Flash fiction differs from short stories and novel writing, not just in length but in how you edit.
As writers, learning to self-edit is a huge asset in making the most of your talent, and in flash fiction, it becomes important because you have such a limited space in which to convey your message.
The first thing to look at when editing your flash fiction, is the purpose of the story. A lot of flash fiction stories seem to be snippets of a much bigger tale, and lack a sense of completeness. The reason for this is often because the writer starts with a random prompt, and doesn’t define the purpose of the story.
Purpose in flash fiction is singular – there is no room to tell the reader more than one story, and so it is essential that the purpose is apparent as soon as the story ends. If you find yourself wondering what the point was spending five minutes reading 500 words or less, then you need to edit for purpose.
Today we’re going to look at the difference between character-driven and plot-driven flash fiction, and aligning the story with the purpose.
Plot-driven stories differ from character-driven in that the action and external conflict that the characters are exposed to is what drives the story forward.
An example will illustrate the difference more clearly:
Max is a criminal defence attorney. He defends murderers.
In a character-driven story, Max will possibly start the story as an avid believer in the rights of his clients. As the story progresses, the reader will see Max questioning his reasons and beliefs, or he may even find himself defending someone whose case makes him doubt the validity of his arguments. By the end of the story, he may choose to leave his job, or he may choose to review cases more carefully before agreeing to defend them.
In a plot-driven story, Max will likely have the same beliefs at the start. But external plot – say a murderous client who takes Max’s family hostage in order to convince him to defend him, will determine how Max reacts. The outcome of the story may be the same, but the reader sees more of the external reasons, rather than Max’s internal thoughts.
Now that we know the difference, we can edit the story more effectively based on the type.
Character-driven Story
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Is the character clearly defined? (This can be difficult to achieve in FF, and is best accomplished by showing who the character is through their actions.)
- Does the character have a valid reason for doing what he/she does in the story? (Note that valid doesn’t mean it needs to be logical. It just needs to make sense in the context of who the character appears to be, and who they turn out to actually be at the end of the story.)
- Is it necessary for the character to reach his/her objective in order to give the story a purpose? (Sometimes, the purpose of the story is that the character does not achieve their goal, or it’s unclear whether or not they’ve achieved it at the end of the story. This is okay, if the purpose of the story is unrelated to their final achievement. For example, a character whose goal is to win a tournament may not succeed, but the purpose of the story is to show that effort and hard work is not always rewarded in the way people may expect. This is a very moralistic example, but it illustrates the difference between the character vs. story purpose.)
- How does the character change during the story, so that by the end, the reader is left feeling satisfied with the tale? (Change does not always need to be positive – in some cases it can be negative, or if it doesn’t happen at all, it should be very clear that the reason for the change or lack thereof, is tied to the purpose of the story. Using the example from before, the character may not change, but there should be an implication that this will result in ultimate success, or he may change for the worse, and the implication thereof is that he will ultimately fail. Knowing the outcome is irrelevant. Implying it is essential to the purpose.)
Plot-driven Story
Earlier we said that identifying the purpose is essential. So when we’re dealing with a plot-driven FF, these are the questions we need to ask:
- Is the plot clearly defined? (There is seldom room for more than one plot in FF – any more can become confusing and leave loose ends. Decide on one plot and stick to it.)
- Is there a valid reason for the action to unfold in the order that it does? Would it work more effectively in a different order, or does it create additional conflict/confusion if shown differently?
- Is the pacing suited to the purpose? (One thing that a lot of FF lacks, is appropriate pacing. Events happen sooner or later than they should, or they don’t happen at all and the story loses its purpose because of that. Sometimes there are too many events happening all at once, because the author has several ideas they want to explore. In that case, the story is better suited to a short story, rather than FF. Genre will also determine pacing – a thriller might unfold the action more quickly than a romance, for example.)
- Is the action resolved by the end of the story? (Note that open ends are very different to loose ends. Open endings leave the reader satisfied with the outcome of the story, even if they still have questions. Loose ends leave them hanging and dissatisfied. They may want more, but if they know there isn’t any to come, it’s frustrating and taints the enjoyment of the story. Think of your favourite TV show that was cancelled mid-season. Don’t cancel your story mid-plot.)
When you’re editing your flash fiction, it’s a really good idea to ask for feedback from others so that you can check to see if the story you’re hearing in your head, matches the story readers hear.
Often, there will be elements that differ, but what you’re really trying to do is to make sure that the overall story makes sense in the way you intended it to.
Try to send the story to between five to ten readers, so you have a broader range of feedback to consider.
Here are some questions you should ask your beta readers:
- Does the story make sense?
- Does it feel like a complete story, even if you have unanswered questions?
- Does the story have a purpose, or does it seem like meaningless exposition?
- Are there parts you liked or didn’t like?
Once you get the feedback, you need to ask yourself the following:
- Did the story make sense to the majority of readers?
- If not, what confused them?
- Is there any way to edit that section without changing the inherent meaning of the story?
- Did it feel like a complete story to the majority?
- If not, what is lacking that I need to include to complete it?
- Did it have a purpose to the majority?
- Was it the purpose I intended it to have?
- If not, am I comfortable with the perceived purpose or do I need to edit it to refine it?
- Did the majority of readers like the parts I’d intended them to like, and vice versa?
- If not, have they given me feedback that I can work with? Do I want to edit according to that feedback?
At the end of the day, remember that successful flash fiction won’t necessarily be liked/understood by everyone. What’s important is that the story fits into your intentions for it, and that you have edited it so that the purpose is clear to the majority, whether or not they actually end up liking the story.
Chasing Dreams Publishing 