On Beauty, Concision, and Deep Surprise
Silver Falls State Park, Oregon
“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” — John Muir
Hi friends! I’m back from beautiful Oregon. It was good to get away and spend time in nature, where I always feel better, calmer, happier. I hope this spring you too are finding opportunities to get away from your computer or phone for awhile and out into the natural world. It feels especially necessary right now, and good for our creativity.
“Mystery is at the heart of creativity. That, and surprise.” ~Julia Cameron
Today, I’d like to talk a little about something I call “deep surprise.” It’s something that happens in both the drafting and the revision phases of my writing. Maybe it does for you as well. Also, further down, you’ll find a fun prompt that may result in a deep surprise for you! At least I hope it will.
But first, a heads up that there are a few spaces still available in this Saturday’s (May 17th) live 3-in-90 workshop! It will run from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time. As always, you can expect to come away from the session with three fresh and surprising flash drafts. I love teaching these. Here’s a description of this Saturday’s class. Hope to see you there!
“Elegance in Miniature: The Art of Making Beautiful Flash Fiction”
While flash is celebrated for its brevity and impact, we rarely pause to consider what makes the very short form truly beautiful. We’ll begin by discussing the concept of “beauty” in writing and analyze examples of some of the most stunning flash stories ever penned. Through thoughtful prompts, you’ll develop your own "eye for beauty," learning how to infuse elegance, emotion, and depth into your micros.
SPACES STILL AVAILABLE FOR THIS SUMMER’S FLASH FICTION FESTIVAL!
The annual Flash Fiction Festival in Bristol, England, is a phenomenal event, this summer taking place July 17th-19th. My three-hour pre-festival workshop on the Friday is already sold out, but you can get on the waiting list. I’m also teaching ninety-minute workshops both Saturday and Sunday. There will be loads of wonderful presenters from all over the world offering terrific flash workshops. I can’t recommend the festival enough for flash enthusiasts!
Festival founder, Jude Higgins, has informed me there are still some full price places left with accommodation! Additionally, there are a few FREE festival passes reserved for those who are short of funds. You may inquire about free festival passes by writing to Jude directly at jude@flashfictionfestival.com.
As you may have heard, the poet Martha Silano sadly passed away from ALS last week. I only knew her through her work and her kind and supportive social media presence. I love her poetry. A while back, I read an incredibly moving poem of hers in Missouri Review, entitled “When I Learn Catastrophically,” and it has stayed with me.
In her author note, she said:
“Way back when, my dear friend and fellow poet Kelli Russell Agodon introduced me to an anagram generator website. How cool is that? When I was diagnosed with ALS in November of 2023, I wondered what the anagrams of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis were. A few days later, I visited Anagrammer and typed it in. Once I had a list of words to work with, this poem just kind of wrote itself.”
This piqued my interest! As a flash writer and teachers, I am always looking to the poets for tools to create big things in small spaces. To that end, I have a prompt for you to try using an anagram generator. I hope you have fun with it!
YOUR PROMPT
As a warm-up for this Saturday’s workshop, I’d like us today to practice concisely creating beauty in our flash. Let’s also make randomness and “deep surprise” work to our advantage. To clarify: