However, fiction writing is different. Short and sweet (or not as the case may be) is exactly what's needed for flash fiction. My Chandler's Ford Today post tonight is the first half of a two parter all about flash fiction and explores what the genre is and gives one of my published pieces as an example. The second part should be online tomorrow night and will be confirming news of my flash fiction book deal (exciting times!) and reveal what is on my writing desk and where my trigger to write comes from.
My flash fiction varies in tone from out and out humorous to borderline horror, hence the title of this post. It very much reflects what I write. But as I mention on my Fairytales with Bite website, you as a writer still need to keep to the point when writing. It doesn't matter whether you're writing a flash fiction piece or a novel, each story must show the reader what is happening and then stop. I must admit I find ending a story difficult at times, partly because I've fallen in love with the characters and want to keep writing about them, partly because I haven't worked out the proper ending for the story. A thorough edit sorts that problem out though.
Characters can be short and sweet too, both in terms of their (relevant) appearance in a story and also in terms of their attitude. Just don't make your characters too sweet. I find that kind of thing very irritating. I like my characters with flaws. Much as I love Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, I always did find the flawed characters of Jo and Amy easier to identify with than Beth (and to a lesser extent, Meg). Beth, I found, was a bit too nice. Great friend to have. Not so great in fiction I thought.