In the flash fiction story “Gasping in the Wind”, I was left with the last night digging itself into my brain. The story was understandable; a girl was out late, lost track of time, and was summoned by her angry mother. It seems so incredibly normal, nothing really special to the story. But then, the last line came and punched me in the stomach. That is good writing, because now there is another meaning to the girls pain.
“Acceptable Condition” was a big unclear and left to interpretation. I was not sure which way the author meant for the last sentence to go. At first I thought it was put there to show how ungrateful people can be, because at least he could read when there are hundreds of children in the world who can’t. But then, after a bit more pondering, my final take on it was that it was the librarian who could not read. He desperately wants to, but he doesn’t know how; like a prisoner trapped to the library. Although there are a few flaws to this theory, it is the best I could think of. I love that the ending was broad though, because then the reader can determine what the story means to them.
“Before the Locksmith” was creative because the author was able to describe an incident without coming out and saying it. This is where there is a slight form of poetry that emerges. The description the author uses clearly indicates the woman was upset at her husband because of something he did wrong, an affair I presume. The only part that left me hanging was the flowers in the last paragraph.
The flash fiction stories are a lot shorter than I expected them to be. It is a lot easier for me to understand because most of the writing is straightforward. I like flash fiction because, not only is it short, but also because it combines short stories and poetry into one. It’s like reading a short story, but there are also twisted elements and symbols that give it a hidden meaning. Of course, that’s not always the case but at least flash fiction gives the writer that freedom.
I can already tell I will not be adapt to writing good flash fiction because I have a horrible disadvantage of over-explaining details. It is impossible for me to be short and concise with my descriptions, which will be a weakness that I must overcome. Also, many of the flash fiction is very symbolic and twisted, which is why I believe I will not be successful at writing such literature. I like how short it is, though, because it gets to the point without dragging the content continuously.
Colleen's Corner 