How to Write 100-Word Flash Fiction

It's been a while since I wrote a how-to piece, but it's been sitting at the back of my mind to do one. I figure I'll start with one type of flash fiction, and move on to another, but if there's something any of you would like to see, in particular, let me know.

100-word flash. It's not as easy as it sounds, since you're still trying to write a story with a beginning, middle and an end. I'll work you through my process.

Step 1: Usually, I start by writing...and I'll do that now. The only thought in my head is that it needs to be short.

100-Word Flash - Base Draft

Tickers stood at the edge of a cliff. It was a long way down, but that was not his focus. His focus was on the cliff opposite, and the gap in between. Could he really make the jump? He contemplated it. Maybe...

A howl rent the air behind him, and Tickers wished he hadn't stopped. Starting again was hard, and it was an uphill run. Another howl sent chills from his gut to his feet. He forced himself to turn toward it, move the distance he needed to get the speed, then he ran, sending one more desperate message through his implant to the sky.

The jump wasn't difficult, and he made the distance, hitting the cliff chest first and flinging his arms forward, scrabbling to stop the inevitable backward slide as his pursuers skidded to a halt behind him. He tried to find purchase with his feet, his boot toes scrabbling at the rock, slid further and faster as a shadow passed overhead.

His nails plowed dirt and he slipped from chest to shoulder, not knowing whether to laugh or cry when a clawed hand gripped his forearm and another latched onto the opposite bicep. A furred face looked into his own.

"Ready to stop running?" the lupari hunter asked, his eyes widening as silver light encased his prey.

Ticker's answer came as the man vanished from beneath his claws.

"Nope."

Step 2 - Assessment:

It's 232 words long...almost too long for me to trim to the required hundred, but we'll see. I'm going to copy and paste this into a word document and use Word's 'Track Changes' function to show you what got cut on the first pass.

Step 3 - Trim: This means take out words and phrases whose function is to spell out or reinforce what's already there. Flash fiction relies on the reader making connections to fill the gaps between what is printed. Not everything is spelled out in flash fiction. Words and phrases that build emotion can often be shortened or removed.

Step 4 - Trim: This time look for shorter ways to say things. Can you say in two words what you said in three. This may require some rearrangement of words and sentences.

Step 5 - Trim: Adverbs and adjectives, some conjunctions. Where the actor won't be confused, replace nouns with pronouns. 

This is how that looks when the changes are tracked:

100-Word Flash - First Trim

Tickers stood at the edge of a cliff. It was a long way down, but that was not his focus. His focus was on the cliff opposite, and the gap in between. Could he really make the jump? He contemplated it. Maybe...

A howl rent the air behind him, and Tickers wished he hadn't stopped. Starting again was hard, and it was an uphill run. Another howl sent chills from his gut to his feetthrough him. He forced himself to turn toward it, move the distance he needed to get the speed, then he ran, sending one moreanother desperate message through his implant to the sky.

The jump wasn't difficult, and hHe made the distance, hitting the cliff chest first and flinging his arms forward, scrabbling to stop the inevitablehis backward slide as his pursuers skidded to a halted behind him. He tried to find purchase with his feet, hHis boot toes scrabbling at the rock, slid further and faster as a shadow passed overhead.

His nails plowed dirt and he slipped from chest to shoulder, not knowing whether to laugh or cry when a clawed hand gripped his forearm and another latched onto the opposite bicep. A furred face looked into his own.

"Ready to stop running?" the lupari hunter asked, his eyes wideningjust as silver light encased his prey.

Ticker's answer came as the manhe vanished from beneath his claws.

"Nope."

Assessment:

More needs to go. We're down to 156 words...and this is where it gets difficult. How do we take more out without losing the story? If I'm honest, I don't know, but I'll try anyway. Are you ready?

Step 6: Trim - Remove any explanations that would be nice to have but that the story doesn't really need. See paragraph 2 for this.

Step 7: Trim - Remove internal thought dialogue that can be replaced by something more straight forward. See paragraph 1 for this.

Step 8: Trim - Shorten action sequences while trying to maintain the tension. (This is harder than it sounds.) See paragraphs 3, 4 and 6 for this.

Step 9: Trim - Remove expanding on the character's feelings. See paragraph 4 for this.

Step 10: Adjust - Reorganize sentences so they clearly convey the intended meaning. See paragraphs 1 and 7 for this.

Step 11: Adjust - If the trim has resulted in the piece being under the word count look for places that could use clarification and add the minimal necessary words. See the end of paragraphs 2 and 5 for this.

100-Word Flash - Second and Final Trim

Tickers stood at the edge of a cliff focused on the cliff opposite, contemplating the gap in between. Could he make the jump? He contemplated it. Maybe...contemplating the jump

A howl rent the air, and Tickers wished he hadn't stopped. Starting again was hard. Another howl sent chills through him. He forced himself to move back the distance he needed, then he ran, sending another desperate message through his implant as he jumped to the sky.

He made the distance, hitting the cliff chest first, and scrabbling to stop his backward slidesliding back as his pursuers halted behind him. His boot toes scrabbling at the rock, as aA shadow passed overhead.

His nails plowed dirt and he slipped, not knowing whether to laugh or cry whenalmost fell until a clawed hands gripped his forearm and another latched onto the opposite bicep.

"Ready to stop running?" the lupari hunter asked, just as the silver light of teleportation encased his prey.

Ticker's answer came as he vanished from beneath his claws, his answer remaining.

"Nope."

Assessment: Exactly 100 words, and the story remains intact in a much trimmer form - although I preferred how it appeared in the first place.

The Final Piece

Tickers stood focused on the cliff opposite, contemplating the gap in between.

A howl rent the air, and Tickers forced himself to move back the distance he needed, then ran, sending another desperate message through his implant as he jumped.

He hit the cliff chest first, scrabbling to stop sliding back as his pursuers halted behind him. A shadow passed overhead.

He slipped, almost fell, until clawed hands gripped his forearm and bicep.

"Ready to stop running?" the lupari hunter asked, as the silver light of teleport encased his prey.

Tickers vanished from beneath his claws, his answer remaining.

"Nope."

Wrap Up

I hope that helps. While I enjoy the process of  'writing into the dark' and 'writing the story as it comes,' writing to a strict form or adhering to strict requirements helps me focus on how I use words, and which words are necessary for conveying meaning and structuring the story I want to tell. They help me notice words I use in longer pieces that I don't need to use, or structures I can change to improve my writing. They help me notice and break bad writing habits, and be more conscious of deciding what to use when I write.

Hopefully, seeing this process will be useful to you, as you develop your words and writing styles, further.