Fiction in a Flash

Jason Stephenson

Quickwrite• Describe the worst thunderstorm you have

ever experienced. You have 3 minutes.

Split Personality

Flash FictionShort

StoriesFLASH FICTION &

SHORT STORIES• Setting• Character(s)• Conflict• Resolution

FLASH FICTION• Has a limited

amount of words: 100 or less

• Usually uses twist endings

vs.

Harry’s Love

Young Love

“The Duel” by Aaron Kidd

Two foes faced one another on a desert battlefield. Sweat beaded both brows. One infamous, clothed in black. The other, a golden star over his heart.

They drew revolvers.Gunshots sounded.A woman yelled from a nearby porch.The combatants fell and lay still.Then, rising, they began to sprint towards the

porch.Snack Time.

Tips• Use contractions instead of two words.

– He is: 2 words– He’s: 1 word

• Use punctuation instead of conjunctions.– She glanced over her shoulder and spotted the

clown.– She glanced over shoulder, spotted the clown.

• Use strong words instead of weak ones.

Being ChoosyStronger Words• Verbs• Nouns• Adjectives

Weaker Words• Adverbs• Pronouns• Interjections• Prepositions• Conjunctions

Nouns Verbs Adjectives

“The Duel” by Aaron Kidd

Two foes faced one another on a desert battlefield. Sweat beaded both brows. One infamous, clothed in black. The other, a golden star over his heart.

They drew revolvers.Gunshots sounded.A woman yelled from a nearby porch.The combatants fell and lay still.Then, rising, they began to sprint towards the

porch.Snack Time.

14 12 7

Challenges• Be alliterative: Only use words that begin

with the same letter for the whole story.

• Be wordy: Use a series of nouns & verbs, strung together into one long sentence.

• Be jokey: Turn your final sentence into a punch line.

• Be talkative: Use a voicemail as your entire story.

“Broken Girl” by Jessie RoarkSnapped ankle. Out of

coma. Amnesia. Every day goes by the same. The doctors come in and ask hundreds of questions. That social worker won’t leave me alone.

Today a tall man with my high cheekbones, wearing a blue jacket, comes in to see me. “Tess?”

Then I see his cold eyes and I remember.

“Refined Lifestyle” by Lindsey CoxDon’s parents said he’d

never amount to anything. They said he’d never be successful, but here he was, sitting in the lap of luxury. The house had magnificently tall ceilings and elaborate art on the walls that Don admired. He took them down and threw them in the truck with the rest of the plunder.

Write to Win Contest

• No high school student submitted a flash fiction piece last year in the Write to Win contest. Consequently, there was no winner.

• Why not submit a piece of flash fiction?

Packets Available at

• http://teacherweb.com/OK/DeerCreekHighSchool/Stephenson/photo3.aspx

For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

--Ernest Hemingway, American author

(1899-1961)

The Dare: Write a story in six words.

Smith Magazine

Six Word Memoirs

Fifty flavors,and I choose vanilla.--Brittany

Student Samples

Disc golf is mynew love.--Marshall

Still a little kid at heart.--Tayler

Girl ofmanyhouses,not homes.--Sarah