By A.C. Williams by @acw_auth 

Have you ever been in a creative place where you need a quick win? Do you feel like it would do you a world of good to be able to start a project and finish it in the same week (or even in the same day)? Dear storytellers, let me introduce you to the delight that is Flash Fiction.

In case you haven’t heard of it before, flash fiction is a complete story told in fewer than 1,000 words. It has been growing in popularity recently as well, probably because the attention span of readers continues to diminish.

Flash fiction is a strategic tool that you can use to build your platform, to expand your story universe, and to establish your name in a given genre. And you can do all of that in less than 1,000 words a pop.

Sound impossible? Well, admittedly, it’s not easy. I think it was Blaise Pascal who said, “I have made this letter longer because I haven’t time to make it shorter.” It requires skill and experience to craft a well-written, complete story in so few words. You have to incorporate plot, world-building, character arc, dialogue, as well as deliver on genre expectations. But it’s not impossible. In fact, it’s a thrilling challenge.

How can you make a story shorter? How can you boil it down to its essential parts? How can you trim off all the unnecessary bits until only the essentials remain?

Moby Dick is a story about revenge. Captain Ahab hunts a killer whale for vengeance, and he loses his life to it. That’s the story. You can tell that story in less than 1,000 words.

Pride and Prejudice (honestly, one of my favorite novels of all time) is a story about two idiots who make assumptions about each other. And all it takes is honesty for them to realize they need to stop being dumb and get married. You can write that in less than 1,000 words.

Tolkien’s The Return of the King is about a lost heir to the throne who chooses to face the weakness in his family’s bloodline and stand up against the evil that is trying to eradicate humankind. That one—I would not recommend trying to write in 1,000 words. But you could write about a lost heir choosing to pick up his ancestor’s sword to go into battle, embracing the symbolism of what that choice means.

Any story can be written as flash fiction. You just have to decide what angle you take with it. But no matter what angle you choose, just make sure it has:

• Fewer than 1,000 words
• A complete character arc
• A beginning, a middle, and an end
• Recognizable tropes according to its genre

But what if you’ve already written flash fiction? What if you have a whole bunch of stories sitting on your computer, and you don’t know what to do with them?

Well, it’s your lucky day then. While there are many online magazines where you can submit flash fiction, I know of two that are truly top notch: Spark Flash Fiction and Havok Flash Fiction.

Spark is primarily for romance, although they are open to many different kinds of romance. Most recently, they featured a S.T.E.M. issue which is pretty awesome. You can check out their submission guidelines and their upcoming themes on their website, www.sparkflashfiction.com.

Havok is sort of a jack of trades—or maybe a jack of all genres. Havok publishes a free flash fiction story every weekday. Monday is mystery, Tuesday is science fiction, Wednesday is humor, Thursday is thriller, and Friday is fantasy. Every six months Havok launches a new seasonal theme, and the one they’re featuring this season is Legendary. You can, of course, find more information on Havok at their website, www.gohavok.com.

I haven’t personally worked with Spark yet (it’s on my list), but I can tell you that working with Havok is spectacular. You get the opportunity to work with their editors. If your story is accepted, you find out ahead of time so you can direct your readers to the website to read and comment. And if your story ranks high enough on the website, you might even get into one of their printed anthologies (and that’s when you get paid).

It’s fantastic. So don’t overlook how flash fiction might be able to serve your platform as you grow as a writer.

Award-winning author A.C. Williams is a coffee-drinking, sushi-eating, story-telling nerd who loves cats, country living, and all things Japanese. She’d rather be barefoot, and if she isn’t, her socks won’t match. She has authored eight novels, three novellas, three devotional books, and more flash fiction than you can shake a stick at. A senior partner at Uncommon Universes Press, she is passionate about stories and the authors who write them. Learn more about her book coaching and follow her adventures online at www.amycwilliams.com.