Last week I talked about giving yourself the opportunity to slow down, make mistakes, and write just because you enjoy it.
This week I’m going to encourage you to put that into practice by writing some flash or micro fiction.
I know, it seems counterintuitive. Surely short fiction will be faster than novel writing.
Ha!
Haven’t you heard the often-quoted saw, “I would have written you a shorter letter but I didn’t have the time”?
There is an art to brevity.
There is craft in knowing what to cut.
Watch my Flash Fiction 3-minute explainer here
Ready to go deeper? Take the Fiction in a Flash Workshop
This week’s challenge
Give yourself the gift of working on a single story, told in 100, 500, or 1000 words, this week.
- Take the time to find a character you’re intrigued by.
- Spend time finding an issue that you can get passionate about.
- Wallow in the possibilities of how you can bring this character to that moment.
- Meander through the opportunities for change, that exist for your character.
- Write the vivid moment.
- Stare at your prose and find ways to sculpt it so that it is spare where it can be and lush where it needs to be.
Come back to your story every day this week and ask yourself
- “is this the right opening line?
- “Would they say it exactly like this?”
- “Is that the most powerful visual I could use?”
- “Does this last line hook the reader’s brain so they are thinking about my story for the rest of their week?”
Give yourself the gift of time and space to craft an exquisite morsel.
Even if you are the only person who ever enjoys it, aren’t you worth the effort?