In Conversation: Flash Fiction ✍️

I recently had the joy of meeting fellow fictionist and flash writer Jason Brick for a delightful conversation we shared via messages about this art form we love.

Read on for a few excerpts of our lively conversation about flash fiction—including the coolest place Jason’s newsletter has gone and Jason’s bio. Then, check out his newsletter and submit your flash fiction.

Also, my In a Flash craft book from Vine Leaves Press is the perfect holiday gift for yourself and your writer friends for the upcoming holidays!  Buy In a Flash! Writing & Publishing Dynamic Flash Prose  by Melanie at: Vine Leaves Press website

or at: Amazon

Or, for signed copies, Melanie’s Etsy page

Without further ado, the discussion about flash fiction:

Q: What drew you to flash fiction?

Jason: It’s the variety. For the reader and the writer, you’re not committing to a long narrative, so you get to play with genres, styles, crossovers, characters, languages, tropes you otherwise wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pencil.

Melanie: Flash is super flexible—it combines the narrative and action elements of fiction with attention to poetic language. It’s also compact and helps writers learn compression (which I always need!), integrating language like dynamic verbs and precise imagery, which I find exciting.

Q: What makes flash special or stand out from other literary genres?

Jason: Sort of what I mentioned above. It’s super-short, so there’s more room for variety and creativity than with other lengths of fiction.

Melanie: It combines the best elements of fiction and poetry and yet brings its own special qualities to the table, including a variety of formats and styles.

Q: Tell us about your book in a sentence or two, as if it were a birthday present you were describing.

Jason: Flash in a Flash is just the coolest gift, because I get to open it twice a week! It’s a literary newsletter that puts a super short story - under 1,000 words - in my mailbox every Monday and Thursday! All kinds of genres. All kinds of styles.

And it gets better! I’m a writer, and they’re seeking submissions. So with a little luck I can have my own micro-stories get out into the world. They’re a paying market, too!

Melanie: Very cool. Always great to learn about writing markets, especially those which pay.  My book, In a Flash, sizzles the pen and sparks a thunderstorm of dazzly new ideas that have never crossed your mind before and will continue to deliver awesome exercises and fabulous flash examples that you can return to again and again, at any season of your writing life ahead. You’ll want to keep it handy and gift a friend interested in the genre. 😊

Q: What’s the coolest or wackiest place(s) your book has been read OR where would you like your book to be read? 

Jason: The easy answer is that many people tell me, because of the short time commitment, they keep and read their copy in the bathroom. Besides that, I compiled the first volume in the series while living in Malaysia, so I read several of the submissions while on a boat in a river in Borneo.

Melanie: Wow! Malaysia and a boat in Borneo—so awesome! My favorite place readers have told me my book has traveled is in a gift bag to encourage a friend who has hit writer’s block or who isn’t familiar yet with the joys of flash. Writers are incredibly supportive and kind friends, and I love hearing that my book resonated with a reader so much that they want to gift it to a friend.

Q: Does your book contain exercises for writers? If so, what’s your favorite one that you’d like to share now?

Jason: Not exactly, but anybody can submit…and there is no better writing exercise that finishing a story and submitting it.

Melanie: I love what you say about finishing a story and submitting it. Very encouraging! My book contains a bunch of exercises that writers can use on days when they’re not sure what to write and how to even begin. I love hearing that someone used my exercises to draft a story, submit it for publication, and subsequently received an acceptance letter.

Q: What’s your favorite flash story? Or a flash story that you remember reading and being excited about exploring more in your own writing?

Jason: As of this writing, my favorite remains “The Apocalypse According to Dogs” from my first anthology. It just tickles me.

Melanie: I look forward to checking out that story you mention. The first flash I remember reading and thinking about how amazing it was and wanting to explore more in my own writing was the one often attributed to Hemingway: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”  That just hits me in the gut. As a poet as well, the imagery just says it all. That so very much emotions could be contained in six short words is super inspiring and challenging. Every time I read it, I both get the chills AND want to write something that eloquent and that compact.

Bio:
Jason Brick is the skipper at Flash in a Flash, a biweekly newsletter delivering fiction to mailboxes all over the world. When not writing and editing, he travels, cooks, practices martial arts, and spoils his wife and two sons. He lives in Oregon. 

Connect with Jason:

https://www.facebook.com/brickcommajason 

Contact Jason: brickcommajason@gmail.com

Jason’s books and projects

⭐ My Narrative Poetry Article Published at Women on Writing's Craft Corner! ⭐

Super excited that my article about narrative poetry was published at Women on Writing today in the Craft Corner. 🪻🥳

I had a blast talking about this meaningful type of poetry as well as my own writing practice, and I packed it with tips for writers exploring this exciting form of verse!

Signed copies of Does It Look Like Her? available at my Etsy store: clickety-click. Also, available (unsigned) through Amazon: clickety-click.

Also, If you, your friends, or your students or writing group are interested in learning more about writing poetry, I have a lot more writing advice and fun prompts for poets in my Vine Leaves Press book, Poetry Power (scroll to the second book on the page for links to Poetry Power ) ! Check it out: Poetry Power: clickety click and at Amazon:clickety-click.

My Flash Fiction Published at Bright Flash Literary Review! 🎉

I’m excited to announce that my flash fiction, “It was just supposed to be,” was published this week at Bright Flash Literary Review! 📚

Check out my story below as well as the awesome stories by fellow authors at their current issue. If you write flash, consider submitting, too.

“It was just supposed to be”

a quick zip through aisle seven and back.

Somebody said she’d moved outside Rawston somewhere after, so it never occurred to him that Tuesday before New Year that he’d turn the corner with the laundry detergent in his right hand and there was Maisy.

“Hey,” was all he thought to say.

“My sister needed a few things,” she half-smiled.

Photo courtesy of Eduardo Soares on Unsplash.com, free stock

There was a baby strapped onto her in one of those carrier things he didn’t know the name of. She was someone’s mom now. That was weird, and new. Fifteen years together. They never. He never thought she’d wanted one. He didn’t. Doesn’t.

The baby bopped legs and arms in herky-jerky movements. The baby had Maisy’s curls. 

“Just getting this,” and he held up the neon plastic jug like he was proving something, as if until he’d pointed it out it’d been invisible.

Should he have said something, asked about the baby—Maisy’s baby—a name maybe? An age? He hadn’t seen any teeth when the baby had grinned at Maisy, but how old are kids when they get front teeth? Do back ones come in first?

Maisy had bounced a bit on the balls of her feet near the stacked boxes of soda crackers; the baby laughed in reply. They made a tableau together like he’s seen mothers and kids do on TV.

“Yep, everyone needs clean clothes,” she said.

She looked tired in her eyes, but happier than she ever was their last few years. Calmer somehow.

“Good…good point. Hey, great seeing you,” he said, because he could think of nothing else to say but random inanities. The baby’s hair the exact raven black of Maisy’s the night they’d met as freshmen. He’s got some grays now.

The baby had some other guy’s eyes. Weird. He’d turned away.

“You, too, Darvin,” she said, using her sympathy voice.

The baby kicked into cracker boxes, and the front one wobbled but didn’t fall.

“Look what you’ve done, little cutie. Yes, you, my little cutie,” Maisy cooed and laughed.

He ducked into aisle four; he dropped the detergent onto a random shelf. No longer any energy left for waiting in line, for another possible sighting. He couldn’t. He was outta there.

He lightninged through electronic double doors, out of breath but not running.

He’ll grab another detergent at the QuickShop after work tomorrow and stew about Maisy tonight.  He leans back in the tan recliner; they’d picked it for their first apartment after college. He’d liked the red one, but Maisy said tan would go with more things. She’d been right about that. About more than that, he guessed. 

He should take his mother up on her offer to reupholster it.

“Give it a new look,” Mom had said. “Or else donate it to charity, get something new.”

Yeah, but the chair’s the last thing left from their years together.

He keeps the living room lights off tonight; his laptop casts a pale green light that wobbles against the opposite white wall, the same color it was when he moved in.

Is Maisy still at her sister’s on Root Lane? Seven miles is nothing; how easily he could jump in his truck, drive out that way. Just to see.

He presses back into the tan upholstery, but there’s nowhere further to go. It was far easier when he could think of Maisy as alone, like him, near Rawston at night.

He feels it in his gut: Maisy’s gone home to the man whose eyes the baby shares. Their baby.

Biography:  Melanie Faith is a night-owl writer and editor who likes to wear many hats, including as a poet, photographer, professor, and tutor. Three of her craft books about writing were published by Vine Leaves Press in 2022, including her latest, From Promising to Published. She enjoys ASMR videos, reading, teaching online writing classes, and tiny houses. Learn more at https://melaniedfaith.com/ .

My Craft Article Published Today 🏊

Super excited to have this article published at Women on Writing today!

“5 Line Breaks to Inspire Your Poetry Writing”

By: Melanie Faith

I’ve been a practicing poet since I was 17. When I think back to the many styles of poetry I joyously tried in college and grad school and beyond, I marvel at how much my line breaks have changed and continue to evolve as I grow as a writer and with the needs of each successive project.

My first poems, handwritten on pale blue lined paper that I spent my weekly allowance to purchase at the local stationery store, had looping scrolls of lines across the pages, almost from margin to margin. By graduate school, while experimenting with haiku and tanka, the sparer I could make my lines the better. (I’m not a sparse-speaking person—surprise, surprise—so it was often a challenge.) Since then, my lines usually rest in the merry middle somewhere between languid, Whitmanesque flourishes and ultra-succinct compression.

Let’s take a closer look at line breaks and what they can mean to your own writing practice.

The Innate Break: This is what I call a line break that just feels right while drafting. Why’d you break the line there? You don’t know, and you’re not stopping to think about it right now. Your hand keeps the pen rolling or your fingertips typing while you focus solely on the words unspooling. You break the lines intuitively and only notice them later, when editing or writing another draft. There’s something to be said for letting the poem take the form it wants to take. A little like after learning to ride a bike—for the first draft or two it’s often not necessary to think consciously, “Should I break the line on this word or that one?”, just like you don’t think, “Right foot, make sure to pedal now. Okay, left foot, same deal. Pedal now.” There’s synchronous motion that happens in cycling and in drafting a poem. Letting that sensory flow go can lead our work to some great destinations.

The Emphasis Break:  Words that fall at the beginnings and endings of lines get extra emphasis for the eye and for the mind. End lines on thematic or precise word or phrase to emphasize key ideas. You can also take a poem that had innate breaks and, in the editing stage, make new line breaks on more precise images or diction choices.

 The Stanza Starter or Ender: Just like the opening and closing words in each line get a little extra attention from the reader, so do images or words that open and close a stanza. The stanza breaks, in fact, get even more emphasis due to white space. Whether while drafting or later editing our poetry, it can be a good idea to consider if the line you are breaking a stanza on is the best place to emphasize the poem’s theme or content. If not, consider breaking the stanza-breaking line at a new place.

The Form-Based Line Break: If you write poetry that has a set pattern or formal structure—such as a sonnet, villanelle, or terza rima—your line break will be based on a number of fun constraints, such as stressed and unstressed syllables, syllable count, and rhyme scheme. I have great respect for poets who find the constraints of pattern poetry motivating, although my poetic brain runs more to making my own line-break patterns. Neither style is inherently better or worse than another—they are both apt vessels for the poems you write. If you know that writing formal poems is your jam, I encourage you to try a few kinds of poems to experiment with the different end-line conventions each requires. If you usually write acrostics, try haiku. If you often write odes or limericks, try an Italian sonnet. If your last few poems were villanelles, try writing a sestina or a ballade.  There’s great variety in line breaks among formal verse that a poet could spend many years happily exploring.

The Variety Approach: Are you working on a chapbook or a poetry collection? Are you preparing a handful of poems (often three to five) to submit to a literary journal? In this case, it might be good to read the poems in relation to each other. Is there some variety in where and how you break your lines? Is each line separated at an optimal place and/or have you left some blank space somewhere on the page?  Also, sometimes placing poems with long lines next to poems with few lines and/or succinct lines can create a meaningful pattern for the reader and also inform any editing or new line breaks. You might also consider shuffling the order of your poems.

Use these line-break ideas as you draft, edit, or prepare submissions of your poetry. There’s no 100% right or wrong place to end a line and begin a new one, but with time, practice, and focus, and having these ideas in your pocket, you may well be surprised how quickly you up your poetry game. 

 Want to learn more? Check out my online poetry class that starts April 21st! Jump-Start Your Poetry Practice.✍️

One-Year Book Birthday Giveaway!

February marks the one-year book birthday for my book, Writing It Real: Creating an Online Course for Fun and Profit! In celebration, I’m going to run a book giveaway to share this splendid book that’s packed with tips and insights aplenty on everything from brainstorming your class idea to crafting your syllabus to running your class and so much more to keep educators motivated and interactive with their students.

Between now and Wednesday, February 15th, 2023, if you’re interested in winning a free copy, just leave a comment at my Instagram @frompromisingtopublished99 or here at my website in the Comments section of the post, letting me know what type of course you’d love to create and teach.

Examples might include but are not limited to: science fiction, poetry, flash fiction, romance novels, photography, introductory figure study, pottery, creative nonfiction, memoir, journalism, you name it.

Feel free to add a detail or two of why this class idea interests you, if you’d like.

After the 15th, I’ll enter all names from the comments into a hat (‘cause I run old-school that way🥳) and pick some winners. 😊📔Good luck, and teach on!

New Month, Continued Inspiration 🎆

Happy February!

I’m excited for all that this new month will bring, including my Leaping Worlds online creative writing class for historical-fiction and time-travel writers.

Begins Friday, February 10th. There are still a few spaces left, and I’d love to work with you and a friend. Details at: clickety-click.

Also, here’s a favorite and motivating Hafiz quote to enjoy.

To February, and sweet inspiration!

"Six Methods for Sparking Historical and Time-Travel Stories" 🎉

Super excited that my article was published today at Women on Writing! Check out my craft article below, and learn more about my online Leaping Worlds writing class on this topic that starts Friday, February 10 (sign-ups open!) at: clickety-click/class info!

“Six Methods for Sparking Historical and Time-Travel Stories”

By: Melanie Faith

One of many wonderful facets of writing stories set in the past is that initial aha when an idea lands. While that spark’s arrival can be unpredictable, there are tried-and-true ways that authors of historical fiction and time-travel books employ to discover inspiration that sends them running to their computers.

Let’s take a look at six of these methods.  Take one (or more!) for a spin today.  Glean inspiration from:

Online articles.  Many of my students have found their story ideas while reading either primary sources (first-hand accounts and/or articles written at the time of the events) or secondary sources (articles written in later time periods about historical eras). Most newspapers and colleges now have online databases and articles of literally thousands of letters and historical documents (such as birth, marriage, legal, and land-deed records) that can be perused for free or nearly free. If you take classes or teach, most universities subscribe to database services where you can find even more sources, but even a general online search outside of a school’s website can yield a field-day of resources on just about any historical figure, fact, epoch, or related historical topic you can imagine. Once you find an article of interest, you can then refine your search by typing the precise person, place, or event and filter articles, such as by year published/posted to narrow and focus your search. Have a notebook or word-processing document open for taking notes; always list the author and URL and/or bookmark your sources for handy return to this info for fact-checking later.

Photographs. Are you a visual person? Are you the kind of person who loves paging through old photo albums or yearbooks? Then this method is likely going to lead to stories aplenty for you. I remember visiting historical sites in elementary and high school and being fascinated by tintype photos as well as always being the partygoer magnetized by the photo albums on a nearby shelf. Perusing photos for what people wore, how they did their hair, how they assembled (or didn’t) as a group in photos, who was missing from the photos and why, who took center-stage in the photos, whether the shots were made in a formal studio or by a personal camera in the driveway before the prom, all of these aspects of photos intrigued me and created sense impressions and questions that could easily lead to great fiction. Photos are especially great for writing descriptions of indoor and outdoor settings as well as physical details for characters.

Questions we don’t know the answers to at the moment. This is one of my favorites. So often, I’ll stumble upon a document or a reference in a nonfiction book and several questions will pop into my mind about related ideas that didn’t (for good reason) make it into whatever I’m reading. I keep my writing notebook handy and jot down questions that arise from resources. Later on, these questions can lead to exploration into a character’s motivations and struggles that inform their actions and possibly whole scenes can result. A little bit like a magician’s colorful scarf—one question leads to another and another related question that can reveal images, dialogue, cultural references, and more to inspire writing.

Memories. What did you like to learn about most in history classes in school? Conversely, what did teachers never talk about that they should have or you wish they would have? Answering these questions could certainly help with setting and character development if/when you plunk your protagonist in the middle of the era you’ve always found fascinating.

Visits to museums or national parks. Almost every community around the world has hidden-gem museums about their town, region, or country with amazing historical resources for low-cost entrance and/or donations. Ditto for university and college archives that are open to the public, to alumni, and/or to the school community. Check websites or contact your local archivist or docents for hours or to email/text to arrange a visit. Want to walk through some history? National parks can be inspiring resources and a great way to take a break from the desk for the day. Take a camera and/or photos with your phone to remember specifics about landscape later. Bonus: jot some sensory impressions and notes while you’re there—details flit through our minds on-site that we are sure we’ll remember …and then don’t.

Reading.  Hello, libraries!  It doesn’t matter how many books there are about a topic or historical figure or era or time-travel element—there’s always room for more. When I want to write about a certain era, I’ll read through a few recent and/or long-ago books about the topic, to see what’s already been written and where there might be pockets of information missing or where fresh ideas for a different POV or character arise. Reading and leaving reviews for others’ books is also a great way to give back to the literary community while informing yourself and immersing yourself in a time period to inspire your own totally different but equally interesting historical book.

Blog Tour: Review at Lesliesvoice.com & Many Thanks! 🎉

Such a pleasure to have a review of my book at Lesliesvoice.com!

An excerpt from Leslie’s thoughtful review: “Through anecdotes, metaphor, and humor, this author keeps the reader engaged and laughing throughout the book. Yet the serious part of publishing comes through loud and clear, and a brief exercise is given at the end of each chapter to drive home the content. 

This book, From Promising to Published, came to me at the perfect time, just before I typed “The End” on my manuscript. I’ve made notes and scribbles throughout the book, a good sign that I’ll be coming back to it again and again. I’m in the middle of preparing all those things Melanie talks about: Author Bio, Cover Letters (including elements and examples), building a web and social media presence, and managing, and even planning for, rejection (something every writer needs). One of my goals for 2023 is to take more risks with my writing life. The author uses swimming as a metaphor for risk. I’m not a swimmer and, in fact, I’m terrified of deep water. But in writing, I’ve gone beyond the ‘toe-tip in the pool’ to mastering the ‘swan dive.’ Next up, the ‘butterfly stroke.’ I many never learn the ‘freestyle.’ To learn what each of those strokes represents in writing, take a deeper dive into this book, and enjoy the ripple effect of taking some risk. 

From Promising to Published contains helpful information about identifying a target audience and submitting to literary journals. But beyond that are tips and tricks I haven’t found in other books on publishing; for example, courtesies and networking among authors, protecting my personal space, avoiding burnout through self-care, and my favorite…celebration! A few months ago, I bought a beautiful peace sign paper weight for myself and had it wrapped up as a gift at the store. After typing “The End” following the last chapter (about freedom and peace), I celebrated by opening my gift. It sits on my bookcase as a daily reminder that I was able to achieve a significant milestone in my writing life!”

Read the rest of the review at: clickety-click!

Check out more of Leslie’s wonderful writing and publications here (“Friday Speak Out!: The List-Maker,” here (“My Favorite Chair”), and here (“What I Would Teach My Children”). Also enjoy this great interview with Leslie from Women on Writing when Leslie’s work placed Runner Up in WOW!’s 2020 Creative Nonfiction Contest: clickety-click.

Many thanks to Leslie Cox for this beautiful review and for making the final stop of my blog tour so meaningful! 🎉

My sincere appreciation and thanks to all of the bloggers who hosted my book during the tour and wrote reviews; to Women on Writing for ongoing support, enthusiasm, and kindness; to Nicole Pyles for applying her amazing blog-tour creation skills to my tour and making this such a fun experience that I couldn’t have done on my own; and to each of YOU, dear readers, who have come along on the fun journey of this blog tour and offered marvelous feedback and messages and/or have purchased From Promising to Published.

May your muse continue to shine, and here’s to filling 2023 with wondrous words and publications aplenty! 🎉

Blog Tour: Craft Article, "6 Tips To Tame the Taking-on-Too-Much Spiral"🌟

I’m honored to have my craft article featured today at Editor-911 as the next stop in my book tour for From Promising to Published.

An excerpt:

“How can we step back a little to create a gentler schedule?

Tip 1: Refrain from the immediate yes, however tempting. Pause for an hour (or even a day) when a great opportunity lands to think it through, step by step. 

Break down the opportunity’s required components and guesstimate possible time investments. Factor in your current energy level and health (yours and family members) before taking on a promising project. 

Visuals help: physically open your calendar and pinpoint exact hours in your schedule when you will do the work involved.  If you don’t have a lot of successive empty spots in your weeks ahead, you already know the answer. 

Last week, I had a fantastic short-term gig land in my inbox. My first instinct was to leap on it. Yes, yes, yes! Sign me up! 

Then, it occurred to me: a project like the one offered requires 2.5 to 3 hours minimum per day, 5 or 6 days a week…”

Read the rest at: clickety-click!

Many thanks to talented writer, book publisher, and educator Margo L. Dill!

Check out Margo’s awesome online writing classes, including Manuscript Draft Editing Package with Consultation (For Novels, Short Story Collections, and Memoirs), Children’s Novel Draft Editing Package (For Novels for Children Ages 9-12), and Writing a Novel with a Writing Coach: One-on-One Instruction, and Margo’s books and editing packages, sure to inspire and support your writing projects! Sign up for her free newsletter: clickety.

Blog Tour: Craft Article about Beta Readers 🌟

Thrilled to have my craft article, “Bountiful Betas: Benefits of a Beta Reader and Tips for Finding One,” featured today as a guest post as part of my book tour for From Promising to Published at Elle Backenstoe’s blog.

An excerpt: “Beta readers can save authors a lot of time and frustration trying to figure out elements of our own work that can be hard to pinpoint—such as why a certain character feels flat or why a scene that started so well deflated within a few short paragraphs.” 

Read the rest at: Elle Backenstoe’s blog. Learn more about Elle and her forthcoming book here and here. Thanks so much, Elle!