When we say, “don’t judge a book by its cover,” we usually think of the cover design. Yet all too often, readers are also judging fiction by the width of the spine. But is bigger better? When it comes to writing powerful prose, less is often more. Flash fiction can accomplish in one thousand words what novels can’t in one thousand pages, but there’s more to it than simply cutting the word count. There is an art to brevity.
In this course, you will learn what makes a flash story tick. Through a combination of discussion, exercises, and prompts, the class will explore how to infuse stories with immediacy, focus the premise, fully explore a given theme, and bring the narrative to a satisfying resolution, all in 1000 words or less. No matter your preferred form, your prose will benefit from the skills you develop mastering flash.
Thomas J. Griffin is a life-long fiction lover and sumo wrestling enthusiast who lives in Nashville, Tennessee and works out of an attic that could use more natural light. He is the co-founder of Flash Point SF, and his own short stories have appeared in publications such as Daily Science Fiction, 100-Foot Crow, Black Hare Press, and elsewhere.
M.A. Dosser is the co-founder and editor of Flash Point SF and a senior lecturer of communication studies at Vanderbilt University. He is the author of Nostalgic Futures: The Reactionary Fantasies of Speculative Fiction Fandoms (Rutgers University Press, 2026). You can read about his creative and scholarly work at maxdosser.com.
Thomas and M.A. are new to The Porch. Welcome!
