flash fiction

if it's my lucky day, i run into one of my favorite college literature professors in the aisles of our local grocery store.  i start smiling when i see his signature bandana and wire-rimmed glasses seconds before he waves me over for a warm hug and eager book banter.

last time, in the dairy aisle as it happened, he told me about a genre that was new to me called "flash fiction" so i checked a book of it out from the library.

flash fiction, or wei xing xiao shuo in chinese, is truncated short stories, anywhere from half a page to two pages maximum.  some would think it is easier to write.  i, however, think that it takes extreme skill and economy of language to craft a compelling tale in so little space.  here's what authors have to say:

"the difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug."  mark twain

"every sentence, every phrase, every word has to fight for its life."  crawford kilian

"the letter i have written today is longer than usual because i lacked the time to make it shorter."  blaise pascal

"the soul's distinct connection with immortality is best disclosed by danger or quick calamity--as lightning on a landscape exhibits sheets of place--not yet suspected, but for flash, and click and suddenness."  emily dickinson

if you think you don't have room in your busy schedule to read, pick up a book of short stories or flash fiction tales!  you'll have already read several in the time it takes you to warm up your coffee.