Exploring the Art of Flash Writing and Vignettes
Delve into the world of flash writing, vignettes, and short stories with impactful pieces from notable authors like Charles Rafferty and Kathy Fish. Explore the power of brevity, creativity, and imagination in crafting compelling narratives that leave a lasting impact.
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Presentation Transcript
The Joy of Flash Writing Short to Jump Start Your Creative Practice
What is unsaid? "For sale: baby shoes, never worn. - (probably not) Ernest Hemingway Motherhood Ruined Me: A Love Story title of my imaginary memoir
Vignette Synecdoche: A part for the whole.
Vignette/Synecdoche CORRECTIONS CHARLES RAFFERTY (112 WORDS) She returns again to the Dali painting where the insects have only four legs each. She can almost forgive him these tiny ants, but even the grasshopper is missing the middle pair. Are four-legged insects the same as melting clocks and burning giraffes? The proofreader in her doesn t think so. She waits for the guard to step away, and then she adds the legs in with a smuggled pen. It is no different than correcting the typos in one of Hemingway s posthumous works, she says to herself. The world can always be improved. Just yesterday, for example, a storm toppled the trees around her house to tell her the stars still burn.
BACK BEFORE WA HAWKINS (100 WORDS) My father is a Venus flytrap. A spindly South Carolina native, he needs sun and humidity, and now that he s intubated, his mouth hangs open, too. No matter what I do, I can t keep him alive. Back before the ventilator, he watched his grandson chase ducks on a video call. He got real quiet. I thought he might be on mute. Just picturing him grown, he said. I told him we d make sure he knew how much his pawpaw loved him. Hush, boy, he wheezed. I ain t dead yet. And then he clamped his mouth shut to keep from coughing.
Lists COLLECTIVE NOUNS FOR HUMANS IN THE WILD KATHY FISH (135 WORDS) Humans in the wild, gathered and feeling good, previously an exhilaration, now: a target. A group of grandmothers is a tapestry. A group of toddlers, a jubilance (see also: a bewailing). A group of librarians is an enlightenment. A group of visual artists is a bioluminescence. A group of short story writers is a Flannery. A group of musicians is a band. A target of concert-goers. A target of movie-goers. A target of dancers. A resplendence of poets. A group of schoolchildren is a target. A beacon of scientists. A raft of social workers. A group of first responders is a valiance. A group of peaceful protestors is a dream. A group of special education teachers is a transcendence. A group of neonatal ICU nurses is a divinity. A group of hospice workers, a grace.
FLASH: Typically the story ends mid-curve too. SHORT SHORT STORY v FLASH: Short short story = beginning middle end but w fewer words Flash = a burst without resolution, a new form
history lesson JENZO DUQUE (339 WORDS) the thing about catholic school is no one wants to talk about how Columbus left in chains frankly it s embarrassing but already we get the monday off and who doesn t like a four day week i mean look see the meek will inherit the earth and that s why things went so well for indians they each got a cut of the pumpkin pie and cornucopia can you say it with me cornucopia c-o-r-n-u-c-o-p-i-a cornucopia can you use it in a sentence yes cesar please dazzle us ok this class is a cornucopia of bull shit bull shit is not one of the things you can say haven t we taught you better by now this is how you carry yourself this is how you dress to avoid confrontation this is how you address authority so as to avoid confrontation this is how you color nice and neat in between the lines this is how you sign your signature this is how you send a letter this is how you take a quiz this is how you take a test this is how you take a punishment this is how you take god s grace this is how you ask god to save your soul this is how you burn energy this is how you run outside in circles until the world blurs around you and you can hear him right the singing and those textures in the air it s in the air across all frequencies indistinct chatter takes to the streets and what is it about rising temperatures and that lake effect flicker that makes them so restless dark skin flaring up in alleyways or under overpasses think of the westside riots and the beat of the national guard s drum the hum of the El above us elevated track racket kraa kraa pops on the rooftops someone s taking shots tune in tonight at 6:30 catch it live and by the toe and if he hollers if he hollers if he hollers well let im go
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