Thursday, May 20th, 6:30pm

Writer TARA MASIH will host a free FLASH FICTION WORKSHOP at Book Revue!

Flash fiction, or extremely short short fiction, has never been more popular. In this workshop, Tara Masih, editor of The Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction, will discuss what flash fiction is and how to write a successful very short story.

CLICK HERE to view writing prompts for this workshop. Participants are welcome to write a piece in advance and bring it in to be workshopped with Tara on May 20th.

Tara will first give a talk about flash fiction, then read some of the shorter pieces from her new collection of stories, Where the Dog Star Never Glows. There will be a break for a reception, then she’ll workshop flash stories participants prepared before the event.

Tara Masih grew up in East Northport. After graduating from C.W. Post College, she earned an MA in Writing and Publishing from Emerson College. She has worked as a publisher’s assistant to Pym-Randall Press; as an assistant editor to STORIES literary magazine; as an editorial assistant at Little, Brown’s college division; and as a book editor at Bedford Books/St. Martin’s Press. Since 1993 she has worked full-time as a freelance book packager, copyeditor, and proofreader. Much of her writing is set within the framework of nature and place, a result of the years she spent outdoors in the woods and on the shores of Long Island Sound.

 

Exercises for Flash Fiction Workshop May 20

Pick one exercise and write a story of 500 words (not including the title). Bring a copy of the final story to class where we will workshop it and perform a final in-class exercise if time allows.

1. Write a story that is . . . 500 words long. Use the structure of alternating voices. He said: _________. She said: ________. He said: ________. She said: _____. And so on. The two “characters” should disagree about an issue or subject and their dialogue should have a subtext, an emotional truth that is operating on a deeper and perhaps hidden level. —Pam Painter

2. Write a story that revolves around an article of clothing in some way—a hat, a shirt, a suede jacket, underwear, what have you. The article of clothing doesn’t necessarily need to be the primary focus of attention, but it will hopefully act as a trigger to or as a symbol of your imagination, which should help spur a vignette that captures something of greater meaning.
—Nathan Leslie

3. Write a one-page fiction about your parents’ or guardians’ wedding picture, and bring the picture to class with copies of your fiction. You know a history the photograph does not, and the photograph “knows” a moment you did not experience. If your parents or guard-ians never married, imagine the photograph that might have existed if they had, or work with a photograph of them that most clearly defines a pivotal moment in their relationship. Use the physical details of the photograph to move into the story. Don’t tell the story; suggest it within the language.
—Jayne Anne Phillips

4. Keep a Great Thoughts Notebook [a journal] for at least a week. Try to recall the “lint” from your childhood, then pick one scrap of memory that will build on itself to convey the most feeling. Reframe your memory so that it has the form of a story—start with an opening description, then shift gear to a second character and dialogue. For me, this shift is what turns it into a story. For the closure, one of my favorite ways to end is with a final line of dialogue, as in Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises: “Isn’t it pretty to think so?” —Stuart Dybek

5. Find an image that has a strong appeal or resonance for you and use it as the focus in writing your story. The image may be simple or complex, involving senses other than the visual, such as the spoken word, and it may come from anywhere—your personal experi-ence (real or imagined), a film, or a magazine. The main thing is to choose an image not because you think others will like it but be-cause somehow it matters to you. Try to use the image at the climax or at the very end of the story. —Robert Shapard

6. In order to fully understand and appreciate characters in conflict, sometimes we have to push rewind. Write a story that begins at the end of the action and moves backward. What was the flashpoint that initiated the event? What insights or observations did the characters initially have? How might their lives have changed if they went in another direction? —Stace Budzko

All exercises are from The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction, Ed. Tara L. Masih © 2009

(Back)