Hi. I’m Rob. My book, a (very dark) literary fiction piece titled Broken Glass, will be given as a prize to all qualifiers of #BCF’s January challenges. I’m contributing because 1) I want to set a precedent for more contributions and greater interaction with the indie author scene, and 2) I’m en route to being a creative writing professor and view myself as an educator in the field. As such, I want to support flash fiction projects.
Why Flash Fiction Is Awesome
Flash fiction is a valuable exercise for every writer. This is because it develops two important tools in your writer’s utility belt.
First, writing flash improves the “micro level”—the word- and sentence-level concerns—by forcing you to do more with less. When you only have 150 words, you’re far more careful about including the most powerful sentences, picking the best words, and being as precise as possible.
Second, writing flash builds your ability to identify the gravitational center of any given story. The minimalism artistic movement forced people to think about the essence of objects by asking, What could you take away and have this still be a [chair/cat/lamp/woman/man]? In just the same way, a constricting form like flash fiction forces you to ask: What is a story?
Why BCF Is Awesome
BCF is doing something unique in the flash fiction scene. While there are plenty of competitions for eager flash fictioneers, BCF provides a specific contextual frame for our flashy work. This means we can envision the purpose of the story in far greater detail; you could actually print these stories on business cards, thus showcasing your writing skills in a surprisingly small space.
You also get to combine color choice, graphics, typography, and other elements of presentation that are important for written work but often neglected by writers. I’m not saying you should do all the design and layout work for each piece you write, but you should at least know enough to recognize good work when you see it.
As a mixed-medium project with a beautiful contextual frame, BCF stimulates creativity and pushes boundaries. December’s results were fantastic, both for their originality (the recurring “Wow, I would have never thought of doing hat!”) and their power. You wouldn’t think a strong emotion could be evoked in such a small space, but if you’re looking for proof, you need look no further than last month’s entrants. I look forward to seeing this month’s contributions.
Meanwhile, for those interested in my discussions of the writing craft, I encourage you to check out my website. There you’ll find theory discussions (such as “3 Blinding Myths of the Writing Community“), resources (such as “Attaching the Flesh: A 50-Item Character Questionnaire“), advice articles (such as “9 Tricks for Writing Organic Dialogue“), lessons (such as my metaphor lesson series), and writerly humor (such the comic about the strippers, JFK and Stalin).
About Broken Glass
Okay, so for those who want to know a bit more about my book, here’s the rundown:
- Broken Glass is my first indie publication. While I’ve published more than a dozen shorter pieces in lit journals, BG represents my first major contribution to the world of published novels.
- It’s a very dark book. And violent. And also philosophical and psychological. Not all that hopeful or uplifting. One negative review described it as being a book for those who want to “curl up with a bottle of painkillers and a collection of Aristotle’s ‘Greatest Hits.’” It’s literary fiction at its murky darkest.
- While I have mixed feelings about the novel itself (the original drafts having been written eight years ago, well before my other published stories), it was a story that seemed worth letting into the world. While the story lacks a universal appeal, the micro-level craft is something I can stand behind with pride.
It’s a bit strange looking at your own work as an indie author, because it seems wise to pretend it’s a great novel even when you’re painfully aware of every shortcoming. Let me say instead that Broken Glass is a great novel for some readers, and that all hopeful writers can learn about the craft by spending time with the story (both through crafty choices I make at the micro level and missteps I make at a broader level).
If you want to find out more about BG, check out its Amazon page.
Write on,
Rob
