I just got finished listening to panel F138, Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction: Tips from Editors, Teachers and Writers in the Field.
Abby Beckel, Randall Brown, Kim Chinquee, Sherrie Flick, Robert Shapard, and Lex Williford participated in the panel.
Given the high attendance, many of you might have missed it. The room was standing room only. It was certainly worth it, for those that arrived early enough to get in!
Flash is a fascinating emerging form. As Lex Williford said it ”makes sense of contemporary chaos in short bursts of insight.” Or as Kim Chinquee said is a form of “sound, rhythm, image, and conflict.”
But I’ll let the author’s own words speak for them… The first part of the panel consisted of the panelists’ answers to a series of roundtable questions.
1) What draws you to Flash Fiction?
2) How do you decide when you have an idea, if it is going to be flash length or longer?
3) How do you feel crafting flash is different than crafting a longer story? What tools do you use?
4) What do you think makes Flash a particularly relevant form today?
5) As editors, readers, and teachers of flash, what makes a piece stand out for you?
Each of the panelists then presented a writing exercise from their portion of the Rose Metal Media Flash Guide, and read a flash that was written from it.
There was a brief Q&A period.
Thanks to everyone for a great panel. Thanks as well to the folks at Rose Metal Press, for providing a fascinating panel for those of us interested in Flash Fiction.
