Good flash fiction draws on the craft and sound of language. A cousin of the prose poem, flash fiction is an excellent vehicle for stories that are vivid and intense. Similar to poetry, every line counts and the accretion of lines and sounds build, like riffs in a jazz ensemble. 

 

Flash fiction drops us into a scene in medias res (Latin for 'in the midst of things'), a technique that launches the reader into the middle of a story's action, rather than beginning with exposition. Flash varies stylistically; it can have a distinct narrative arc or be more experimental, creating a shift in consciousness, like when the weather changes and we feel it in our bones. It often features plot twists that land with a gentle tap on the shoulder, or sometimes even a punch in the gut. 

 

We will look at flash fiction from writers who are veteran practitioners of the form, and we will write and share flash fiction together. Whether you are a poet who wants to explore short prose or a novelist who wants to finish a piece in one day, this workshop will be a lively exploration of a writing genre that rewards us for pithiness and surprises us with glimpses of the subconscious. 

 

Class meets in person Saturday, May 15, 1 - 3 pm.

 

Member discount: Members of Write On receive a 10% discount on all classes and workshops. To become a member, please click here. To receive the discount, members must log in to the website using their unique password and enter member10 in the promotion code box. The code is case sensitive.

 

Teaching Artist: Nancy K. Fishman is a fiction writer based in Berkeley, California. She received her MFA in Creative Writing at San Francisco State University in 2021, including a Graduate Student Award for Distinguished Achievement. She has a B.A. in English with an Emphasis on Creative Writing from UW-Madison. She is a member of the Writers' Bootcamp at Left Margin Lit, and was a resident at Dorland Mountain Arts, Millay Arts Wintertide, Mineral School, and Wellstone Center in the Redwoods. Her short play, "Pageant," was produced as part of Monday Night Playground at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Her short story, "Stoplight," was a runner-up selected by Joshua Ferris for Symphony Space's 2021 Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize. She is currently working on a novel.