If you are like me time is limited. Okay, we all have 24 hours in a day but I am specifically speaking to those with the magic formula for chaos – children, a full time job, and the dream of publishing a novel. So how does one do it all? How does a writer hone their craft and balance all the joys and thrills of a busy life?

This is where I introduce you to my friend and fellow writer Josh Mosey and his diabolical schemes er, flash fiction.

Josh introduced me to flash fiction about a year ago. When I heard about it I nearly laughed. Short stories in six words? Hilarious. However, he introduced me to a six word story that has been attributed to Hemingway –

For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn.

Think about that. A very powerful six words.

Flash fiction ranges from 6-1000 words (about two pages). From our friends at Wikipedia it is defined as:

A style of fictional literature or fiction of extreme brevity.^[1] There is no widely accepted definition of the length of the category. Some self-described markets for flash fiction impose caps as low as three hundred words, while others consider stories as long as a thousand words to be flash fiction.

 So why spend time on condensed stories if you are an aspiring novelist? Glad you asked.

In honor of flash fiction I provide two short answers:

1. You will learn to choose words wisely.
2. You can make money at it. (view this link to websites actively looking for flash fiction)

If you’d like to hear more about this from the expert, see Josh’s video below from our writers conference a few months ago:

 http://youtu.be/X08HicQmPtw

In the meantime, work hard on your novel and as it gets dull or you get stuck, maybe take a day and try some flash fiction and submit it to one of the websites in the link above.

Cheers,

Bob