but flash often relies on the reader to provide such details for themselves, rather than wasting precious words.
Dialogue seems like an economic decision. It's often a better option than exposition for providing information, but it is also takes longer. It usually come down to a calculation of the pros and cons for me.
So how do you cope with these? I sometimes struggle with the decision making in my own flash. You want to name everyone, and provide a great setting, and use dialogue to show the story, but the more you use them, the less actual action and progress you can fit in under 100 words.
Names, for instance. You might only have two characters, so naming them is hardly necessary to differentiate them, in fact it could be a useless and distracting addition. That said a name can be used to tell the reader something about the character (someone named Joe is probably an "average guy.") Or, it could provide a glimpse of a larger story-"He always thought of his mother by her first name, Mary."
Descriptions obviously go a long way towards providing a setting and atmosphere, but flash often relies on the reader to provide such details for themselves, rather than wasting precious words.
Dialogue seems like an economic decision. It's often a better option than exposition for providing information, but it is also takes longer. It usually come down to a calculation of the pros and cons for me.
So how do you cope with these? I sometimes struggle with the decision making in my own flash. You want to name everyone, and provide a great setting, and use dialogue to show the story, but the more you use them, the less actual action and progress you can fit in under 100 words.