Writing small 1-paragraph scenes is a great and fun way to flex your writing muscles without too much commitment. After all, one paragraph connected to a few other paragraphs create a larger story. If you can write something short with great emotion, it’s likely you can carry that into longer works too.
What I like to call “tiny fiction” is actually “flash fiction.” Flash fiction can range from a story of 5 words to 1,000 words. For me, I try to keep my tiny fiction to a paragraph or so.
And truly, it’s an opportunity to just practice writing.
Ideas for Flash Fiction:
- describe the setting, whether you make it feel very cozy or very spooky
- share a conversation between two people, arguing or flirting
- unfold your biggest fear in as few words as possible
- write the emotion you’re feeling personified
- borrow your favorite line from a movie and tell its story
Read a few of my Tiny Fictions below!
While you can easily peruse books full of writing prompts, I like to collect writing ideas as I go through life. The lines and phrases come from overheard conversations, movies, books, or just a wisp of a thought from my own brain.
When I sit down with that phrase, I ask myself, “What’s the story here?” and I allow the curiosity to lead me. Sometimes what I write is no good at all, but most of the time, I end up loving the essence of the flash fiction.
My best tip for writing, other than sitting down and doing it…is putting your phone far enough away from yourself that you have to get up and walk to get it.
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