"Big Shot"
Pleased to share the latest poem from my Particle collection, with illustrations from the talented @annabelle_fern .
Write Flash Fiction and Flash Nonfiction that Sells! :)
Learn how to write and edit flash that catches editors’ eyes! Super cool video at: Check out In A Flash.
Signed copies available at: Write Path Productions.
E-copies and print copies available at: Amazon, In a Flash .
Pre-Order Photography for Writers Today!
Thrilled to share the news that my next book, Photography for Writers, is now available for pre-order! Check out this AWESOME video that Vine Leaves created, featuring my book and some of my photography.
Pre-Order Video
"Four Tips for Writing Fantastic Flash"
My article about flash-writing was published today. Ta-da! Give the writing exercise a spin.
“Four Tips for Writing Fantastic Flash”
by: Melanie Faith
Good things come in small packages. Chocolate truffles. Earrings. Me—okay, that last one is wishful thinking since I round my height up to 5’2”, but you get the picture.
Flash is the mighty genre that could and no exception to the small-packages rule of thumb. In both fiction and nonfiction, flash stories tell a narrative, develop a character and setting, craft conflict and tension to a surprising ending, and more—all in just 1,000 words or less. Pretty impressive!
Use these four tips and the accompanying exercise to craft some stellar flash.
· Set two characters against each other. Ever lived in a dorm? Then you know that very rarely do even two people (much less a whole group) view similar experiences the same way. Such conflict is a key component of good flash. Whether your characters compete for the same person, place, or thing or just have opposing personal, political, or ideological views, one sure way to maintain conflict within a flash is to pair two characters in a clash of goals. When I judge flash contests, one of the key disappointments is when a good flash character or concept doesn’t have enough tension to sustain the flash, so the prose falls flat.
· Ready, set, action! Your protagonist or speaker must DO something. Flashes aren’t as dynamic if the character is inert or has things done to her or him. Detail your protagonist’s physical actions and responses. Many promising flash drafts I’ve read go off the rails when they include a character reflecting on something that has occurred—which is fine for a sentence or two, maybe, but for a flash to really zing off of the page, the character must push back in deed. In real life, I need a fair amount of reflection time, but in my flash writing, I avoid it. Wind those characters up and let them move on the page! Which brings us to our next tip:
· When in doubt, include (a little) body language. Sometimes, jokingly, I’ve referred to dialogue without any speaker tags or visual imagery for several paragraphs as “floating heads,” because the characters seem to exist in outer space, without a clear physical presence. Readers don’t need to know every single cough, sneeze, or hand on the hip, but if your readers can’t imagine how characters are reacting to each other—whether through vocal tone, rolled eyes, tapping toes or shifting uncomfortably- then they probably won’t have as deep an investment in characters’ struggles. Much of what real people communicate in everyday life is demonstrated through body language; sprinkle a few well-placed images between the dialogue to show the conflict between what the character says and how the character or others physically react.
· Contradictions make better flash characters. In other words: we’re all a mess, so why not mine it? Another problem in some flash I see are characters who are one-sided, with a single personality trait that is not-so-awesome for flash: they are too agreeable. Something bad happens, and they accept it as the way things are or they make a decision to ignore it entirely. Strong writing brings us characters who have a main trait—kindness, enthusiasm, anger—and an opposing trait that rears its head now and again—selfishness, mercurial moods, humor at the wrong moment. As F. Scott Fitzgerald once said: “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” Guess what—we all have these two opposing sides and must function, which creates the kind of exhaustion and frustration that doesn’t always make life easy but which makes for fantastic conflict, tension, and character development in flash.
Try this exercise: Your speaker or protagonist has always reacted to injustice by ________________, but today, a different side of their personality is going to shine. Instead, they will _________________. Include inner thoughts of the character or speaker right before they decided what to do, during, and after. Include at least a line of dialogue in your flash where a person with a different opinion or view tries to stop your speaker or protagonist. What happens next? Go!
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Looking for a fun online writing class? Still a few spots in my Flash writing class that starts on Oct. 25th. :) In a Flash Details.
I’ll also be teaching a novel class in January. Outlining Your Novel with Ease Details.
Photography for Writers-- Holding the First Print Copy :)
Super excited for my next book, Photography for Writers, which will be published this November. Stay tuned!
That holding the first author copy feeling! 💕🔥📝📷😭😍💡
Free Kindle Saturdays at FutureCycle Press
My poetry publisher, FutureCycle Press, is offering titles as part of Free Kindle Saturday for a limited time. My book, This Passing Fever, will be a part of the promotion. Check it out at: Free Kindle Saturdays Poetry .
For a signed copy: check out my Etsy page: This Passing Fever, Signed.
For unsigned copies, try Amazon: This Passing Fever at Amazon .
One reader’s review: “This book of poems provides a first-hand account, along with some historical perspective, of the 1918 Influenza epidemic in one small town. Beginning with a childhood rhyme, Melanie traces the spread of the epidemic through the town, to Camp Funston in Kansas and back to the mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, and the children felled by this epidemic and to those who survive. Bringing home the futility felt by all and most assuredly the medical professionals in the town, the book is a heart-rending account of this difficult time. In addition to the personal poems that Melanie has imagined, she has used information gathered from oral interviews, documentaries and reports to pull focus back to get the wider view of the impact of the epidemic. The poems capture your imagination and the reader is drawn to the next and the next to discover the fate of the people one comes to know. Highly recommended.”
Another reader’s review: “Through tears and sighs and a pause or two to take a deep breath before continuing, I read this amazing poetry collection cover to cover in one sitting The initial poem snatched me from the present and immediately immersed me in small-town life during the 1918 influenza pandemic. This wasn't so much a history lesson, it was a journey through the eyes of those who experienced the helplessness and horror of losing neighbors, friends, teachers, parents, siblings - and the strength demanded of them to hold onto their hope and faith. I wasn't just the reader, I was in Kansas in 1918 with the folks in these poems. I could see, hear, touch, taste, and feel what it was like to live through the epidemic. That's the power and precision of Melanie Faith's writing. Read this poetry collection and share it.”
