Sparking Creativity: See Inside for The Art of Flash Immersion Extravaganza Dates & Deets!

Plus, as always, a fun writing prompt!

Photo by Warren on Unsplash

Hello! This May newsletter is going out to all subscribers. This month’s prompt (see below) challenges you to write a flash story in the form of a list. I offer several things for you to ponder and possibilities to explore. Enjoy!

First though, I want to let you know I have finalized the dates for our THIRD Art of Flash Immersion Extravaganza! This is a free four-week generative community writing event for paid subscribers. If you’re not yet a paid subscriber, please consider upgrading! These events are loads of fun and I would love to have you join us!

Participants in the first immersion event collectively drafted FIVE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SEVEN new stories, many of which have since gone on to be published.

What to expect:

• Four weeks—from Thursday, June 19th - Thursday, July 17th—of writing, creativity, and engagement with a warm, encouraging community

• Daily Writing Prompts: TWELVE thoughtfully designed writing prompts (3 per week) + feedback, along with some fun pop-up prompts for the days in-between

• Positive, encouraging feedback from your fellow immersionists and myself

• Weekly chats and / or Q & A on various flash fiction topics

• Recommended reading lists

• Substantive craft articles

• Daily inspirations

• Celebration Salon & Reading! (TBA)

YOUR PROMPT - Make a List

Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash

I love keeping lists. Especially when under duress, making a list gives me a feeling of control. There’s often a lot of subtext living in the contents of a list.

Think of how much “story” you can convey, with very few words, in a simple list. Flash fiction, a form that lends itself so beautifully to innovation of form, allows you to do just that.

So that is your prompt for today: Create a story entirely, or almost entirely, in the form of a list. Then send it off to McSweeney’s because they love a good list story.

Here are a few ideas to get you going:

• A list of “tips” for various things, i.e. “16 Tips to Stretch Out an Essay” by Lucas Gardner

• Consider making a list of instructions from an “expert.”

• What would a Google search list tell you about a character and his predicament? (For instance, yesterday I googled “health benefits of whiskey.”)

• What would a packing list suggest to a reader about a character’s plans? (i.e., a bikini, suntan lotion, camera, vs. $1000 cash, a wig, and a revolver).

• You could convey quite a lot of story in a character’s to-do list. Maybe show two characters’ to-do lists side by side and have them play off each other.

• Your list may be an airing of grievances against a boss, a co-worker, a relative, etc.

• Try working with negation here. Ten Things I Didn’t Tell My Mother, for example.

• Your list may be annotated for an extra layer of pathos or humor.

• A glossary is a kind of a list. My “Collective Nouns for Humans in the Wild” is a list story.

NOTE: If you want to challenge yourself, strive to really make your list work as complete story, with emotion, movement, and resonance. This will require some use of subtext. Ask yourself if your list conveys emotion or conflict in some way. Is there movement or a shift or significant change from the first item on your list to the last? (Again, this can be subtle!). Does your list resonate, i.e., give the reader something to think about, feel, or laugh about, beyond the confines of the last line?

Hey friends, right now, I have over 9,200 subscribers and I am so grateful to each and every one of you! But fewer than 5% of these are paid subscriptions. I know the economy sucks and a lot of us are scared or struggling or both. But if a paid subscription is at all possible for you, please do consider upgrading. There are LOTS of paid subscriber perks all year round in addition to this upcoming four-week community writing event. Okay, that’s my pitch! As always, thanks so much and stay strong, my friends.