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Yeah, I know it's all academic.... splices of fiction to come, I promise!

Flash fiction

q: How does the length change your reading experience?

q: How can I adapt to this length?

Creating a short piece of fiction can be a very challenging task.  The writer has to work quickly to grab the reader’s attention and select words and details efficiently enough to create movement, get the point across and resolved within a very short span.  There is less time in which to develop characters, and to pull the reader into the meat of the story.  Frequently, so many details are left out that the reader can be confused or left in a state of suspense, which might not necessarily be a bad thing if this outcome is intended.  For instance, in The Father, the reader is thrust into a group of women chattering about the resemblance of a newborn.  The characters are named, but the references are vague and confusing, and finally, as mention is made to the father, we realize he is without his own character.  The overall effect places the reader in the midst of the confusion, not being able to really make out what is happening between the enthusiasm of the relatives and the hesitation of the mother.  Perhaps in this way, we are to identify with the discomfort of the father, listening silently from another room.  Similarly, in Pumpkins, the writer jerks the reader on an impact journey of one event through four seemingly separate characters’ lives.  None of the scenarios are actually ever resolved, which culminate in the final character’s realization that some problems will never see closure.  

To write a short story, I would start by fleshing out an idea, brainstorming plot patterns, figuring out what might motivate a character, and doing the initial writing without consideration of length.  A lot of work can be done trimming out unnecessary parts and rewriting after the concepts are complete.  I think that even if the intended result is to expose the reader to an incomplete concept, the writer should still know the back-story.  This will allow the narrative to be written in such a way that the reader doesn’t get distracted by any unintended confusion.  Short fiction also allows for a very detailed account of a singular moment in time.