Some Friday Tidbits

I seem to keep running into flash fiction posts these days but then most of the hints for writing better flash pieces also applies to writing longer stories or novels. Jordan Lapp, the editor of Every Day Fiction has an interesting post about using dialogue up at the Flash Fiction Chronicles blog. http://everydayfiction.com/flashfictionblog/thoughts-on-dialogue-only-flash-fiction

For those of you who would like to extend you flash fiction reading beyond the crime fiction boundaries and into the more literary side of flash, Wig Leaf has posted their pick of the top 50 flash pieces on the net. http://wigleaf.com/2009top501.htm

One of the stories I clicked on was The Last Stop by Jenny Halper http://www.smokelong.com/flash/7105.asp Now this story made me realize just how important a title is to a story. When I finished reading, I glanced again at the title and it really brought the ending of the story home. It's a great story, by the way, and at its roots, a crime story. Check it out, it won't take long, but the story will roll over and over in your mind as you realize all the layers this writer packed into those 500 words.

If you feel like you're running on empty with your writing, head on over to James Reasoner's blog and check out the essay on Orrie Hitt by Brian Ritt called "The Sleazy Side of the Street" Between 1953 and 1964, Mr. Hitt wrote 145 books. Yep, that's books, not short stories. This is well worth the time just to read the quotes from Mr. Hitt's books. The man could really sling the words. http://jamesreasoner.blogspot.com/

One final thing, a friend of The Corner passed along this link to a contest that ends July 1 http://secondwindpublishing.com/murderisonthewind.html There's no pay if you win, only copies of the anthology the winning stories will appear in. I'm not familiar with this publisher and I couldn't find what rights they purchase on the site, nor submission guidelines for the anthology itself. This could be fun, but please proceed with caution as usual.