Flash Is NotÌý
ÌýbyÌýJonathan Cardew/ @cardewjcardewÌý
I am a flash fiction writer, which means I write flash fiction. When I say this to people, they usually ask me what flash fiction is and I oblige them with an explanation.Ìý±õ³Ù’sÌývery short fiction.Ìý±õ³Ù’sÌýlike a paragraph or a page. A flash. They nod in acknowledgement. Oh, they say. Oh, right.Ìý
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±õ³Ù’sÌýthe qualifier, of course. TheÌýflashÌýbit. Why specify?ÌýAndÌýI »å´Ç²Ô’t always—most of the time, I just say I write fiction; I’m a fiction writer; I’m a fiction writer of works of a certain length.Ìý
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So theÌýflashÌýbit is aÌýjustification?ÌýOrÌýa badge of honor?Ìý
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I decided to hit up Twitter, asking in my tweet to finish the sentence: “Flash is not…â€Ìý
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IÌý»å´Ç²Ô’tÌýknow why I flipped the question to a negative; why ask what something is not?ÌýButÌýit seemed appropriate since flashÌýfiction thrives in negative space.Ìý
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The following are twenty-two tweet replies, in no particular order, finishing my sentence and attempting to answer that question in a different way:Ìý
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Flash is not comfortable (@tabethanewman)Ìý
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Flash is not timid (@wreffinej)Ìý
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Flash is not your grandfather’s nose hairs (@rgvaughan)Ìý
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Flash is not plodding (@Christopher_All)Ìý
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FlashÌýis not writtenÌýto please anyone (@taniahershman).Ìý
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Flash does not settle in; itÌý»å´Ç±ð²õ²Ô’tÌýsettle at all (@fabulistpappas)Ìý
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Flash is not waiting (@VeronicKlash)Ìý
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Flash is not to disrupt the flow of what it’s not, but I have a pressing question about what it is… reading for a lit mag and flash coming in 5-6 pages long »å´Ç±ð²õ²Ô’t seem, well, flashy. Thoughts? (@bronwynnhdean)Ìý
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Flash is not compliant (@melostrom)Ìý
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Flash is not a boring ramblingÌýsnoozefestÌý(@ingram_wallace)Ìý
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Flash does not seek to explain itself (@Jayne_Martin)Ìý
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Flash is not devoid of depth and emotion (@laurabesley)Ìý
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Flash is not meretricious (@Robcodbiter)Ìý
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Flash is not a poem (@karjon)Ìý
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Flash is not kind of a poem (@laurabesley)Ìý
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Flash is not feeble (@melostrom)Ìý
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Flash is not a matter of fewer words.Ìý±õ³Ù’sÌýnot an anecdote or a sketch or a vignette.Ìý±õ³Ù’sÌýa much longer story that is compressed and written with a lot of words that you just »å´Ç²Ô’t happen to see (@francinewitte)Ìý
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Flash is not to be underestimated (@writingcircles)Ìý
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If flash is not a vignette, when can you write a vignette? Poor maligned vignettes. I feel they need a home, recognition,Ìýtlc.ÌýOrÌýare they the juvenile frame for flash? (@wordpoppy)Ìý
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Flash is not welcoming (@steveXisXoc)Ìý
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Flash is not very long (@nlordlancaster)ÌýA banana isn’t flash fiction (@samaveris)ÌýÌý
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[Tweets republished by permission of the authors]Ìý
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Jonathan Cardew‘s stories appear in Passages North, Wigleaf, JMWW, Cleaver Magazine, People Holding, and others. He edits fiction for Connotation Press. Originally from the U.K., he lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.