Flash Fiction? Ever heard of it? Maybe you've even read it, but didn't know the term. Like me. Apparently it's a tool used by many authors. Basically, it's a short story or actually a short short story.
Popular With Readers
As a reader who's always enjoyed very very long books, the concept of a short story never used to appeal to me, but as I've been exposed to more of these types of stories through social media, I've learned to appreciate and even enjoy them.
It seems I am late to the game. Here is a snippet of an article from way back in 2015 discussing the popularity of the short story. From what I've observed, short stories have only increased in popularity since then.
Short stories are having a revival in the digital age. As book marketing guru Penny C. Sansevieri wrote in TheHuffington Post, “Short is the new long. Thanks to consumers who want quick bites of information and things like Kindle Singles, consumers love short.” It seems the short story is back—on an iPhone near you.
Popular With Authors
A search on Amazon for short stories was an eye opener for me. Authors from Leo Tolstoy to J.K. Rowling have books filled with their short stories. Also, many authors have joined forces and published their short stories combined into one book. Why does this seem to be more and more common lately? I'll get back to that in a minute. First let's take a look at Short Short Stories or Flash Fiction.
Flash Fiction?
"flash fiction also micro-fiction
noun[uncountable]
a style of literature in which stories are extremely short and often consist of less than 300 words"
Flash fiction can be anywhere from 6-1,000 words. This kind of writing is more difficult than you might think. Engaging a reader's interest that fast takes a special kind of skill. There are probably some who write this way for the fun of it, but taking on this challenge is about more than fun for many writers.
Here are some of the reasons I found for writing flash fiction and/or short stories:
Written and published faster
Helps writers/authors improve their craft
Marketing for upcoming novels
Possible earning potential
Name recognition and attracting more readers
Can be published and self-published in a variety of places such as: magazines, blogs, various social media sites, amazon or other book sellers, research journals...the list goes on and on.
"The best way to sell books is to write even more books. By publishing multiple books, readers have more ways to discover your writing, enjoy it, and go looking for even more, increasing your sales and building your audience.
Writing books takes time, though—you can’t always publish quality, well-edited novels at a breakneck speed, fast enough to satisfy fans who want more of your work.
Flash fiction can fill that gap." -Kate Sullivan
QUESTIOn FOR YOU
WOULD YOU RATHER...
I spend my time exclusively on my novels and blog...
or
publish short stories/flash fiction once in a while which you could read as you wait for me to get my novels published?
I'm interested in your opinions. Meanwhile, I may try a couple flash fiction exercises for the lessons I could learn from them. I already have some ideas rolling around in my head, including one which could be a prequel to my novel, Hope for Charity...
I appreciate all of you who came today. I hope you are all safe and well. I pray the Lord God will bless you and your family with Faith, Hope and Love in Jesus' Name.
In Christ,
Sandy
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