After a frankly exhausting series of fiction workshops, I took the summer off and did more or less nothing.
I needed it, and I’m glad I did it, although I do wish I had been more productive (but if I had, it wouldn’t have been a break, so…)
But now, in an attempt to get back to it, I have started a flash fiction class. It’s once a week for four weeks.
My reasons were twofold: first, to get back into the habit of writing. Second, I see so many flash fiction contests out there, and I need to start building up a name for myself as a writer somehow.
I did expect to enjoy it. The shorter form stuff has always appealed to me as a reader, although I do mostly read novels. I love a short story with a weird twist like the short stores by O. Henry.
What I didn’t expect was to feel at home writing flash fiction.
My career up until now has been journalism, which is 95% dependent on editing down to the core essentials to tell the facts of a story quickly. This is very similar to that, except this time instead of choosing the right words for facts and clarity, I’m choosing the right words for emotion and plot. It’s completely different, yet very similar. It’s like visiting my old life and it’s really nice.
After this month of classes I’m hoping that I’ll have a piece clean enough to submit to contests and journals. I’d love to start marketing myself as a writer and then eventually, I hope to sell my longer works.
Has anyone else written flash fiction or submitted for any contests? How did it go?