 Fantasy: November 14, 2007 Issue [#2059] |
  Fantasy
This week: Edited by: rose_shadow
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"For sale: baby shoes, never worn."
Flash fiction by Ernest Hemingway |
| ASIN: B07P4NVL51 |
Product Type: Toys & Games
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Amazon's Price: Price N/A
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You Don't Have to Write a Novel
I was chatting with a friend last week about writing and the various woes that come along with it. One thing my friend said she was disappointed about in her on writng discipline was that she couldn't seem to write anything longer than a few pages: she got a scene or character or scenario stuck in her head, but after writing it out she didn't feel like continuing it. She admitted that that was why she'd never be a "writer" in the published sense because it was very unlikely she'd ever write a novel.
I replied, "So, what? Ever heard of flash fiction?"
Flash fiction, or microfiction as it's sometimes called is a form of the short story. According to Wikipedia, there isn't a universallly accepted word count, but in general flash fiction is less than 1,000-2,000 words long and generally no shorter than 250 words.
Flash fiction generally contains the classic story elements found in novels: a protagonist, conflict and obstacles to overcome, and a resolution. However, since the word limit is shorter, some of these elements are merely hinted at instead of explored in detail like novels.
An extreme example of this is this single six-word flash fiction story by Ernest Hemingway:
"For sale: baby shoes, never worn."
If you don't have a talent for writing novels than you shouldn't force yourself just because you think that's what fantasy authors do, write novels. Not everyone is good at being long-winded. In fact, it's probably harder in some ways to write a complete story in less than 2,000 words than it is to write in 100,000.
Stick with your stregths. If you're a writer who, like my friend, writes quick scenes that don't seem to want to expand to novel-length proportions, perhaps your calling rests in the short fiction genre.
Granted, there doesn't seem to be many fantasy authors in the flash fiction genre, but that only means that you'll have less competition  . |
And here is an example of fantasy flash fiction!
 Bonus items!
 Erin's Fantasy Book of the Month
If you have a published fantasy novel you would like to see featured here, email me with the ISBN number and a brief hook, and I'll plug it here for you on my next issue.
| ASIN: 006441034X |
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Amazon's Price: $ 7.99
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I'll be honest, I probably never would have noticed this book, despite it's interesting title, if it wasn't for the Miyazaki film of the same name. I recently watched it with a friend and ran out to get the book after enjoying the movie.
It wasn't as satisfying as the movie... though it is a children's fantasy book so that could partly be the reason why I felt so. However, it is still a charming read and I would recommend it to fantasy lovers and people that enjoyed the movie.
I will say this for fans of the movie that haven't seen the book; the movie changed quite a bit for the sake of simplification, and probably could have left a few bits in (such as the reason Howl gave his heart to Calcifer was that he felt sorry for him), but I really enjoyed the changes that the movie added: Sophie's inner loneliness at being the "plain" one of the family, her love for Howl despite the monster he was in danger of turning into, and how her love for him made her a stronger person than she even knew.
Good movie, good book. Can't get much better than that. |
Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
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| ASIN: 0910355479 |
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Amazon's Price: $ 13.99
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From: Sweet Musings  
Thank you Erin,
For finally explaining what the devil the NaNoWriMo thing is. I have been hearing it everywhere but no explaination about it. I thank you for explaining.
From: Raine
I wish I had time to do NaNo this year. I've done it once and it was fantastic. Nothing boosts your morale better than crossing that 50K mark.
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| ASIN: B083RZ2C5F |
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Amazon's Price: Price N/A
Not currently available. |
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