Revising Flash Fiction Story One

This week, focus on revising and polishing your story using the notes I gave you :-)

Flash Fiction -- Story One

Have you ever written -- or read -- flash fiction?

And, what is “flash fiction” anyway? 

It’s a short story told in 1,000 words or fewer. A whole story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. Character development, setting, problems, and a solution. In about two pages.  If you tend to write short (like me), that's not daunting.  If you tend to write long, it's a bigger challenge.

So, what do you need in order to write a flash fiction story? You need: 

1. A beginning that introduces a character that readers will care about, something that character wants or needs, and whatever problem is stopping that character from getting what they want/need. 
   
   
2. A middle where the problem gets worse. 
   
   
3. An ending where the character beats or solves the problem and gets (or gets closer to) their want/need… or where they fail and get farther away from what they want/need. 
   
   
4. A reason why you wrote the story AND why your reader wants to read it. You want to leave your reader thinking, “Wow! That was awesome/scary/funny/shocking/uplifting. I’m so glad I read that.” 

Those are exactly the same things a longer story needs. And a novel. And a play. And a movie or a TV show episode. Anything fictional needs all those things. The tricky part of flash fiction is that you have very, very few words in which to work all that magic. 

But that’s also the fun part. When you don’t have room for lots of details, lots of worldbuilding, a complicated plot, or lots of character development, you have to narrow your focus a lot. Flash fiction is like a single photo instead of a whole movie.  Think of writing it as more like the process of writing poetry -- keep your focus small and tight.

If you haven't read much flash fiction before, and you want to wrap your head around how a story that small can be good, then I advise you to read the spring issue of Sparkler right here.

That's an especially good idea because you are going to be writing two flash fiction stories for this class, and I want you each to submit one of them to Sparkler.  Their summer issue is for teen writers only!  And I think submitting a story to a real magazine will be a good experience for you both, whether or not you get a story accepted.

The theme for that issue is "The Moment That Changed Everything" which is a pretty wide-open theme, since most really short stories will hinge on a moment where everything changes.  The stories also need to be YA fiction, so you need to write a teen protagonist.

This week, I'd like you to write a complete story about a teen in 1,000 words or less using one of these settings:

• The circus
• The mall
• Washington, DC
• A summer camp for teens whose parents are spies
• The library
• Walmart
• Yellowstone National Park

Choose one of those settings, come up with a teen main character, figure out what they want/need, make up the problem in their way, and focus on the moment everything will change... for the better or the worse.  

This first story is due this Friday, April 24.  I'll get you some feedback over the weekend, and you can revise it next week.

Then we'll repeat that process in May.  And then you'll have two revised and polished stories to choose from when submissions open for Sparkler on June 2!

Titles

Finding the right title for your story can be tricky sometimes.  Once in a while, you get lucky, and the perfect title just arrives in your brain.  Other times, you have to find them. 

One of the best ways to find a title is to brainstorm a lot of words and phrases related to your story, then try to combine them in different ways.  Today, we’ll look at how to do that. 

Assignment One: Pick some fictional story you have already written (it doesn't matter if you already have a title for it or not), and let’s do some brainstorming to help you learn to find titles.

• Who are the main characters?  Include not just names, but also titles, job descriptions, or other words that state who or what your main characters are.  (Not just ‘Anne Shirley,’ but ‘orphan’ and ‘girl’ and ‘redhead,’ for instance.)  List ten words/names.
  
  
• Where does it take place?  List not only the names of locations used in your story (such as towns, castles, cities, planets, countries), but also general words about its location (countryside, small town, mountain, forest, etc.) List ten words/names.
  
  
• What do people DO in the story?  (Put some action words here.) List ten words.
  
  
• What are some interesting words or phrases you used in your story?  Did you make up any words for it, such as place names or magical words? (This works best if you have a copy of your story on hand.) List ten words/phrases.
  
  
• Are there any special objects in your story?  Things that are important to the plot or that the characters are very attached to?  List ten words.
  
  
• If you wanted to sum up the theme or main point of your story in one or two words, what are some words you could use? List ten words/phrases.

Now you have seventy words/phrases to play with!  It’s time to try putting these together. 

For instance, you could take a character name and a place and make a title like Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets or Anne of Green Gables.

You could combine a color and an important object and make a title like The Green Ember or The Blue Castle.

You could combine a couple of different important objects, like Bed-Knob and Broomstick or The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

You could combine a character word and an object, like Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire or The Indian in the Cupboard.

You could combine an important place and an important theme, like Gone-Away Lake or The Secret Garden.

You could combine a theme word and a character, like Carry On, Mr. Bowditch or Much Ado About Anne. 

Come up with at least thirty possible titles, combining different names, words, and phrases you listed.  Be silly, be wacky, find unusual combinations.  Share at least five of your favorites here in the comments.