Tips for Writing Fantasy Flash Fiction

Summary

The website provides concise tips for crafting effective fantasy flash fiction, emphasizing brevity, focus on action, and thematic resonance.

Abstract

Writing fantasy flash fiction presents unique challenges due to the genre's typically expansive nature. The article outlines several key strategies to help writers master the art of brevity in fantasy storytelling. It suggests treating stories as single scenes, incorporating dialogue to maintain engagement, minimizing character names in favor of titles, and ensuring a clear theme is conveyed without overt explanation. The article also advises starting the narrative as close to the climax as possible and concludes with an unexpected twist to captivate the reader. These guidelines aim to help writers create impactful and memorable short-form fantasy stories.

Opinions

Fantasy flash fiction should prioritize action and plot progression over extensive character development.
Dialogue is crucial for reader engagement, even in the limited scope of flash fiction.
Using titles or positions instead of multiple names helps readers quickly understand character roles.
A strong theme is essential for the story's impact, and it should be shown through the narrative rather than told explicitly.
The best flash fiction stories start near the story's end and avoid unnecessary backstory.
A surprising conclusion is recommended to leave a lasting impression on the reader and encourage them to seek out more of the author's work.

A few pointers for sticking to the genre while keeping it brief

Fantasy is known for being wordy. For that reason, flash fiction is not something typically found among the many iron-clad fantasy writers. As Boromir might say, “One does not simply walk into fantasy flash fiction.” With that being said (or conjectured), here are a few tips for pulling off a flash fiction story in a fantasy setting.

Think of your story more like a scene. We aren’t getting to know your characters. We don’t care about their eye color, hair color, what they like to eat, or how they felt about their 3rd grade sorcery teacher. Unless it is absolutely necessary for the story to work, spare us the color of their underpants and focus on the action.

Use a little dialogue. Even in flash fiction, it’s easy for your reader to get lost without dialogue. At least every paragraph or so, interject a statement from a character to keep the reader engaged.

Limit how many names you use. You don’t have time for many names. Your reader can’t keep 3, 4, or more names straight in only a few hundred words. If a band of characters is essential to your plot, refer to them by their titles or positions (king, servant, armor-bearer, witch, mage, etc.) rather than their names. This helps keep the characters straight in your reader’s mind because titles come with built-in associations. This saves your reader the work of having to associate a name with certain traits.

Give your story a theme. There are a few universal themes: love, sacrifice, fear, faith, hope, endurance, perseverance, etc. You get it. Even if the reader can’t put an exact label on the theme, it needs to resonate in their mind. Even if they don’t use the word, ‘sacrifice’, they need to come away from your story thinking, “Oh — he gave up his life for her.” An image of your theme needs to stick in their head.

Tell some details, but always show the theme. You must ‘tell’ a good bit in flash fiction because you don’t have time for detailed character or world building. But when it comes to your theme, you must show it through what happens, not state it outright. This is what makes your flash fiction powerful.

Start as close to the end as possible. You’ve probably heard this one before, but it’s a great pointer. You don’t have time to explain all the history, and you don’t need to. Fantasy writers often fall into the trap of thinking their job is to evoke a particular emotion from the reader or paint an exact picture of what that underground dungeon looks like. However, the best stories are the ones that let the reader draw their own conclusions, and draw out whatever is already in the reader’s mind. Don’t be vague; but don’t fall prey to trying to force something on your reader.

Always try to add a twist or something unexpected at the end. O. Henry was masterful at this. Flash fiction is at its best when it ends suddenly and leaves the reader to reconcile the events. You always want to leave your reader wanting more. That way, they’ll come back for your next story.

Now that you’re armed with some guidelines, get out there and write some fantastical flash fiction. And when your story is ready, consider submitting it to Fantasy Shorts!