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This popular six-word story, although the term wasn’t in use during his time, is often cited as an early example of “flash fiction” by Ernest Hemingway.
For a each short story type, I want to provide some information about their required length before I begin the article.
Flash fiction, also called minimalist fiction, is a fictional work of extreme brevity that still offers character and plot development. Identified varieties, many of them defined by word count, include the six-word story; the 280-character story (also known as “twitterature”); the “dribble” (also known as the “minisaga,” 50 words); the “drabble” (also known as “microfiction,” 100 words); “sudden fiction” (750 words); “flash fiction” (1,000 words); and “microstory”.
I remember the first time I saw that six-word story. I asked myself if such thing was possible or not. “Can a person really convey so much in just a few phrases?” Well, over time, I realized that the power of words lies in how you use them.
Back then, my teacher asked me to write a shorter version of my story in literature class. I couldn’t make it work properly. The funny thing was, I ended up writing even more instead of shortening it. After some practice, I had to bid farewell to some of the words I thought I had cleverly used.
Sure, the meaning became clearer, but I thought the effort I put into it would also be lost. However, I was mistaken. It was much more challenging to condense my story; it required more effort. I still can’t do it properly to this day, whether I’m writing or explaining things. My brain wants to include as much information as possible on the topic at hand. I’m still not sure if it’s a curse or not.
After I read some more about flash fiction works, I asked myself another question, “What’s the difference between poems and flash fiction stories?” They were both “short short stories” (which has actually been used as another term for flash fiction for a while). However, I noticed the difference when I dived into poems some years ago. I can say that both forms can reflect inner emotions and thoughts through text, but the real difference lies in the use of meters, rhymes, and metaphors.
When you want to narrate a story, you want it to be well conveyed, but it doesn’t necessarily have to include any of those elements mentioned above, as poems often do. Additionally, poems don’t have any rules regarding word count. So, I dismissed that question as well.
Now, another question popped into my mind, “Are they really popular, or are they just another genre of literature that got lost along the way?” I learned that many renowned authors used this form of storytelling in some of their works, such as Franz Kafka, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., or Philip Kindred Dick did.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
After giving it more thought, I believe, contrary to what I assumed, that it is much more commonly used nowadays. This is my personal perspective, but I think all the comics we see on the internet are examples of flash fiction stories. Garfield, Peanuts, or any some other comics you follow on social media use this method to tell their stories in just a few panels.
True, they benefit from visual aids for explanations, which can enhance the quality of the story (for example, conveying emotions clearly), but they use speech bubbles for this purpose. I’ve read that they aren’t considered flash fiction, but I’d like to disagree with that. As long as you include text to narrate in your stories, I think they should be considered as such.
If you believe I’m mistaken or would like to share your thoughts on this, please feel free to reply. Your input is always welcome.
I want to emphasize that I enjoy both writing and reading, regardless of the length of the text. I’m well aware that there are, and will be, people who use flash fiction to fill the pages of books and try to take advantage of it. However, a discerning reader will recognize that this won’t diminish the value of this genre but will, instead, expose those who seek to exploit it.
Therefore, I believe that apart from their short yet valuable content, flash fictions can serve as a tool to identify genuine writers.
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