It occurs to me that even though I’m a writing fish who (a) swims in the goldfish bowl of the shortest forms of fiction and (b) likes to waffle on about the ins and outs of writing craft, I’ve never actually written a craft article that brings those two things together and dedicates itself to defining the dark (and magical) art of flash fiction.
Hi Matt, I love "Chain of Culpability," which seemed so real and yet also so unbelievably creative. So glad you didn't explicitly describe what happened to the boy but left us wondering how he crumbled to dust. I also really like the butterfly in the jam jar image. My own butterflies are always getting sticky and weighed down by too much familiarity. Also, now I know what an opera cake is! How do I sign up to get Mondettes? Sometimes, I see it on your social media posts, but I'd like it delivered to my inbox so I don't miss anything. All best, Beth
Beth - thank you so much for this lovely comment, both about my story and about the article. Your own butterflies seem very vibrant and spectacular to me! Always amazed by your writing! For Mondettes, you should be able to subscribe here (plus, you should see the whole amazing archive of everything that has been picked in the past couple of years): https://mondettes.substack.com/
More thought provoking words. Thanks Matt. Sometimes, probably all the time, I wonder what sort of writer I am. I write a poem, I come back to it, I see in it the beginnings of a short story, I write the story, I condense it into apiece of flash, make it a supersaturated solution, then maybe convert it into a prose poem. It begins to surprise me with where it's going. It keeps on changing like I'm in a hall of mirrors seeing different versions of myself.
I also ask myself if my writing is accessible, entertaining? These have become important principles. I aim for both. I read prize winning pieces that to me seem like the emperors new clothes and I become annoyed, frustrated. 'Is it them or is it me?' I ask. Sometimes I read pieces that are so good I feel like giving up (though not for long). As an artist, I asked myself the same questions, asked them for forty years. If I had sought too hard for answers I might have given up. Luckily I didn't and was able to put bread on the table, even with a little jam sometimes!
So my advice to any aspiring writer is to be true to oneself, ignore verbal diarrhea, but read Matt's advice carefully and try to implement it. So, thanks again Matt, I enjoy your thoughts.
Glad you enjoyed this, Glyn. I think what you mention about prize-winning stories is so true. Each of us likes what we like. Art is so subjective. My advice is always to stay true to your own intentions. If other people like it, that's great. But we also need to accept that not everyone is going to connect with our writing, and that's great too. Variety is the spice of life and all that. Anyway, you seem like you have things sorted. And you're very kind to say that about my advice - but I'm probably the biggest verbal diarrhea-ist of them all! A lot of what I say is probably nonsense 😂 - but hopefully there are a few nuggets of wisdom in here. Thanks as always for reading and commenting.
A superb read and the best essay I’ve read about flash in a long time. Poetic techniques and metaphor and emotion and tone and brevity - your metaphors are so good, and yet you get across how the butterfly needs to be moving and not pinned. I still struggle to write it! Thank you for a great article.
Hi Matt, I love "Chain of Culpability," which seemed so real and yet also so unbelievably creative. So glad you didn't explicitly describe what happened to the boy but left us wondering how he crumbled to dust. I also really like the butterfly in the jam jar image. My own butterflies are always getting sticky and weighed down by too much familiarity. Also, now I know what an opera cake is! How do I sign up to get Mondettes? Sometimes, I see it on your social media posts, but I'd like it delivered to my inbox so I don't miss anything. All best, Beth
Beth - thank you so much for this lovely comment, both about my story and about the article. Your own butterflies seem very vibrant and spectacular to me! Always amazed by your writing! For Mondettes, you should be able to subscribe here (plus, you should see the whole amazing archive of everything that has been picked in the past couple of years): https://mondettes.substack.com/
Thanks for the great essay, Matt! I love defining the form in ways that aren't about word count since the name for the genre itself is a metaphor.
Thank you for your wonderful book. It really is great in the way it makes a reader think about flash from different angles.
More thought provoking words. Thanks Matt. Sometimes, probably all the time, I wonder what sort of writer I am. I write a poem, I come back to it, I see in it the beginnings of a short story, I write the story, I condense it into apiece of flash, make it a supersaturated solution, then maybe convert it into a prose poem. It begins to surprise me with where it's going. It keeps on changing like I'm in a hall of mirrors seeing different versions of myself.
I also ask myself if my writing is accessible, entertaining? These have become important principles. I aim for both. I read prize winning pieces that to me seem like the emperors new clothes and I become annoyed, frustrated. 'Is it them or is it me?' I ask. Sometimes I read pieces that are so good I feel like giving up (though not for long). As an artist, I asked myself the same questions, asked them for forty years. If I had sought too hard for answers I might have given up. Luckily I didn't and was able to put bread on the table, even with a little jam sometimes!
So my advice to any aspiring writer is to be true to oneself, ignore verbal diarrhea, but read Matt's advice carefully and try to implement it. So, thanks again Matt, I enjoy your thoughts.
Glad you enjoyed this, Glyn. I think what you mention about prize-winning stories is so true. Each of us likes what we like. Art is so subjective. My advice is always to stay true to your own intentions. If other people like it, that's great. But we also need to accept that not everyone is going to connect with our writing, and that's great too. Variety is the spice of life and all that. Anyway, you seem like you have things sorted. And you're very kind to say that about my advice - but I'm probably the biggest verbal diarrhea-ist of them all! A lot of what I say is probably nonsense 😂 - but hopefully there are a few nuggets of wisdom in here. Thanks as always for reading and commenting.
A superb read and the best essay I’ve read about flash in a long time. Poetic techniques and metaphor and emotion and tone and brevity - your metaphors are so good, and yet you get across how the butterfly needs to be moving and not pinned. I still struggle to write it! Thank you for a great article.
This is such a lovely comment. Thanks Helen. Really glad you enjoyed the article and that it has given you some food for thought.
Thanks for posting this what a wonderful read
Really glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading!