Welcome to the side of Sweet & Clean Reads that feature sweet & clean flash fiction.
What is flash fiction, you ask?
Let’s dive into ti!
What is flash fiction?
Flash fiction is essentially a story in a flash. In other words, it’s a super short story, usually focusing on one moment in time.
Most online magazines that publish flash fiction considers 500-1,000 words to be a true flash fiction story.
How long is a novel?
Technically speaking, a novel is anything over 50,000 words. Most sweet & clean romance that is around 300 pages is probably close to 80,000 words (give or take a bit).
So when you compare a short piece of fiction that’s only 1,000 words to a complete novel, you really get a sense of just how short these stories can be!
Why would an author write a flash fiction piece?
For a lot of reasons!
To explore a new idea or character. Take a break from a bigger project. Maybe even to try a new genre or writing style.
For me, I started writing short stories because I wanted the writing practice and I wanted to learn to be concise with my words.
One thousand words doesn’t leave much space for rambling, writing short fiction is a great way for a writer to practice writing exactly what they mean, nothing more and nothing less.
Is all short fiction romance?
On this blog? Yes!
But in reality, nope. There are a lot of online magazines that publish short fiction pieces in a lot of different genres, I’ve even seem some science fiction!
But on Sweet & Clean Reads all of the flash fiction will have an element of romance, it’s just what I do!
Is romantic flash fiction clean or spicy?
A lot of romantic flash fiction and short stories are surprisingly spicy! When I first started researching I was bombarded by lots and lots of super spicy stories (meaning they have sexually explicit content in them).
That’s definitely not my style. All of the flash fiction that I write and publish on this blog is sweet and clean. Which means it’s free of swearing, sexually explicit content, and violence.
Think: short romance with a PG, feel-good vibe.
If you want to read more about how I define sweet & clean romance you can click here.
Is flash fiction hard to write?
I think so! Mostly because 1,000 words spill onto the page pretty fast and then I have to go back and decide what to cut.
I’m getting better with every piece I write and edit. I’m learning to choose strong words and which parts of my story to zoom in on and which parts I can summarize in a sentence.
There is definitely an art to writing good flash fiction that is engaging. An art that I’m still learning.
Where can I read more short & sweet romance?
Definitely bookmark the Flash Fiction page here because I plan to update it as much as I can. And I’m hoping to one day ask other authors to contribute!
In the mean time, one of my favorite places to find sweet fiction you can read in a flash is Spark.
Spark is an online magazine that releases a new issues filled with short, sweet romance every quarter. Each issue has a theme and around a dozen contributing authors. They have several years of back issues and I enjoy perusing their site and reading as many stories as I can.
How did you learn to write short romance?
I kind of learned by simply reading other short romance. I think that’s the best way to learn, by watching others. Especially if you can find other authors who are writing it well.
I read a lot of stories, got a feel for what to do, and then gave it a shot! I wrote several pieces before I picked my first piece to edit and publish. You can read my debut, Cinnamon Tee Time, by clicking here. The story is about a golf pro, single dad who falls for his daughter’s nanny.
Where can I learn to write short, sweet romance?
If I’m honest, I haven’t found many great resources for short romance that’s also sweet. I’ve found a few that are for spicy authors (those who write sex scenes into their books), but they often provide examples of how to write a sex scene and that’s not my preference.
One book I found that was helpful to get started was How to Write Flash Fiction: Genre Fiction by Sally Dickson. The book provides information to help you get started and writing exercises.
Like I said above, I think the best way to learn to write it is to read a lot of it. My favorite place to find short, sweet romance is Spark.
Is there a market for sweet flash fiction?
I think so, yes!
I think sweet & clean readers are open to a variety of genres and story lengths. Mostly, they’re just looking for a great story that will give them all the feels.
It’s like I always say- if there’s a market for it in spicy fiction, there’s a market for it clean fiction.
Where can I start reading your stories?
Start here with my debut flash fiction story called Cinnamon Tee Time. It’s about a single dad – who is also a professional golf player. He enjoys a nightly cinnamon tea with his daughter’s nanny, a routine they both look forward to every day. But will he confess his feelings for before it’s too late? Find out here!
Final Thoughts
Have you ever read – or written – flash fiction? What do you think about a sweet romance that you can read in a flash?