Flash Fiction for beginners

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

MY EDITING SERVICE: www.kierenwestwood.com/editing

[@velvetbees]

This seems like a great way to get better at writing prose. It's small enough that it isn't a commitment to an entire novel, and big enough to try your skills.

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Exactly! You get a chance to tackle a beginning, middle and end, in a much shorter space of time. It's definitely a great exercise, on top of the general merits of the form.

[@Chipsfish1]

2 years later and this video is still helping writers! This helped me a lot. I was struggling writing my first ever flash fiction piece for an assignment, and this advice really helped elevate the quality of my work. Thank you so much!

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

That's great to hear! I'm so glad it could help. There's nothing worse than having an assignemtn and having absolutely nothing to go on! Thanks so much for watching, I'm glad this video can still be useful 😊

[@jimblackie5476]

Your tip about a powerful last line allowed me to finish a story I’d been wrestling with for a week or longer. Thank you.

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Fantastic! That's exactly what I'm hoping to do with this channel. Best of luck with it!

[@ChristopherRockhill]

I loved the story you shared. Thank you!!

[@josh_rdgrs]

I just discovered flash fiction, this was a perfect intro.

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Joshua Rodgers Great! It’s really fun, hope you have a great time with it! ☺️

[@opollitico]

Proper good story and brilliant editing. Love the moment when the screen blanks out and you says 'off'. Great.

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Thank you so much! That lights off bit came to me while I was editing and I was like yeahhhh i should do that 😂

[@opollitico]

@@KierenWestwoodWriting yeah, so cool

[@laurabesley7095]

The "fire" of the story is a GREAT description!

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Thanks Laura! ☺️ I always spend time thinking about what the fire is in my stories, I find it helps.

[@laurabesley7095]

@@KierenWestwoodWriting And I think it's what a lot of flash fiction stories lack. It's what makes them scenes and not stories.

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

@@laurabesley7095 ever since I first heard you say that, I always keep it in my mind when I’m writing them. It helps me a lot ☺️

[@laurabesley7095]

@@KierenWestwoodWriting Glad to hear that was helpful 😊

[@johnfanidis]

Thanks for the great tips Kieren! I just discovered your page on Medium too and I have to say I really like your content!

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Thank you! Really appreciate you heading over!

[@Baker-m9y]

That was like a poem.

[@susanhynes4334]

You’ve got a new sub! This has just become my new favourite writing channel 😀 not arrogant or patronising, unlike others👍🏻

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Susan Hynes Thank you so much ☺️ I very much appreciate that, that’s exactly how I hope my channel comes across!

[@Alhamdulillah1947]

Loved everything about this gem of a video: it was very helpful.

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Thank you so much 🙂

[@musichood2126]

Thank you so much for this! This helped greatly with my English class, and held good tips to me that I will hopefully carry on when I become an author.

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Fantastic! So glad it could help! 😀

[@duderfest313]

The line about perennials is down right poetic.

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Thank you, I really appreciate that.

[@hina1767]

Hi Kieren, I found your channel as I wanted to learn how to write flash fiction. I have written short stories before as I did two creative writing modules as part of my Arts and Humanities degree with the open university which I just finished this summer and know I want to concentrate on my writing. I really like this story and especially your description of the 'spider webbed window.' The only thing I did not understand was the bullet on the wall Inside the house and how it got there as he was shot outside. I am also finding it hard to write my first flash fiction story. I have also have a few different story ideas but I don't why I am finding it so difficult to start. I am finding all the tips you give on your channel very helpful. I want to enter competitions so I keep trying. You said you like to help writers so I hope you don't mind reading my long text. Hina, fan of your channel

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Hey Hina, thanks for your comment. The bullet hole in the wall I see as just having come from outside, through the spiderwebbed window and into the wall. You mentioned you'd written some short stories before. I don't think flash fiction is all that different, at least my approach isn't. It's a similar structure, but with license to be a bit more brief and less detailed in terms of 'plot'. The best way to get started I think is to limit your expectation of yourself. If the goal of writing is just to get something written, even if it isn't amazing, I often find I can sneak around my perfectionism or whatever else is holding me back. You may have seen it (apologies if so) but I made a video recently with some exercises in it that are designed to help you get something written, and get past the blank page - maybe give it a try and see how you get on? kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZqWtYqWYqNurj6c

[@hina1767]

Hello Kieren, and thank you for replying back to me so quickly. Thank you for explaining the meaning of the hole on the wall meaning from you protection story. It makes sense that the bullet went straight through the window and landed on the wall. I started writing my first flash fiction after I messaged you. It needs a few more drafts but I might enter it into a competition in September . I would to send the story to you for feedback if that's okay as i have no idea if i am on the right track. Thanks for the link to video on writing exercises. I have watched it before and it's really helped. I heard you have an editing service. I have written the first chapter of a novel as part if my Advanced Creative Writing Module. I am nervous about writing a module maybe a novella might be easier. Please let me know about your writing course. Thanks Kieren Hina

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Hi Hina, I don’t have the course anymore unfortunately, I closed it down a while ago now, but I do still have my editing service and some other stuff on my website if any of that is helpful: www.kierenwestwood.com

[@mishashmi381]

I've been learning to write flash fiction too, and this video was super helpful ❤️

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Excellent :D That's exactly what I want with my content!

[@chrissysturt1610]

This is such an excellent video. Kieren, I am a journalist and writer and next week I am running a flash workshop in a school - I was just wondering if you would be at all willing for me to share you video, as it's edited with pictures it would really grasp the students' attention, but no worries if not!

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Hi Chrissy! Thanks so much for reaching out. Feel free to use the video however you would like. I consider it a huge compliment that anyone would consider it worthy of the classroom! 🙂

[@livk4109]

So cute Kieren! XD I love your work!

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Thank you! 😄

[@clintoreilly]

'... the middle of any writing...' I know that one : ) Thanks for the vid.

[@allenco4166]

thank you very much this is a big help for us,keep it up and i love your works

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Thanks so much :) Glad I could help!

[@ABFrank.]

Just found your channel from this great video 👍 you sound like a fellow northerner! I've been writing flash fiction lately and really enjoying it. Looking forward to checking out some more of your videos

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Thanks for watching mate, I am indeed a Northerner, I'm from Chester 😊 I really do love flash fiction, it's so much fun to write. How's it going for you?

[@ABFrank.]

@@KierenWestwoodWriting I'm from sunny Salford... 🌞 😄 I'm liking it a lot, it's a quick win because I can write it in one sitting. I've not thought about submitting it for awards just yet but I have made it into a podcast called flash fiction Friday that I have on my channel and podcast platforms while I get better and grow an audience

[@jacobdifelice8550]

OMG THANK YOU !!! I AM BEEN CONFUSED ON THIS THING FOR THE PAST COUPLE HOURS BECAUSE I AM IN MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HAVE TO GET THIS IN I THANK YOU AGAIN !!!

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Thanks for watching! Good luck with your school work! :)

[@soniavashishtaoberoi3368]

Nice tips. I too write flash fiction.

[@Khyathi_Gnan]

The video is helpful, but leaving that aside, the Harry Potter books in the background are what caught my mind, it’s the world to me and every other potterhead.

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

I honestly have been wondering all these years why my Hogwarts acceptance letter never came 🤷‍♂️ maybe the owl got lost trying to find my muggle address? Those books have been my cozy reading place for years and I think they always will be. Thank you so much for watching the video ☺️

[@Khyathi_Gnan]

@@KierenWestwoodWriting well I have my acceptance letter ( I made it !), maybe the owls do get lost somewhere 🤔

[@abigailjulia5518]

5:13 you talked about the ‘narrative trap’ and not focusing on what’s happening to the characters. What do you mean by this? What else should be written besides the physical happenings and emotional happenings? Or do you just mean that we shouldn’t focus solely on what’s happening, but rather, look at it through the lense of the fire you spoke of?

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

"Or do you just mean that we shouldn’t focus solely on what’s happening, but rather, look at it through the lense of the fire you spoke of?" - Exactly that 🙂 I personally find when I'm writing something longer, I tend to fall in to an 'and then this happened, and then this happened, and then this happened' kind of pattern where I don't take enough time to add something other than just simple narrative events. So slowing and thinking for a little while helps me avoid that.

[@abigailjulia5518]

@@KierenWestwoodWriting I totally understand that. It’s interesting though because I tend to do that with shorter fiction, and not so much with longer works haha. I love that writing can be so vastly different for everyone. It makes us unique and different from each other. Thank you for your advice, and your reply. Great video!

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

​ @Abigail Julia Absolutely, that's the best part of it. Some of the writing I love the most in the world is totally different to how I would have done it! There's beauty in the variation for sure!

[@engishlearningandreading9681]

Very nice 👍

[@julianmirano5001]

Kieren-- do you have a link just to the video for "Protection"? Thanks!

[@cartapo2669]

Great video. Just to be clear, is your story about a couple moving to a new house for witness protection, but then the husband was killed in a drive-by shooting? Thank you!

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Exactly yes! I wrote it to feel a little vague because I think it builds more tension and is a little more dramatic than saying it straight up, but that's exactly what it's about 😊

[@veronicacanceran3250]

Good job

[@HolyDiver22]

Good story Kieren

[@ItsTheLondonFella]

Hello Kieren, Loving your KZbin videos, and inspiration. I'm getting into creative writing, and have just sketched out my first attempt at flash fiction. I'd love to hear your views/critique? Here goes (and thanks) ... The Hole: The night, as dark as their souls, gave them all the smother they needed. The body lay there, lifeless and without motion. Brown-bread, no question. “You take first shift” said Tommy, as he gestures toward the shovel. “Sweet” says John, and he scoops it up and gets to work. The shovel made light work of the body’s final destination, and the hole grew bigger and bigger as each load shifted the dirt into a neat pile. John started to sweat, and slow down some. “Liven the fuck up” said Tommy; “we don’t have all night.” “You wanna take over?” said John, as he holds out the shovel. “No, you’re alright” Tommy says, lighting up another Benson and scanning the surroundings. “Who the fuck is it, anyway?” asks John. “Someone that took the piss,” Tommy said, in a casual tone. It was just work, nothing more, nothing less. “Hold on a minute” … “there’s a car coming!” John dropped the shovel, and they both hit the deck. “Stay. Fucking. Still” said Tommy … “they’ll be gone in a minute.” The car’s headlights lit up the scene briefly, but was gone as quick as it had come. The rear lights glowing red, like a pair of eyes disappearing into the night. “Back to work” said Tommy, as he picked up the shovel and continued where John had left off. John looked at the corpse, and asked again if Tommy knew who he was? “Fuck knows?” said Tommy, as he dug. The hole getting bigger … almost ready. “That should do it” said Tommy, as he wiped the beads of sweat from his brow. “You grab the legs, I’ll cop for the head.” “Sweet” said John, and they got into position. The body, wrapped in plastic and with a cover over its head, was quite heavy. Dead weight. Covered in claret, it had clearly taken a good beating. Torture was Tommy’s speciality … he actually took pleasure in it. They say that if you do something you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. That was definitely the case with Tommy. He had learned how to push a body to its limits, without extinguishing the flame. It was an acquired skill, which he had honed over the years. They worked together, getting the body next to the hole. Tommy said “on three” and they swung the body, like it was a skipping rope. “Aaaannndd drop” … the body fell into its freshly dug grave. On the way down, the cover had somehow parted from the corpse’s head. John looked at the face like a deer, startled in headlights. “It’s … it’s my fucking brother??” he said, in a broken tone. The gunshot was dulled, thanks to the suppressor. A perfectly placed shot, right at the back of the dome. John’s body fell perfectly forward, landing on his brother. Job done …

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Hi mate, thanks so much, appreciate you watching. Congrats on your first piece of flash fiction! I liked that you threw a twist in there at the end, I always like stories with an impactful ending and I like crime too. There's a strong sense of voice, especially in the dialogue and the dialect of the characters, and you've started the story in the right place, the middle of some action, rather than making the mistake of wasting time on background stuff before getting to what really matters. One thing I'd watch out for is your tenses, make sure you're consistent through the whole thing. It might be worth making it all present and seeing how it feels, then making it all past and seeing how that feels. One of them will feel better than the other. Thanks again for watching, I'm glad I could help with the videos 🙂

[@ItsTheLondonFella]

@@KierenWestwoodWriting Cheers, Kieren. Really appreciate you taking the time to write such a detailed response. I’m going to leave that piece alone for the time being, and move onto something else. That way, when I return to it I’ll have a fresh perspective. Know what I mean? Thanks again, buddy. Regards ...

[@tolentinoteaching]

Great video! New subscriber here.

[@chaeyanamarie3537]

THANK YOU SO MUCHH!!

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Chaeyana Marie thanks for watching! ☺️

[@DriveupLife22]

Thanks for making this video! Is the point of Flash fiction to practice? Or do you write one of these when you have an idea for a longer piece of writing and this is kind of like a seed of the story?

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Thanks for watching! Flash fiction is a form all of it's own, it doesn't need to lead to anything longer. However, it can definitely be used for those things; to sharpen general writing skills or to test the potential of a new idea.

[@bobbyjowilliams3833]

What do you think of my characters name Bjw the warrior

[@keithylsheen4356]

you're so amazing !!! I hope you can create me a 30 word flash fiction .. i'm so struggling about it 😥

[@misscocobellemamabolo7133]

Is there anywhere I can find copies of your flash fiction? I'm starting a writing club for teenage boys and I think this piece would be perfect for them to get a sense of how it's done

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Hey, you can find a few stories on my website: www.kierenwestwood.com/writing ☺️

[@S_ilver]

good

[@opollitico]

Tried some flash fiction myself. Would love to share. Don't think it's half as good as yours tho!! 😂😂

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

You absolutely should! I'd happily read it. My flash fiction is a bit 'plottier' than I'd like and less poetic, but you can really do what you want with the form, I think.

[@opollitico]

@@KierenWestwoodWriting sure. Do you have a website with a comments section to copy it into? Would love to hear your feedback. You're super talented. My flash fiction's only, like, 300 words or something?

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

300 words is fine for FF as far as I'm concerned. For me once it gets to around 1000 it's threatening a short story. Ah I don't have a website actually. Only alternative is to DM it on Twitter or IG or something, or email. I'd never noticed KZbin doesn't have DMs 😞

[@opollitico]

@@KierenWestwoodWriting do you have a public email you don't mind sharing? I wouldn't want you to share a private address?

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

@@opollitico Sure, this is the one I was planning to list on the channel at some point anyway - [e-mail]. Let me know if you're looking for just thoughts on your story, or suggestions, or whatever and I'll have a read :D I like this stuff, it's really why I started a channel in the first place!

[@carleytv5818]

i don't have an idea