A hearty beginning, a dash of action, a couple compelling characters, a twist ending, an adherence to brevity… These are just some of the elements that make a flash fiction story pop off the page.
With our latest flash fiction contest underway (submit here!), Page Turner Magazine staff members have been coaxed into revealing their favorite “secret ingredients” that make for delicious, A+ flash fiction.
At Page Turner Magazine, we’re passionate about genre fiction and good storytelling, which is why we regularly host 500-word flash fiction contests. (Our latest Spring contest is open until February 5th, Mystery themed!) We see flash fiction as a low-stress way to explore writing in all different genres and an excellent way to practice storytelling, editing, and creative writing skills. (And, for the procrastinators among us, it’s always nice to have a deadline and a word count to write to!)
On our contest page, we define flash fiction thusly:
Flash fiction condenses longer forms of fiction, such as novels and novellas, into a concise but impactful space without losing the beginning-middle-end structure. But to put it simply, we want flash fiction with a premise that hooks us, prose that inspires us, and an ending that punches us in the face.
Sounds simple, right? It is! But, it can also be really intimidating to stare at a blank screen and know you’ve only got 500 words to bring your brilliant story to life.