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ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
A trawl for terse tales
Want to see your name in print? Now's your chance... ANDY HEDGECOCK explains how you can do it in this guide to writing 'flash fiction' and how you can submit your work to the Morning Star
SUE TURNER welcomes a thoughtful, engaging book that lays bare the economic realities of global waste management
JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
MICK McSHANE rubs shoulders with Mod legend Steve Craddock and joins in with the joyous Glasgow choir
DENNIS BROE sifts out the ideological bias of the newest TV series offerings, and picks out what to see, and what to avoid
WHAT is flash fiction? Poet and fiction writer Nuala Ni Chonchuir describes it as “intense, urgent and often a little explosive, but also deep and clear.” All in fewer than 1,000 words.
One well-known flash is a six-word tragedy, sometimes attributed to Ernest Hemingway: “For sale, baby shoes, never worn.”
The most common formats are the drabble or micro fiction (100 words), the dribble or mini-saga (50 words), sudden fiction (750 words) and twitterature (280 characters). But a quick browse of online flash competitions reveals a more varied range of word lengths.
More from this author
ANDREW HEDGECOCK relishes visual storytelling with no respect for genres, movements or styles
ANDY HEDGECOCK relishes two exhibitions that blur the boundaries between art and community engagement
Two books and a film that examine cultural excavation and the impact of place on behaviour
ANDY HEDGECOCK invites readers to contribute short fiction to our arts pages, offers some guidance and picks a few favourites
