{"id":737,"date":"2014-05-18T00:45:35","date_gmt":"2014-05-18T07:45:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/?p=737"},"modified":"2017-12-23T16:29:28","modified_gmt":"2017-12-24T00:29:28","slug":"flash-fiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/2014\/flash-fiction\/","title":{"rendered":"Slam! Contact! Get out! — Flash Fiction Workshop"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, the we worked on flash fiction–the shortest of the short story forms.<\/p>\n

Flash fiction is simply a term used for very short fiction; this could be less than 100 words, or 1000 words. \u00a0There is no formal definition of a maximum word count, however, it is generally understood as a complete story<\/em><\/strong> told in very few words. \u00a0Unlike sketches or excerpts, flash fiction usually contains a beginning, middle, and an end, as well as a conflict, resolution, and characters. \u00a0One thing to be careful about is to not accidentally write a summary<\/em> of a story rather than the story itself. \u00a0Though not all flash fiction stories have twist endings, many often do.<\/p>\n

All this can seem rather daunting when the challenge is to keep it under a few hundred words… but it can<\/em> be done. \u00a0And they rose to the challenge.<\/p>\n

\"FlashFiction3\"<\/a> \"FlashFiction2\"<\/a> \"FlashFiction1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Exercises:<\/p>\n

1.<\/p>\n

It was the finest meal she had ever tasted. \u00a0If only she had known what was in it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Some chose to use it as a line in their story, while others used the general idea.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2.<\/p>\n

I had been watching them quarrel through the window<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This sets up a few things: \u00a0setting, point of view, and conflict.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Example of exercise 1 (by Jane, librarian) — flash fiction in less than 150 words:<\/p>\n

\n

Matilda had not told anyone about her sister\u2019s death. She needed to speak with the family lawyer first. \u00a0The day he was expected, there was a knock.<\/p>\n

She peered out a crack in the door. \u00a0\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Lume, at your service.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you selling?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m here about the rainiers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRainiers?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCherries. Your sister Maude wished them to be delivered today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy today?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe says it\u2019s imperative that she eat them on midsummer high noon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHigh noon midsummer? \u00a0But that\u2019s right now!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExactly. \u00a0I must get them to her immediately or it won\u2019t work anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWon\u2019t work anymore?\u201d \u00a0That sounded very suspicious. \u00a0But Maude was the wittiest of her sisters, so the cherries must be very special. \u00a0\u201cI\u2019ll take them!\u201d<\/p>\n

As Matilda bit into her third cherry, only then did she realize her sister was very witty indeed. \u00a0If Maude could not have the inheritance, neither could she.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

The teens all wrote wonderful stories; visit us again to read their stories throughout this week!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Want to join in? \u00a0Our next teen writing workshop is on June 14 at 2pm, Central Library. \u00a0For info, call 626-744-4246.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Resources:<\/p>\n

Maxwell, Adam. “Writing Prompts Generator.” Adam Maxwell’s Fiction Lounge. Retrieved from \u00a0http:\/\/www.adammaxwell.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Popek, S. Joan. \u00a0(2001). \u00a0“Flashes of Brilliance.” \u00a0Writing-world.com. Retrieved from\u00a0http:\/\/www.writing-world.com\/fiction\/popek.shtml<\/a><\/p>\n

[Tiny Tales example] \u00a0Hamburger tiny tales by Jack, age 10. \u00a0Retrieved from \u00a0http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/kids\/2013\/tiny-tales-ppl-winning-stories\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, the we worked on flash fiction–the shortest of the short story forms. Flash fiction is simply a term used for very short fiction; this could be less than 100 words, or 1000 words. \u00a0There is no formal definition of a maximum word count, however, it is generally understood as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[117,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion","category-writing"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5ZwbD-bT","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":795,"url":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/2014\/flash-fiction-angel\/","url_meta":{"origin":737,"position":0},"title":"A Dystopia Story — Flash Fiction by teens","author":"Teen Blogger","date":"May 31, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Untitled flash fiction by Angel Gomez (teen) \u00a0 15th of May Hot day. \u00a0Water was scarce and yet they still poured gallons of it to plants that were dead already. It had started last month.\u00a0 We were given a government issued warning through the radio. Everyone was in the chaos\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":799,"url":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/2014\/flash-fiction-celeste\/","url_meta":{"origin":737,"position":1},"title":"“It was the greatest meal I\u2019d had in my entire life” — Flash Fiction by teens","author":"Teen Blogger","date":"June 2, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Untitled story by Celeste Rivera (teen) \u00a0 Have you ever had your friend ask you one of those questions that go along the lines of, \u201cIf me or your mom were about to die who would you save?\u201d I\u2019m Lauren and my friend Cassandra had started asking me those questions\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":854,"url":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/2014\/the-mystery-flash-fiction-by-teens\/","url_meta":{"origin":737,"position":2},"title":"The Mystery — Flash Fiction by teens","author":"Jane Gov","date":"June 27, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The Mystery flash fiction by Ysabel Torres (teen) \u00a0 I have been watching them quarrel through the window. Most of the time on my way home, I say hello to Sadie, pretend to walk towards my house, then sit there watching her argue with her mom over something. I can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2812,"url":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/2016\/dragonswood-teen-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":737,"position":3},"title":"Dragonswood — teen review","author":"Teen Blogger","date":"April 25, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Review by Kira Toal, Teen Reviewer Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey Dragonswood is difficult to capture in few words. The novel is centered on a 17 year old girl named Tess who is accused of witchcraft and forced to flee her home in Wilde Island. She and her two close\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Teen Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Teen Reviews","link":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/category\/teen-reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"dragonswood","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/18\/files\/sites\/18\/2016\/04\/dragonswood.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":200,"url":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/2013\/banned-books\/","url_meta":{"origin":737,"position":4},"title":"BANNED BOOKS — BEWARE: you may be subjected to an awesome story","author":"Jane Gov","date":"September 15, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Elizabeth Chyn (teen) and Jane Gov (librarian) So you might have noticed a variety of displays cropping up in your local library, bookstore, or school about BANNED BOOKS.\u00a0 You might wonder what does this mean, what are banned books, where have they been banned, and for what reason? \u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Agendas & News"","block_context":{"text":"Agendas & News","link":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/category\/agendas-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ala.org\/bbooks\/sites\/ala.org.bbooks\/files\/content\/BBW13_CoverArt.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ala.org\/bbooks\/sites\/ala.org.bbooks\/files\/content\/BBW13_CoverArt.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ala.org\/bbooks\/sites\/ala.org.bbooks\/files\/content\/BBW13_CoverArt.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2815,"url":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/2016\/the-peculiars-teen-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":737,"position":5},"title":"The Peculiars — teen review","author":"Teen Blogger","date":"April 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Review by Kira Toal, teen reviewer The Peculiars\u00a0by Maureen Doyle McQuerry On her 18th birthday, Lena Mattacascar decides to search for her father, who disappeared into the Northern wilderness of Scree when Lena was young. Scree is inhabited by Peculiars (people with inhuman characteristics that make them despised by the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Teen Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Teen Reviews","link":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/category\/teen-reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"peculiars","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/18\/files\/sites\/18\/2016\/04\/peculiars.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=737"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":747,"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737\/revisions\/747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}