Flash 8/2008, #1: Elizabeth Creith

Stone The Crows

I’d just turned the key in the ignition when I saw the birds.

They’d swooped past my car into the alley in front of the bank parking lot. When I looked up, I could see the pigeon on the ground, at the base of a brick building. It was in trouble, trying to get up onto a windowsill; flap as it would, it couldn’t get enough lift. One wing was hardly moving. Read more: HTML PDF

Writing Speculative Flash Fiction

Suzanne Vincent gets practical on writing extremely short speculative fiction. Read more

In This Issue: Sponsored via Project Wonderful

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Serious stories? Silly? Both? Yes — even out of this world. Plus flash writing tips. Plus Bruce writes by counting to three! Read more

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Flash 8/2008, #2: Mark Cole

Reverse Engineering

Green metal beetles filled the sky. Electric death crackled off their deadly antennae and fell on the city below. It played up and down the crowded streets, shattering buildings, boiling asphalt, vaporizing cars.

Dull olive-drab shapes huddled against the crumbling remnants of a wall. One of the men cursed under his breath. Read more: HTML PDF

Flash 8/2008, #3: Michael Kelly

On The Road With Rutger

I’m spending my week off fighting traffic jams, three tightly compacted lanes each morning. I bought the convertible special for this week — traded in the Taurus for a shiny Mustang — and I’ve got the top down. A sparkly red car. The kind of car Rutger will notice. Read more: HTML PDF

Classic Flash #9: Lord Dunsany

The True History of the Hare and the Tortoise

This Classic Flash from 1915 is, yes, the old tale, but retold with a political flair and a funny and cynical twist at the end — as good as any modern commentary might be. Read more: HTML PDF

Short-Short Sighted #3: Bruce Holland Rogers

Momentum, Disruption, and Proof of Deflection

In the latest installment of his “Short-Short Sighted” column, Bruce Holland Rogers discusses a three-point structure for creating short-short stories: Momentum, Disruption, and Proof of Deflection. And he provides an extremely short story (238 words) called “Daddy” to show you how a master does it. Read more: HTML