But writers, or at least this writer, see flash a bit differently: to us, it's a unique form of storytelling that writers invented to torture themselves. Apparently we thought writing a good story at length was too easy, so we decided to find ways to cram it all into 1,000 words or less. It can be . . . trying. I recently posted my own attempt.
With that said, I enjoy writing flash. It's a game. How can I manipulate words to make them say more? And reading it is even better. Which is why I asked Dino Laserbeam, editor-in-chief of Freeze Frame Fiction, to answer a few questions.
Freeze Frame is a semi-pro publisher specializing in "any genre, no content restriction - just good flash fiction."
I like these guys because they put out quality fiction. And they do it for free. Their first issue can be read online here, or, for those on the go, an ebook will soon be available through Amazon. I was personally pleased to see some names I'm familiar with - Alex Shvartsman and Stewart C. Baker - both terrific writers - alongside some new talent to discover.
The second issue is in the works, so if you're feeling inspired, they're accepting submissions for it until September 15th.
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Writing a good story of any length is difficult, yet flash
fiction challenges writers to do just that . . . in under a thousand words. Why
do writers torture themselves by trying to pack so much into so little?
Because writers are naturally
masochists! More seriously, it’s because of the challenge. Writing a novel is
hard because it involves a lot of words, a lot of time, and a lot of planning
(or re-structuring); a writer has to maintain a certain story and pace for tens
of thousands of words or more. Flash fiction is difficult for the opposite
reason: the writer still has to give us story elements, defined characters, and
enough to keep us reading, but he only has 1,000 words to make his point. Could
you do that? Don’t you want to find out?
Are there any particular qualities you search for in a
manuscript?
First and foremost, we want stories.
We’re looking for unique, well-written stories about developed characters.
Open-ended stories, or stories up for interpretation, are perfectly fine, so
long as there’s a complete story in there somewhere: some sort of conflict and
some sort of resolution---even if that resolution isn’t neat and tidy. We’re
not looking for scenes or character sketches, and we’re not looking for things
we’ve seen over and over. Tell us a story we’ve never heard before, and keep us
interested. That’s all we want.
What sets Freeze Frame Fiction apart from other publishers?
A lot of publications accept flash
fiction, but there aren’t many where it’s their sole focus. We want short,
powerful pieces that stay with you. Also, we don’t focus on any specific genre
or narrative structure, and we don’t restrict content in any way: we want to
publish everything from science fiction to literary drama, and everything in
between. And two of the pieces appearing in volume ii (so far) are told in more
of an experimental form: one as three linked micro-flashes, and one as an
expanded listicle. Our hope is to continue being able to offer a strong
variety.
Every new business, no matter how well planned, hits
unexpected speed bumps along the way. What unseen challenges did you face when
starting Freeze Frame Fiction?
To be honest, I’ve gotten nothing
but support so far---from friends willing to volunteer as staff readers, to
general support before and after the first volume’s release. We could do with a
little more money and a little more publicity, but hey: who couldn’t?
In a quickly changing industry where self-publishing is so
popular, and communication is done almost exclusively from afar through e-mail,
how important is the publisher/writer relationship today?
I’d argue it’s even more important
than ever, though the relationship is being somewhat redefined. Yes, anyone can
self-publish right now, but what are they publishing? There is some very strong
quality self-published fiction available online right now, but there’s also a
lot of unedited, unproofread, uneverythinged fiction, as well. We hope our
writing will speak for itself in showing why editors are important. We also make
it a point to have ongoing interactions with our contributors, keeping them
up-to-date on our work, and encouraging them to submit to us again in the
future.
What's in store for 2014 and beyond?
Our first volume just went live
online a month ago; the next step is the ebook. It’s pretty much all set to go
out; I’m just running it through a few proofreaders before releasing it to the
public. My hope is that it will help a, promote publicity; and b, give people
something they can take with them. We try to pick stories our readers will want
to revisit.
Volume ii selection is already
underway, with three acceptances so far. There are long-term plans in the works
for contests, and possibly an annual print anthology. We’re excited to just
keep making our way through the submissions, and can’t wait to see what happens
next.
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