What drives a writer to write flash fiction? Why not write a poem or a play? Why not write a novel?
Why would a writer impose a limit of, oh let’s say 700 words, on the length of his or her short story? Doesn’t this word limit also limit what the writer can write about? Doesn’t this word limit prevent the writer from bringing his or her characters fully to life?
The Old Soldier has been writing fiction for over 40 years and he has been writing flash fiction for over 10 years. This is what I have found out about writing flash fiction.
The flash fiction story does not limit a writer in any way.
Writer Wordart (Photo credit: MarkGregory007)
The flash fiction story at its best exemplifies some of the most attractive elements of the poem (concise language), the play (the effective portrayal of character) and the novel (narrative movement).
Flash fiction has it all.
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Filed under: Writing Flash Fiction | Tagged: characters, concise language, flash fiction, joy of writing, life, narrative movement, novel, poem or play, writing fiction | 11 Comments »
Writing Fiction: Can Pornography Ever Be Considered Art?
Image by chelmsfordpubliclibrary via Flickr
Can pornography ever be considered art? Since this publication is about flash fiction, the question becomes: can a flash fiction story with explicit sex in it ever be considered art?
This is not an idle question.
It certainly is not an idle question for the Old Soldier. Nor should it be an idle question for any serious writer of fiction.
In the past, books like Moll Flanders, The Story of O, Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, Lolita and many other pieces of fiction were considered to be pornography. Some are still considered pornography; all are now considered to be classics in their own right.
The Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette has its own little collection of pornography. Just go to the sidebar on the left and click on Pornography and decide for yourself if porn can ever be considered art.
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Filed under: Commentaries | Tagged: art, explicit sex, flash fiction, Lolita, Moll Flanders, pornography, serious writer, The Story of O, Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, writing fiction | 3 Comments »