10.30am – 3.30pm
Members: £55 Non-members: £65
Concessions: £10 (call the office 020 8340 3343)
ONE DAY COURSE ON WRITING FLASH FICTION
Flash fiction is very short fiction, stories of approximately 1000, 500, 250 words or fewer. Although it has a long history, flash or microfiction has become an increasingly popular form of prose fiction, both as a form in itself requiring specialised techniques, and as a tool for learning about narrative.
This intensive day course is an introduction to writing flash fiction. No previous knowledge of the form is required; you don’t need to have tried writing fiction before. You just need to come along with an interest in writing fiction and a willingness to experiment with a new form! You’re also welcome if you’re already writing flash fiction but please note that this course is aimed at beginners.
We’ll look at examples of flash and microfiction of various lengths from various periods and cultures, exploring how narrative or character can be developed or at least moved or altered in very short word counts. We will also discuss some of the advice and warnings from short fiction writers. In the course of the day you will write at least one flash fiction story of no more than 100 words – yes it can be done!
Students will be provided with a set of prompts to take away with them as well as a list of links to magazines that specialise in flash fiction, competitions and online forums, such as Friday Fictioneers on Facebook, where each week writers work from a single image prompt to produce a 100 word story and comment on each other’s work.
Reading
Excellent website which explores various definitions of what flash fiction is and posts a lot of stories. https://www.reflexfiction.com/what-is-flash-fiction/
Journal which exclusively publishes flash fiction https://www.smokelong.com
Examples of stories https://www.newyorker.com/books/flash-fiction
More examples https://bookriot.com/flash-fiction-stories/
Rachel Malik is a writer. She has written for a wide variety of publications, including the London Review of Books blog, New Left Review, Sight and Sound, Radical Philosophy, English Literary History and The Guardian. For many years Rachel taught English Literature at Middlesex University, leaving to concentrate on writing fiction. 'Miss Boston and Miss Hargreaves' is her first novel and was published by Penguin in 2017. The book was shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, 2018, and won her a writing residency at Gladstone’s Library in Hawarden, Flintshire. She is currently completing her second novel. Her website is rachelmalik.com
