Flash Fiction

OCA writing student Bridget Arregger recently submitted her short story ‘Dust’ to WeareOCA. Unfamiliar but intrigued with the term Flash Fiction – to me it sounded like a sort of literary superhero, I asked Bridget to explain the term, its advantages and its limitations;
I was first introduced to the term flash fiction by fellow members of our writing group, Somewhere Else Writers.
Flash fiction can apply to any brief story between about 6 words and 500 words and has become very popular. The most famous example is ‘Baby Shoes for sale, never worn’. The trick is to get something across that generates a story in the reader’s mind. Stories are often open ended or ambiguous and may need to be read several times to look for the possible meanings. I suppose it is a product of post-modernism, which emphasised the active role of the reader. It appeals to people in a hurry but also demands a certain skill in paring a story down to its essentials. It is ideal for online reading.
My first experience of writing stories under 500 words was at an Arvon course where we had to write a brief story or poem every day. I enjoyed that and find it is a natural style of me as I like to work sparsely and concisely.
The idea for Dust came from personal experience of online dating, where I met someone who lived in a remote part of the country with no mobile phone signal. I wanted to convey a sense of menace in a relatively common scenario.
As a relatively new student to OCA I asked Bridget why she enrolled and what she hopes to get from her course.
Although I consider myself quite an experienced writer of short stories, I would like to write novels. I have not yet had success with these and want to learn more about reflective commentary and perhaps work towards a PhD in creative writing so that I can develop my understanding of my writing and find the right pathway to publication. The OCA course is ideal as I can pick the modules I want and can either go for the BA qualification or not, according to how things progress.
You can read Bridget’s story ‘Dust’ here