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