The Theory Behind My Flash Fiction

Posted on September 18, 2011 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette
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The theory behind flash fiction?  Is there a theory?  Well, the way the Old Soldier writes flash fiction, you better believe there’s a theory.  And what is this theory?

If a writer uses the right words in the right order, that writer can imply much of a short story and the imagination of the reader will fill in what has been left out.

How’s that as a theory of flash fiction?  You can’t beat it with a stick!

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Well, it’s around 10:00 PM.  I think this is my last post of the day.  Tomorrow I want to be online by 7:00 AM so that I have a good chance of getting a freelance assignment at the site where I am paid a penny a word.  Then I have to make an important phone call to see if I can get another deferment on my student loan.

I’m 64.

Keep reading and keep writing that flash fiction.

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What Is A Flash Fiction Writing State Of Mind?

Posted on July 6, 2011 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette
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Yes, there is such a thing as a flash fiction writing state of mind.  It’s nothing complicated, but it does take practice.

What is a flash fiction writing state of mind?  It’s a running awareness that a writer has that the smallest act can have an importance for beyond the act itself.

This theory is at the very heart of the flash fiction story.  This is how a flash fiction writer can write a story of 600 words that captures so much about a relationship or a life.  This is how the shorter a story is the deeper it can be.

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Hello hello hello, everyone and a special hello to all my Flash Fiction Fanatics around the world.  I would also like to give a special hello to all my fans on Twitter and Facebook.  The Old Soldier has over 800 followers on Twitter and nearly 60 friends on Facebook.

Thank you.

Check out all the articles on writing and the flash fiction stories on this blog, too.  There is a Submissions tab at the top of the page if you want to submit a story. You’ll get a response to you submission in three days.

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Flash Fiction Must Have Three Things

Posted on October 21, 2010 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette
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Although flash fiction is noticed for how short it is, it is not a sketch and it is not a vignette.  It is a short story.  Three things make it a short story.

Hello hello hello bloggers and writers.  Years ago when the Old Soldier was struggling with the writing of flash fiction and with the theory of show-don’t-tell, it became obvious that a definition of what made a flash fiction story a story had to contain three things for the definition to be helpful.

I would like to share those three things with you now.  The definition is: A flash fiction story is a significant event given closure.

The three things that make a flash fiction story a story are:

  • Significant event
  • Narrative movement
  • A payoff that is a realization, a summation or a change in direction

I help this helps.  For great short story ideas visit the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette often…

If you like sex in your flash fiction writing, click on the Sexy Stories tab at the top of the page.

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A New Link: Writing Erotica

Posted on October 6, 2010 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette
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Hello hello hello, creative writers, baby boomers, retirees, Pitt writing majors and my Flash Fiction Fanatics.  I think if you look around this blog you will find a lot of good writing and you will also find a lot of sex.  There are articles on sex and flash fiction porn and erotica.

I wrote all the porn in the Adults Only XXX department and all the erotica in the Sexy Stories department myself in the famous “show don’t tell” technique.  Which means as much attention was paid to characterization, description, storyline and relationships as there was paid to sex.

To experience an erotic story written in the “show don’t tell” technique, just click on the Sexy Stories tab at the top of the page.

If you want to know the philosophy and theory behind why I write erotica the way I do, click on Writing Erotica

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A Shout Out To Pitt

Posted on September 17, 2010 by pittsburghflashfictiongazette
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The Old Soldier just came from a walk through the campus of the University of Pittsburgh and it brought back fond memories.

Hello, baby boomers, bloggers, college students, creative writers and my Flash Fiction Fanatics.  The Old Soldier was a graduate student in the writing program at Pitt from 2003 to 2006.  It wasn’t that long ago.  The students were out in force today.  I use to teach undergraduates as a graduate student. 

It was at Pitt that I put the finishing touches on my theory of “show don’t tell” fiction.  I know many of my professors would be surprised that not only do I write literary flash fiction but that I also write erotica and XXX-rated flash fiction.

Still, I do what I do well and one reason why I do it well is because of the University of Pittsburgh.

Here’s a story for you: A Young Woman’s Lust

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