How to write flash fiction

Even Shorter Types of Flash Fiction

Here are two types of short stories that take only a minute to read. They have no beginning, middle, or end, but tell an entire story in only six words. The most famous example of a six-word story is attributed to Ernest Hemingway: “For sale: Baby shoes, never worn.”

Like other forms of short stories or flash fiction, a six–word story allows a reader to consume an entire narrative in just a moment’s time. If you’re trying to get in some short, but challenging, bursts of writing practice throughout your day, try writing six-word stories. These bite-sized narratives are fast and fun.

The general concept of trying to tell a story with the absolute minimum of words became known by the general term of flash fiction. The six–word limit in particular has spawned the concept of Six-Word Memoirs, including a collection published in book form in 2008 by Smith Magazine, and two sequels published in 2009.

The Dinosaur by Augusto Monterroso

Cuando despertó, el dinosaurio todavía estaba allí. Google The Dinosaur and you’ll be informed that no less an authority than novelist and literary critic Umberto Eco crowned it the world’s shortest novel.

A la recherche du temps perdu by Marcel Proust contains an estimated 9,609,000 characters (each letter counts as one character. Spaces are also counted, as one character each). The title translates to “Remembrance of Things Past”.