Customer Reviews

Flash Writing: How to Write, Revise and Publish Stories Less Than 1,000 Words Long

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Mr. Wilson has done an excellent job conveying, encapsulated in just a few words, exactly what flash writing is and how to approach it, complete with marketing information. The only reason I've marked the review a 4 rather than a 5 is that I felt there could have been more detail in the informational craft section of the chapters without losing the clarity and overall effect of the concise explanations.

His chapters are divided and presented logically and the points are easy to follow. I believe this would be true for beginning writers who know nothing about flash fiction as it is for those who have published in the genre. I found the prompts and exercises in the DO IT! sections to be some of the most helpful I've ever used. They are quick inspirations that help hone technique. If writers learn to write excellent shorts, there is no place we can't go when tackling scenes and chapters in longer works.

Finally, I thought the appendices were very useful. Not only are there good selected readings that demonstrate the principles set forth in the book, but also the web and book sources for information are well chosen.

I would highly recommend this book to fellow writers who wish to improve their craft or find a little inspiration. For flash writers, I think it is as essential a tool as Damon Knight's Creating Short Fiction and Roberta Allen's work. Happy writing to all!

Donna Johnson

This book is one of the best how to write Flash Fiction I have read. I didn't know exactly what flash fiction was. Not only did this book explain it, it also gave step by step suggestions on how to write it. The activities, writing execises and prompts help to inspire you to go for it.

I used the techniques outlined in Flash Writing to write my first short story in years.

Each chapter packs the practical "how to's" with idea-provoking exercises. Whether you're looking to think up stories, get them down on paper or prepare them for publication, this book has the goods.

Michael Wilson's energetic approach will motivate you toward greater creativity and productivity. A must read for anyone serious about breaking into the flash fiction market.

I have read dozens (and dozens!) of writing texts, but it was quite difficult to find an instructional volume on how to pen flash fiction. This book more than delivers. Don't let the slim size fool you: each chapter is filled with direct, applicable advice and many prompts to kick-start your pen. I plan on using this text for a flash fiction writing class I'm teaching early in 2012. I have already read it twice and used several of the prompts to create two short short stories. A volume writers will want to recommend to friends and also to hold onto to inspire their own fiction writing.

This how-to book certainly is worth any writer's bookshelf! Because the flash is so popular today, more writers would attempt it and submit flash stories for publication if they learned more about flash techniques: how to keep a story under 1,000 words without sacrificing plot, characterization, or interest.

Here is a book that can easily increase the number of flash-fiction writers out there! I highly recommend it.

Salvatore Buttaci, author of Flashing My Shorts

This is a good "how to book" for writers who are either unfamiliar with flash fiction or who wish to try their hand at writing it. I recommend the book without reservations.

gbiggs

I bought this book with the best of intentions, however the lessons were stilted and labored. I continued reading on hoping to find something valuable I could take away from the book, but in the end I came away with nothing. In being fair to the author, I suppose if you are a complete beginner, this book may hold some value, however if you have spent any amount of time writing in any form, there is little here that will aid you in your quest to write flash fiction.

This was the only Amazon.com purchase I have returned in all the years and hundreds of books I have purchased. If you have read any books on writing in the past, please don't waste your money. I ended up losing in the end because I paid for shipping and was hit with some other fee, so I actually paid over $5 to read the book. Oh well.