[stylist] flash fiction

[Homme, James]

Hi Chris,
Take this as the uneducated opinion it is. I felt that the language could change when the driver is thinking to make it feel more like he is older and figuring out what is going on behind him.

Jim



-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Chris Kuell
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2014 7:29 PM
To: Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [stylist] flash fiction

Thanks to you who took the time to read and comment on my flash piece. I'm
very glad I posted it, as I've learned it isn't as brilliant as I originally
thought it might be. That happens a lot to me.

Bridgit is correct in that flash fiction is generally considered to be a
thousand words or less, although some markets allow up to 1500 words, and
some ask for 500 or less. That was what I was going for in this piece. I
think writing flash fiction is a good exercise because it makes you write
tightly, and cut away all the fat you can. There's no room for a run-on
sentence when writing flash fiction.

Somebody famous must have said that if an author has to explain his work,
he's failed. Count me in.

In the story I wrote, Mickey is the cab driver's son. He was in the national
guard, rode in helicopters, and was killed. I never said it, but hoped I'd
implied that he'd been shot down in a fiery blast. His father, the cab
driver, is grieving, thinking about his son, heaven and the bible. Hence,
the story starts with 'Ashes to ashes'. He's not well educated, so he
remembers and miss-remembers the bible in his own unique way. His grief is
playing in his head when he picks up these two crackheads, and they nudge
him toward a decision he's been contemplating all along. My original title
was 'Impact', but as the driver thinks of the gas truck's lights as the
stars over Bethlehem, and he comes to the 'wisdom' that heaven is a
supernova, I decided to switch it to 'We Three Kings', meaning the three
wise men from the Christmas story who follow the stars. Like Bill's
'Antoinette', it's probably too obscure for most readers.

If you re-read the story after my explanation, it will likely make more
sense. But, it's now well over 500 words.

chris



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