WHAT is flash fiction? Poet and fiction writer Nuala Ni Chonchuir describes it as “intense, urgent and often a little explosive, but also deep and clear.” All in fewer than 1,000 words.

One well-known flash is a six-word tragedy, sometimes attributed to Ernest Hemingway: “For sale, baby shoes, never worn.”

The most common formats are the drabble or micro fiction (100 words), the dribble or mini-saga (50 words), sudden fiction (750 words) and twitterature (280 characters). But a quick browse of online flash competitions reveals a more varied range of word lengths.

For many, an interest in compressed storytelling began with the 50-word mini-saga anthologies edited by science-fiction writer Brian Aldiss.

The popularity of the genre has, however, been boosted by a new wave of writers —  George Saunders, Margaret Atwood and Tania Hershman write artfully terse tales tackling science, philosophy and the absurdities of human relationships.

Flashes can be experimental but most have a plot. They can end with a revelation or chart a course of grim inevitability. They can convey intense emotion or offer sharp insights into big ideas.

The Story Off Message below is by me, and it tackles the sort of workplace interaction none of us have missed during the coronavirus lockdown.

I set myself the following constraints: five scenes of fewer than 30 words, a coherent sequence of events leading to a conclusion and a total word count not exceeding 180 words, including title and subheadings.

Off Message

Company Anniversary: Let Them Eat Cake
Yesterday: an all-managers email about “rebalancing the workforce cost base.” Today: Bollinger uncorked; directors applauding; the CEO beaming while lacerating the fondant brand logo with a silver cake knife.

Buzzword Bingo at the Management Team Briefing
“Mission drift: A key barrier to seamless transition,” declares the PowerPoint slide.
I tick a phrase scrawled on my pad and chuckle too loudly. The CEO glares at me.

The Gamification of Power
An email pops onscreen. League tables of screen time, keypresses, word counts, data entries. Underperformers helpfully highlighted. Who gets the email showing how long it took me to hit <delete>?

A Tactical Error
The CEO scours my report. Theatrical head shakes, staged sighs. Slinking out, I close the panelled door, gesturing and gurning until I spot the cyclopean eye of the CCTV camera.

Restructured Out    
My eyes sweep the stark geometry of the revised organisation chart. Dizzy as a parent hunting their lost toddler in a supermarket, I spot my name. Printed in strikethrough.

And now, over to you. We want to publish flash stories on an occasional basis, so we are inviting you to submit pieces of fewer than 300 words (including title) to Andy Hedgecock at: [email protected].

Tips:
Set a constraint and stick to it (you could try a piece in the common 50-word or 100-word formats).
Write an ending, then work towards it.
Action from the outset!
Show, don’t tell (you can’t afford the words).
Be allusive and indirect, leave the reader to produce the detail.