The art of flash fiction lies in its ability to make an impact in the briefest way possible. In...
The incredible winners of our Flash Fiction Competition, guest judged by Samantha Stone, have a few words of advice to share for aspiring writers. Read on to get to know them and the behind-the-scenes process of writing their tiny tales!
Winner: Tamanna Mathur (United Arab Emirates), age 17
Read the winning piece here!
Guest Judge Samantha Stone said about your winning piece that "The way you combine traditional storytelling with the use of imagery helps paint the picture of the story and invites us in immediately." How do you strike that critical balance between traditional storytelling and strong imagery?
I believe that the use of strong imagery is one of the fundamentals of good storytelling; as a writer, I focused on showing and not just telling. To truly be able to make the reader feel something I wanted them to immerse themselves in the setting and feel the hostile nature of war. In all honesty, I am not a very technical type of writer but one that writes from the heart so I allowed myself to let the words flow freely until I felt they made a strong enough impact and put across what I wanted.
I believe that the use of strong imagery is one of the fundamentals of good storytelling; as a writer, I focused on showing and not just telling. To truly be able to make the reader feel something I wanted them to immerse themselves in the setting and feel the hostile nature of war. In all honesty, I am not a very technical type of writer but one that writes from the heart so I allowed myself to let the words flow freely until I felt they made a strong enough impact and put across what I wanted.
Your extraordinary piece says so much, yet sticks to a tight limit of 100 words. What tips do you have for writing such a tiny tale?
Be bold! Use sentences that are impactful and structure them to guide the reader when to start and stop, which further emphasizes your point without adding to the word limit. Additionally, try to look at the world around you and catch hold of something that truly makes you feel a certain way- whether it's love, anger or pain, let it be the muse for your writing. I let myself write in short bursts, wherein I jotted down a particular sentence or idea that came to mind and built my story around them. The word limit is not a barrier but rather a guide for your creativity, so don't feel intimidated by it.
Runner-Up: Revisha Dudeja (United States), age 14
Read the runner-up piece here!
What drives the interesting structure of your story? How does the structure connect with the theme?
The structure of my story is mostly driven by a trance-like, fragmented feeling that mirrors how one thinks when overwhelmed. The theme of my piece is how bottled up emotions eventually need to escape, and can be triggered by seemingly small problems. The structure supports this by creating a small problem— a broken jar— and extending it into an unraveling, deep breakdown.
How did you develop the first and last sentences of your piece?
The first sentence of my piece was developed as I found myself wandering to the kitchen all too much, needing to grab a quick sweet treat often. I realized that the pattern often came when I was avoiding school work, allowing me to reflect on my habits. The last sentence was developed to reinforce the theme, and give it more of a flash fiction touch. The purposeful smashing of the jar reflects the need to let out all the stress, and how everyone needs some sort of emotional outlets. I aimed to end on a subtle cliffhanger, without any fixed ending, to further grapple with the idea of unresolved chaos.
Best Peer Review: Srinidhi C. (United States), age 15
Read the best peer review here!
What's different about peer reviewing a story under 100 words as opposed to longer forms of fiction?
The most notable difference is the type and amount of feedback you can offer on the piece. In my experience, I’m generally able to offer a wider variety of constructive criticism on longer forms of fiction as opposed to flash fiction. This is because flash fiction comes with a constraint that’s important to keep in mind as a reviewer. You might have a lot of suggestions, but when considering the word limit, it may become clear that only a few of them are practical. In my reviews, I try to offer only the suggestions that can realistically be implemented by the writer, so flash fiction limits those quite a lot. Nonetheless, flash fiction is appealing to me both as a writer and reviewer because of the challenge it presents!
Guest Judge Samantha Stone said she appreciated your use of a "question approach" in your peer review. Why do you think this approach is important?
I believe that this approach is important when writing reviews, because it not only communicates my thoughts and feelings as I’m experiencing the piece, but it also guides the writer into thinking critically about their own work. Rather than saying “This is wrong.”, asking questions allows the writer to step into the reviewer’s shoes and really evaluate the feedback they’ve been given. Overall, I really appreciate this approach because it is a great way to provide constructive criticism without making the review seem like a set of instructions.
