Flash fiction — the art of the ultra-short story of 1,000 words or fewer — is a challenging, skill-building exercise for any writer. Acclaimed creative writing teacher Fred D. White gives a fast-paced and in-depth introduction to this fascinating genre in the new writing guide Writing Flash: How to Craft and Publish Flash Fiction for a Booming Market (Quill Driver Books, July 2018).

In Writing Flash, White shows that mastering the art of flash fiction is an indispensable skill for any writer. Learning how to compress a story to its most essential elements will make your writing vigorous, evocative and full of emotion. Writing flash fiction strengthens skills that are invaluable for any kind of writing, including novels and longer short fiction. As White says, “Don’t let the shortness of flash stories mislead you into thinking that they’re easy to write. A successful flash story has all the aesthetic complexity of a story ten times its length.”

Writing Flash presents a comprehensive introductory course to the techniques of flash fiction, beginning with a rigorous analysis of the mechanics of effective flash stories that will give you new insights into the bones and sinews of all literature. White demonstrates that a good flash story has all the elements of a story of conventional length — but “compressed by allusion, indirection, innuendo, and metaphorical language.”

Writing Flash unpacks, examines and explains the nuts and bolts of how flash stories work, training readers how to recognize elements of narrative, voice, characterization and authorial purpose in incredibly brief stories. White lays out in detail the literary techniques by which talented writers have successfully developed full narratives in this highly compressed format and suggests strategies for using these techniques in one’s own flash fiction.

And, as Writing Flash shows, once you’ve mastered these techniques, you can use flash fiction to tell any kind of story. White illustrates how the elements of flash fiction can be used to spotlight character and theme; tell literary and genre stories; or be used for satirical and experimental fiction.

Throughout Writing Flash, White presents challenging exercises and writing prompts that will strengthen specific writing skills, extend your abilities and give valuable practice in the craft of flash fiction.

But flash fiction is more than just a writing exercise. It’s also an elegant art in its own right that can produce stories of startling depth and feeling. Writing Flash illustrates flash fiction techniques and strategies by including an extensive selection of the best flash stories from great writers. These haunting and hilarious stories will move you, entertain you and inspire you to get to work on your own flash fiction.

Writing Flash also includes fantastic resources for aspiring flash writers, including tips on publishing and marketing your own flash fiction to build your writing career, plus extensive lists of flash fiction literary journals, award contests and resources for further study.

Writing Flash won’t just help you become a better flash fiction writer; this book will help you become a better writer, period.

About the Author: Fred D. White received his Ph.D. in English from the University of Iowa, and taught courses in writing and literature in community colleges in Minnesota and, since 1980, at Santa Clara University in Northern California, where he is now professor of English, Emeritus. In 1996 he received the Louis and Dorina Brutocao Award for Teaching Excellence. Professor White has published several books on writing, as well as dozens of stories (many of them flash tales), essays, poems, and plays. He lives with his wife, Therese (an attorney), and their two cats, Emily and Otis, in Rancho Cordova, California.

Book Details:

Title: Writing Flash: How to Craft and Publish Flash Fiction for a Booming Market

Author: Fred D. White

Publisher: Quill Driver Books, an imprint of Linden Publishing

Publication Date: July 1, 2018

Price: $14.95 US

Category: Composition & Creative Writing

ISBN 978-1-61035-317-5

6″ x 9″ trade paperback, 150 pages, bibliography, index. Also available in e-book formats.