Flash 9/2009, #1: Ray VukcevichSuddenly SpeakingNonsense, my gangster friends tell me. No one can just suddenly be speaking Japanese. How are we supposed to believe you learned to speak Japanese? Watching cartoons? Ordering sushi? Reading novels on your cell phone? Ridiculous. Read more: HTML In This IssueOur next issue goes live on October 1. Meanwhile, please subscribe if you haven’t already, and tip your favorite authors. Thanks! Read more Review: Field Guide to Writing Flash FictionFlash 9/2009, #2: Mark Patrick MoreheadDoofusUnfortunately second grade was nearly over, and he had not found a white coat or a microscope, or a guitar, and he had missed the fieldtrip to the zoo. And now this... a knot. Read more: HTML Flash 9/2009, #3: Patrick LundriganHow High The Moon“I’ve heard that before,” Nomie said. She put the tea tray down and settled into the lawn chair. “But I don’t think I’m a robot.” “Programming,” Manny said, “I programmed you not to know.” He blew on his tea and sipped. Just the right amount of sugar and cinnamon. Read more: HTML Classic Flash #22: Punch, January 28, 1914Miranda’s Will“I want a will,” she said; “one of those things that people leave when they die.” “Some people leave them and some don’t,” I said. Read more: HTML Short-Short Sighted #15In the last four columns we have looked at Orson Scott Card’s MICE quotient and examined how it is possible to write flash fiction that depends on its success on Milieu, Idea, Character, or Event. As I wrote these columns, I was reminded of the nervous anxiety that I used to feel when I would read about theories and techniques of writing. On one hand, I would feel excited about the clarity that can arrive with a good theory: Aha! That’s why certain novels begin with the arrival of strangers and end when the strangers leave! They are novels of milieu! Read more |