Review of A Quick Demise & Flash Fiction Tips

Blurb: Murder

Ghosts

Depravity

We are drawn to the darkness that lurks within us.

Reveal the depravity of human nature in this collection of tales. Each story is told in exactly 200 words and will send a quick shiver down your spine.

Will you survive?

Review: This little book has wonderfully unsettling little flash fiction stories. Each piece takes you by surprise, more so because they're so short. It gets you before you realize what's happening. There's a variety of horrors ranging from everyday life evolving into a nightmare and supernatural moments that flip with a twist.

Congratulation to Patricia Josephine Lynne on her newest release! This is the sixth book in her A Quick Tale series. There's something for everyone. You can find her on Substack and buy the book here.

-----

It's flash fiction like this that inspire me to keep writing short fiction. I've been keeping up with my goal this year of writing and submitting one short piece every month. I've actually been pushing myself, and I've submitted a minimum of three stories every month. I've gotten a handful of rejections, but my micro story "Circles" won 2nd place in On The Premises mini-contest 64.

Flash fiction keeps me on my toes and allows me to experiment with different genres. It's a different sort of storytelling skill than writing a novel. In a long story, you can let things slowly unfold, but you need to elegantly have a complete compact plot in a flash piece.

Here are three guidelines I use when writing flash fiction:

1. Limit the characters and descriptions. There's no time for lackadaisical prose. You must be economical with your words. Usually I only have one or two people in my flash pieces. Focus on the conflict right from the start to hook the reader.

2. Trust the reader to fill in where needed. This is difficult for me because I write novels. I want to world build and let the characters have room to breathe and grow. You can't do that in a short story. Don't be afraid to leave out what feel like essential but aren't essential details. (If that makes sense!) Your readers will fill them in.

3. Circle back around and/or twist the ending. One of my favorite writing tricks is to loop the ending back around to link to the beginning. It's even better when I can do it with a surprise twist.