Does writing flash make you a better writer? |
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GGreen
NYC Midnight Regular Joined: 16 Jul 2018 Location: Cotswolds, UK Status: Offline Points: 376 |
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Posted: 16 Nov 2018 at 4:26pm |
What's your experience? Does writing flash improve your writing beyond flash? If so, in what way?
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FF22 Ch1 Treasure Every Moment
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Lexiconundrum
NYC Midnight Addict Joined: 30 Jun 2018 Location: Chicago Status: Offline Points: 551 |
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what an interesting question! I haven't done much creative writing since college (was a journalist for a bit, then took a different career path), so completing short stories is still pretty new to me (vs starting and then giving up). One benefit I've noticed is that writing flash gives me a chance to play around with ideas to see if they fizzle out or if I want to spend more time with them. For example, my round 1 story wasn't ideal as a flash piece, but I loved the characters so much that I might try to get a novella out of it. My round 3 piece, despite its many flaws, is my favorite piece yet, but even as I was writing it I knew the idea could never hold up a longer story on its own. So I guess for me it's been about playing with different ideas and seeing what I gets me interested enough to want to write more
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claviercat
NYC Midnight Regular Joined: 18 Jul 2018 Location: River Vale NJ Status: Offline Points: 389 |
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I think it definitely makes me a tighter editor of my own work! I always go way over the word limits and end up having to cut all sorts of unnecessary words. Applying the same to my "regular" writing is usually a good thing!
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Please read my Short Story 2021 Challenge #2 story: https://forums.nycmidnight.com/topic40583_post419488.html#419488
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WriterByNight
NYC Midnight Addict Joined: 04 Aug 2015 Location: Alaska/Texas Status: Offline Points: 1470 |
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Absolutely. Writing short form is a great way to learn that every word counts. It’s also an opportunity to make sure you can arrive at an ending, and an opportunity to break bad habits. My novel is much improved by my flash habit :)
Edited by WriterByNight - 16 Nov 2018 at 10:17pm |
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FFC Final| Beyond the Veil
Micro R1 | How Could You? |
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manifestlynot
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 02 Jan 2018 Status: Offline Points: 4480 |
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Yes! I murdered almost all of my darlings in this round. I am anticipating a backlash in the SSC in January - 2500 words feels positively extravagant!
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Rhyming R1: Lionheart (Hist fic)
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These competitions inspire me to write about topics and characters, items and genres, etc., that I'd never choose to write about otherwise. I love that aspect of it. (And I'd never encountered flash fiction before I stumbled onto this site, so it's hard to answer your question in a straight sense.) My creativity always gets a jolt when I get the new assignments.
Different people could take different things from it--it's a harder challenge if you have no clue whether you'll rise to the occasion (i.e., if you're a newbie). And many people benefit from the deadline, which nips procrastination attempts in the bud. (That's the exact reason why I do NaNoWriMo--the ultimate procrastinator's challenge.) I think the fun thing about writing flash fiction is that you can create a one-scene wonder that stands on its own. No huger project required.
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chrissie0707
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 07 Feb 2018 Location: Indianapolis Status: Offline Points: 4005 |
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Oh, I definitely think so. I work best under a strict deadline as it is, and such a small window of time with which to brainstorm, draft, and edit a complete story is such a thrill and exercise in the discipline of writing. In a non-technical sense, I hadn't really written anything at all of ORIGINAL work before entering in these competitions, so it's been so fun to use the prompts and the time limit and word limit to push myself into creating my own characters and scenarios. If nothing else, it's strengthened my confidence in my writing, and I'm definitely seeing the positives of that seep into my other writing.
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lisafox10800
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 18 Jul 2016 Location: NJ Status: Offline Points: 9440 |
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I hadn't written creatively for almost two decades before stumbling on NYCM in 2016. Years back, I was more of a poet than a fiction writer, so writing "stories" is still kind of new to me. Flash was a great way to get back into the creative saddle, and also to try my hand at fiction. Longer pieces scare the daylights out of me, but I've managed to convert a few of my former Flash pieces to longer works.
For me, it just got me back into writing and dipping my toe into fiction. So really learning the craft and exploring options, telling a story concisely, showing not telling, all of that stuff. When I eventually break through the fear of writing a novel (and honestly, when I find time to devote to it), I feel like I'll have a huge bucket of tools to work with. I feel like my sweet spot, though, is about 2500 words. Flash is fun but it's HARD, especially when you're doing things like worldbuilding!
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lisafoxiswriting.com
My short story collection, Core Truths, is now available wherever books are sold. |
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chrissie0707
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 07 Feb 2018 Location: Indianapolis Status: Offline Points: 4005 |
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Flash has also helped me with editing, and pinpointing the words that just aren't necessary.
Edited by chrissie0707 - 16 Nov 2018 at 7:43pm |
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GGreen
NYC Midnight Regular Joined: 16 Jul 2018 Location: Cotswolds, UK Status: Offline Points: 376 |
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It's great to see all of these thoughts. I asked because I was thinking about how much I've learned here. Bu I think a big part of why I'm learning is the quick feedback loop here; that has helped me learn the most.
Debating whether to do the SSC too...
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FF22 Ch1 Treasure Every Moment
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