Many writers try to pack too much into a flash fiction story. They provide details, interesting characters, and colorful language that simply don't move the story forward. Flash fiction must maintain tight focus. It cannot wander, or idly comment on the events taking place. It can't have subplots, minor "bit" characters, or establishment shots to solidify the tone or setting.
If a novel is a 5-pound Hershey's milk chocolate bar, flash fiction is a Hershey's Kiss. Flash fiction writers must scale back their ambition and not tell too much of a story. A Kiss might not be a lot of chocolate, but sometimes it is just enough to tide you over until dinner.
How do you break down your story into bite-sized, manageable chunks? Try these:
Find the most important information in the story.
What are you trying to say here? What is the moral of your tale? What is the one thing that this story cannot do without, the one card that causes the entire house to collapse and burn if it is pulled from the bottom floor? This can be a character's revelation (often this is the famous "twist" common to flash fiction), or a moment of change (where a physical or mental transformation occurs) or the punchline to the joke you are trying to tell. Flash fiction is all about change, and the quicker you can take the reader to the exact moment of revelation, the better.Begin in the middle.
Jump right into the action; whether it is in the middle of a conversation, fight, auto accident, or is a pivotal moment where a character makes a life-changing decision. Don't dwell on description or setting at the beginning; just weave it as you write, one detail at a time.Don't write about something; Show us something.
Don't write about the tragic death of a toddler, show us a tight, focused scene. Show us the mother's frantic attempt to revive him when she discovers him lying in the backyard grass. Show us the little coffin being wheeled down the center aisle of the church during the funeral service. Let us hear the words and thoughts of one person present at either of these scenes. You don't need to show the reader both of these scenes, or know what everyone within a scene is thinking. Focus on providing information in just one scene through one set of eyes.See your story through a 1-inch picture frame.
Anne Lamott, in her book Bird-by-Bird, discusses a practical way to limit your scope and vision as a writer. A 1-inch picture frame reminds you that you do not have to tell the entire story in a volcanic rush, but you can dribble it out like drops from a leaky faucet, one detail at a time. You use this picture frame to capture an emotional facial expression, the first meeting between characters, or a moment of revelation of a deep, dark secret. When looking through a 1-inch picture frame, you can't see the entire house, just the old wooden swing hanging from rusty chains on the front porch. Use that small portal as the focus to keep on writing.Keep it claustrophobic.
Don't let your story wander from scene to scene; keep the characters trapped in one place. Force them together and give them no way out. Barricade him in a bank vault with a desperate criminal. Trap her in a cabin in the deep woods by a heavy early snow and a ravenous grizzly bear lurking outside the rotting wood walls. Bury two enemies together in the rubble of a collapsed building. Not only does this keep the characters close, but it also creates conflict and tremendous dramatic tension.
Flash fiction is about capturing moments in time, not years. It is a flash, not the long, rolling, rumble after the lightning strikes. Your canvas might be small, but there is no limit to the detail and color you can paint within it.
Michael L. Wilson is the author of Flash Writing: How to Write, Revise and Publish Stories Less Than 1000 Words Long, and has been teaching creative writing for almost a decade. He has a BA from Ohio University, and has been a guest speaker at the Thurber House, the Maumee Valley and Columbus Writers Conferences. He publishes Grist for the Muse a free, monthly, creative writing e-newsletter. For details about the book, newsletter or more information about flash fiction, go to http://www.flashwriting.com or email him at michael@flashwriting.com.