Flash Fiction Book Club

A Note On Flash Fiction
by J. Millard Simpson

Dorothy Parker is a justly famous literary figure, though she never did write the novel she spent half her life pursuing. O. Henry’s only long piece is “Cabbages and Kings”, which is really nothing more than a collection of linked short stories. When was the last time a book club focused on either writer? Or on short fiction at all, come to that?

And yet they are some of the most powerful — impactful — enduring works of literature. We all remember how “The Tell-Tale Heart” made us feel, the lesson of “The Monkey’s Paw”, and the way we cried after reading “The Gift of the Magi”. Why don’t we study them in the same way we do Oprah’s latest pick?

(Perhaps part of the answer is that there tend to be a lot of school teachers in the average book club, and they’re tired of talking about the same half dozen stories they discuss in class every year. Fortunately for our purposes, there are a lot more than six decent pieces of short fiction out there. Maybe someone should tell the editors of the Norton Anthology.)

There’s a huge difference between short stories and full-length novels, and it’s more than just the number of words.

Novels present us with dozens of fully fleshed out characters, each of whom is going through their own uniquely complex situation. In the space of a few hundred pages, a vast number of conflicts can be introduced and resolved. Whole subplots come and go, carrying characters with them will-they or nil-they, and sometimes there’s so very much going on all at once that even the most careful reader can’t make out any overarching theme against the backdrop of all the events. It’s like trying to watch the stars during a fireworks display.

A short story, however, is a different creature entirely. Instead of a massive cast you get merely a handful of actors, only one or two of whom you ever get to know beyond a bare introduction. There’s rarely more than one or two major occurrences, and even at the tale’s climax there’s precious little character growth.

Shorts can be just as powerful as any novel, mind you. They’re smaller, but that just means what force they carry is concentrated. It’s the difference between a windy day and a sharp dagger: One knocks leaves down all over town, but the other could end up Exhibit A in a murder case.

What’s true for a short story is doubly so for flash. Where short stories can be twenty pages or more, flash fiction is traditionally limited to under a thousand words — a five-minute read. It’s a rare flash piece that has more than two or three characters, and there’s usually only one conflict and one resolution. But in order for it to get published, the people in it still need to feel real. It has to mean something to the reader.

To extend our metaphor about the wind and a dagger, that would make a flash piece… what, a scalpel? A dart, sunk in clear to the feathers? Either works. Flash can have quite an impact.

But then, I don’t have to tell you that. You’re the readers; I’m just one writer out of many. It’s for you to say what you like and why.

So here, for your consideration, I present a collection of flash pieces, all available on the SciFi Shorts website. Note that this is a subscription-only magazine, but as a special favor for your book club I’ve arranged for you to have free links to read a few of the stories. These will get you around the paywall.

NOTE: Half of the stories on the list were written by me. This isn’t because I’m the best writer. It’s just that it’s a lot easier for me to get my own permission than someone else’s.

EMAIL ONLY POSITIVE FEEDBACK to: TheNotFakeNews@gmail.com, putting BOOK CLUB in the subject line, and I’ll do my best to make sure it gets forwarded to the correct writer. You very probably won’t get a reply, but they’ll appreciate it. If you have specific questions for me (like “Why are you J. Millard Simpson when I know your wife Julie calls you John?”) feel free to ask — preferably in one single email representing the whole group.

One more word in closing: If you enjoyed these pieces, the best way to thank the writers (and, incidentally, to read others like them) is to subscribe to SciFi Shorts — maybe for just a month or two, or buy one as a gift for a favorite niece or nephew. (Just fill out their email address in the blank provided, and send them a message to let them know.) Each story published on the site earns its writer an equal share of all the subscription money that comes in. What could be fairer than that?

Suggested questions for group discussion:

It’s difficult for any one person to keep ten different stories in mind all at once. Some may speak to one reader but be silent to another, for instance. With science fiction, we’re also facing the difficulty that several of the concepts introduced may well be new or confusing. That’s the nature of the genre. My best advice is to take written notes while reading.

  1. Which, if any, of the stories really spoke to you, made you feel anything? Curiosity, a sense of wonder, sadness, and anger at the sentiments being expressed all count.
  2. Is there anything that you don’t understand? Science Fiction is all about new concepts. You might be introduced to time travel, speeds faster than light, asteroid mining, alien minds, all sorts of things. It would be surprising if these stories matched your expectations, and absolutely astounding if everything made perfect sense.
  3. Which did you enjoy the most and why? Which didn’t you like?

If you’ve found this useful, feel free to donate to help support our literary efforts — or not, just as you choose. We won’t judge.

You can send cash to PayPal in order to help support us, set up a subscription donation at Patreon, or buy us a coffee.

Buy Me A Coffee