Flash Writing Book Review: Rose Metal Press's Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction
It is summer, and I'm starting my summer reading a little early this year with a review of the Rose Metal Press's Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction.
Flash fiction is rapidly growing in popularity, but yet, there are not a lot of books out there geared toward writing flash specifically. There also is a lot of confusion about what exactly flash fiction is. The Field Guide addresses this issue by providing a variety of perspectives on flash, ranging from specific writing techniques, to history, to detailed studies of specific stories and more.
Tara Masih's introduction provides a detailed, well researched history of flash fiction that I wished I had when I started my research for Flash Writing back in 2003. She also covers the Asian influence on flash fiction from China and India. This piece is worth the cover price of the book itself. But that is just the beginning of the book...
The selected writers for this collection are the superstars of flash: Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Olen-Butler, our own Pamelyn Casto, Lex Williford, Pamela Painter, and Bruce Holland-Rogers just to name a few of them. The prizes and fellowships earned by these contributors number in the hundreds. The number of flash fiction stories published by them easily numbers in the thousands. The different subjects and writing styles keep the book fresh.
The book's format consists of a short essay, a flash fiction exercise and a story example based on that essay. The book also groups essays with a similar theme into sections such as "Beginnings and Endings," "Imagery as Inspiration," "Taking Risks," "Focusing and Editing," and the "Future of Flash Fiction."
The only thing that would have made the book even better would have been to include several additional flash fiction exercises after each essay instead of just one. One just wasn't enough for me, and since we are getting a glimpse into each contributor's creative process, it would have been great to have more of their favorite flash writing exercises and maybe even include an additional story example that was written specifically using one of those additional exercises.
This complaint is a minor one since the exercises that have been provided are so solid. The Rose Metal Press's Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction is an essential resource for any flash fiction writer, and I am not alone here. ForeWord Magazine has just awarded the Field Guide a Bronze Medal in the Writing Category in their Book of the Year Awards.
So do yourself a favor and click on our Amazon link below and get your copy today!
The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction: Tips from Editors, Teachers, and Writers in the Field
Michael L. Wilson is the publisher of "Grist for the Muse", the blog that gets you writing and keeps you writing. (http://gristforthemuse.blogspot.com/) and "The 15-Minute Writer", helping you achieve your writing dreams in just 15 minutes a day (http://15minutewriter.blogspot.com/).