My very first flash fiction piece has been published!!
Okay, technically it’s my second piece of flash fiction. I wrote a piece earlier this year to submit to Spark Flash Fiction, it was rejected so I put it on my blog. You can read it here.
But I don’t count that one. Not because I published on my blog (independent publishing is totally valid!), but because I don’t like that story. Not really. I think I had a good concept but the writing just didn’t feel like me. When I go back and read it I can point out where I was writing I thought I should write, not the story that was really in my head.
But this new story – the one that just got published – it’s the first piece of writing that really feels like me! And that is something worth celebrating.
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Why Flash Fiction?
If you don’t know what flash fiction is, I wrote a whole post about it here.
Basically it’s a story in 1,000 words or less. Sometimes you get a few extra words, but mostly the goal is to keep it short.
So why flash fiction?
Well first of all, as a reader it’s fun! You can read 1,000 words in about 5-10 minutes, and I think it’s pretty fun to get a little pop of romance in about the same amount of time it takes me to finish my morning coffee.
And as a writer – it’s a challenge. It’s a challenge to be selective with your word choice. You can’t ramble on and on for four paragraphs about the beauty of the spring day. You have to describe it in one sentence.
Plus, I needed the practice. When I started writing it didn’t take long for me to figure out I was going to need a whole lot of practice. And flash fiction is a great way to do that. I can get the satisfaction of a finished piece of writing (which my brain loves) without the commitment of an 80,000 word novel.
Basically, the way I see it, flash fiction is a win-win-win. So the question isn’t why, it’s why not?
Somewhere 14yo me is freaking out!
Why? Because when I was 14 years old I had a teacher who mocked my creative writing. In front of my entire class.
Now I’m sure if she could tell her side of her story she would say that’s not what she was doing. And to be fair to her, that’s probably true. She probably didn’t think about what she was doing. But I’ll never forget her eye rolls and little sniggers (plus the muted giggles of my classmates) as she critiqued my writing. On the board. In front of everyone.
Did she keep it anonymous? Yes. But it didn’t take a detective to notice the flush in my cheeks and the tears in my eyes, and piece together that I was the owner of the writing.
I walked out of class that day believing that I was not a writer. And for 25 years I never tried fiction or creative writing again.
I think 14 year old me would be pretty shocked to learn that I was writing and sharing it with the world. She’d also be pretty happy to learn we have a really handsome husband, but that’s a different post.
What’s the story about?
I’m so glad you asked!
My latest piece, Summer on the Ropes, is about a kindergarten teacher who volunteers to chaperone a summer field trip for the sixth grade class and gets a little more than she bargained for…including a handsome rescuer.
But you’ll have to read to find out more…I mean the story is only a thousand words, did you really think I was going to write you a paragraph about it??
Where can I find it?
Summer on the Ropes is currently published in a wonderful summer anthology called The Serendipitous Summer. The whole book is a collection of sweet, summer-themed flash fiction romance. I believe there were nearly 30 contributors, so you’ll get a good variety of stories.
All of the authors are incredible! Some of them have been writing flash fiction – and full length books – for a long time and I was so surprised that I was included!
The book is available on Amazon and is currently part of the Kindle Unlimited program, you can check it out by clicking here.
Where can I read more flash fiction?
If you are now hooked on flash fiction, you can find more at Spark Flash Fiction and MicroMance Magazine. Those are two of my favorite places to read sweet (and clean), short romance.
And be sure to bookmark my flash fiction page here, because not only am I adding more of my own writing to the blog, I’m opening it up to other authors as well!
Thanks for stopping by! Happy reading!
