|
Featured Article
|  | The Contest Conundrum: What Are Flash Fiction Contest Judges Looking For?
By LuAnn Schindler
If you've ever entered one of our contests or are thinking about entering, this article takes you behind the scenes of a flash fiction critique. With the permission of a flash fiction writer, we share a sample story and walk you through the critique process. You'll see how judges score entries, examine content components such as universal story pattern, and what they look for in technical aspects. Learn by example from this article, and then get to work crafting your flash fiction! READ MORE>>
|
Fresh News Daily From The Muffin
|  |
Tuesdays are contest winner interview days! Learn from other flash fiction writers and find out what inspires their stories. Visit The Muffin for daily writing inspiration.
|
Feature Article
AutoCrit: A Helpful Tool for Editing Flash Fiction
|
I stumbled across the AutoCrit site today and found it to be a helpful tool for editing your flash fiction stories. The free version allows you to paste a story of under 800 words into a text box, where you have the option of selecting reports on three categories: Overused Words, Repeated Phrases, and Sentence Length Variations. These categories are crucial to analyze when crafting a flash piece... MORE>> |
Addicted to fiction?
|  |
Premium-Green delivers select fiction markets to your inbox each month! Find a home for your short stories. Join Premium Green and get started! PG MARKETS>>
|
|
Featured Article
|  | How to Cut Your Flash Fiction Contest Entry Down to Size
By Mandy Vicsai
Mark Twain said "I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one
instead." This is especially true for stories of 500 words. Yet shorter
stories can be punchier, more focused and as a writer more fulfilling
because of the challenge they present.
This article gives you seven practical ways to cull your words to the required count. It's based on my story Strange Doin's, winner of WOW!'s Fall 2006 Competition.
READ MORE>>
|
|
|
The results are in!
SPRING 2010 FLASH FICTION CONTEST WINNERS
|
Greetings!
Yes, it's true! The results of the Spring 2010 Flash Fiction Contest are in!
What a pleasure it's been to read the stories of so many talented writers. Our guest judges did not have an easy time. The diversity of the entries in style, genre, and structure led to careful deliberation.
A big thank you goes to our guest judge, literary agent, Jenny Bent, for her time and effort spent choosing this season's top winners.
Results: So, without further ado, let's read the winning stories! Visit the Spring 2010 Flash Fiction Contest Winners' Page.
Critiques: If you purchased a critique for the Spring '10 contest, you should receive an email with your critique attached as a Microsoft Word .doc shortly. Our contest manager is sending them out one at a time next week, so keep a look out for it. It will be coming from anne@wow-womenonwriting.com.
Flash Writing Advice: We also have an article about Flash Errors below, written by WOW's resident flash fiction expert LuAnn Schindler.
Summer Contest: And don't forget: our Summer 2010 Flash Fiction Contest ends this month, August 31st. So dig out those stories and send them on in! We're no where near our 300 mark, so your chances are excellent.
Enjoy!
|
|
|
Spring 2010 Flash Fiction Contest Winners Announced!
Drum roll...
 Congratulations goes to everyone who entered the Spring '10 Flash Fiction Contest. All of your entries were incredible this round, and our esteemed guest judge, literary agent Jenny Bent, did not have an easy job! But with her expertise, she dutifully picked the winners.
All of the stories this season were phenomenal! Every story you see on the contest page scored a "15" (the highest score possible), including honorable mentions.
I know you've all been waiting patiently, so here's the results!
- 1st Place Winner: Life Script by Sarah Warburton
- 2nd Place Winner: Bedtime Story by Caleb Collier
- 3rd Place Winner: Ebb Tide by Angelica R. Jackson
7 Runners Up (in no particular order):
- Quality Time by Eileen Granfors
- Natural Selection by Doris E. Wright
- Of Crepes and Constancy by Mary Elizabeth Summer
- Confirmation by Tara Cowie
- Fly Girl by Karen Simmonds
- Note by Nancy DeMarco
- Notes from a Rooftop in Andalucia by Patricia Sands-Anis
Read the Top 10 Winners' stories in our contest feature!
15 Honorable Mentions (in no particular order):
- Saturday Night by Marla Morrow
- An Affair of a Thousand Stares by Tiffany K. Chartier
- Mommy Soup by Kerry D. Lonsdale
- Spanish Shawl by Linda M. Rhinehart Neas
- That's What She Said by Heather Divver-Moss
- Vertigo by Jacquelyn Speir
- Give and Take by Linda M. Pitts
- The Costume Party by Karen Simmonds
- Family Reunion by Mary Caffrey Knapke
- Holiday Hiccups by Jewel Allen
- Patiently Waiting by Erin Dobler
- Summer by Rebecca Pledger
- Curiosity and the Kat by Kat Mihalov
- Mary Mary by Jessica Cripps
- If Only You Knew by Mia Zachary
Congratulations to all the winners! And congrats to Karen Simmonds for winning both an Honorable Mention and placing in the Top 10! And congratulations to everyone who hit the send button. We know it's not easy, but each season provides a rebirth of opportunity!
So, go on already! Read the stories here.
Notes: As we mentioned above, if you purchased a critique for the Spring '10 contest, we will be sending critiques one at a time over the next week. If you haven't received your critique in a couple of weeks (make sure you check your bulk mail), please send us an e-mail and we'll resend.
Prizes: All prizes this season are digital, so we will be sending gift cards, e-books, and cash prizes electronically at the start of the week. Thank you!
|
|
Featured Article: Common Errors in Flash Fiction
by LuAnn Schindler
Storytelling weaves interesting personalities through a situation, guiding characters and readers toward that "a-ha" moment.
Good storytelling doesn't need flowery prose to attract readers. Instead, strong narrative relies on the most basic story elements to capture and portray an essence that resonates with readers.
Unfortunately, those basic elements are what many flash fiction writers fail to include. Couple those missing essentials with a page riddled with technical errors and a flash piece unravels before the ink dries on the paper.
STORY STARTERS
Story development slip-ups begin with storytelling. A strong flash piece contains the five universal story elements: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. The work contains a defined beginning, middle, and end.
What about story arc? If the singular flash piece is part of a larger body of work, then the presence of story arc doesn't hurt. Story arc results in a change, so in that aspect, flash may include that transformation--especially in character--in a story.
Can this be accomplished in 1000 words? 500 words? Wired.com reports Ernest Hemingway used six words to pen his best work: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." Story elements and story arc = present and accounted for. Readers use imagination and experience to fill in how they see the story unfolding. Conclusion is clear. Without a solid structure, a flash piece is doomed.
Flash needs a strong plot which is conflict-driven. Tension creates mood and tone. Even humorous pieces depend on friction to move a story from point A to point B. Without a sense of conflict, a flash piece is doomed.
Most flash pieces make a point. That point creates a sense of empathy with readers, making the story gripping. Strong examples leave readers with an overwhelming sense of "Wow." Without a point, a flash piece is doomed.
Engaging dialogue adds interest to the storyline. Flash pieces consisting of only dialogue generally don't work. Why? Dialogue doesn't provide the necessary backstory. Dialogue doesn't create the details that intertwine action. Use dialogue correctly and your piece will improve. Without strong dialogue and interaction, a flash piece is doomed.
At the end, readers feel a sense of closure. Even if the author leaves a few loose ends, a sense of completeness develops once the last word is read. Don't need a glittering finale. A simple resolution speaks loudly. Without a conclusion, a flash piece is doomed.
Story Starter Checklist: Does your story have...
- the five universal story elements?
- a beginning, middle, and end?
- an arc or character transformation?
- a conflict?
- a point?
- engaging dialogue?
- a sense of closure at the end?
TECHNICAL TROUBLES
Contemplate the story's title. Many flash titles don't give an overview of a story's action. A powerful title is a blend of backstory and subtext. It implies what happens once the story is finished. It becomes part of the piece. It is what the story is.
Flash banks on action and an active voice. When flash slips into passive voice, any movement or rhythm stops immediately. From that point, regaining momentum isn't guaranteed. Best option? Dodge passive voice.
Fancy descriptions may work in longer stories, but in flash, overused adjectives and adverbs need to meet the red pen and be banished from the page. A list of five descriptive words defining "hot" is overkill. Be precise and use words that matter. Adverbs like "really," "pretty," "nice," or "cute" use up word allotment and do not bring accuracy to a story. Weigh word choices.
Dialogue tags differentiate which character is speaking. Is it important to know how the line is said by adding a tag? Different ideas about using tags exist, but in a sense, telling a reader how a line should be read insults the reader's intelligence. Let the reader hear the line and draw conclusions. Plus, tags subtract from the word count. Why use them?
Common flash mistakes can be avoided. Don't approach flash like it is a prized genre that requires a special skill to write. Okay, yes, it requires patience to edit and revise a piece into a prescribed word count.
But at the end of the story, flash fiction is simply that: a story with a defined beginning, middle, and end that employs story structure, plot, point, and dialogue and includes a meaningful title and no grammar blunders, all within a defined number of words. Easy, right?
Words on page. Reader satisfied. Finis.
-----
 LuAnn Schindler is a full-time freelance journalist living on the eastern slope of the Nebraska Sandhills on a dairy farm with 200+ holsteins. She currently blogs for The Muffin and is a columnist for Premium Green. Her work has appeared in the Pregnancy, 2: The Couples Magazine, Denver Post, Rural Electric Nebraskan, Absolute Write, in addition to other publications. LuAnn is a member of the International Food, Wine, and Travel Writers Association. She won a 2010 Nebraska Press Award for feature writing.
|
|
Summer 2010 Flash Fiction Contest
 Deadline: August 31, 2010 (Midnight, Pacific Time)
Guest Judge: Literary Agent Kathleen Ortiz
About Kathleen: Kathleen Ortiz is currently Associate Agent and Foreign Rights Manager at Lowenstein Associates. She is seeking children's books (chapter, middle grade, and young adult) and young adult non-fiction. While Kathleen enjoys everything from light-hearted and humorous to dark and edgy, she'd love to find an amazing romance from a male point of view or a steampunk with fantastic world building.
Find out more about Kathleen by reading her interview on WOW! Women On Writing, featured in this issue's 20 Questions Column.
Prompt: Open Prompt
Word Count: 750 Max; 250 Min
Limit: 300 Entries
Don't wait until the last minute! Enter today. Visit the Contest Page and download the terms & conditions ebook (PDF). Good luck!
|
|
|
We hope you enjoy reading all the wonderful stories that these ladies put their hearts into writing. Congratulations goes out to each and every one of you.
Whatever you do, never give up. Follow your dreams, and go for the writing gold!
Write on!
Angela, Anne, LuAnn & Team WOW!
WOW! Women On Writing
Writer's Digest 101 Best Sites for Writers 2008, 2009, 2010
|
|
|
