I also write short/short fiction for adults. My FLASH FICTION stories are limited to 500-600 words.

Capturing perfect words and essential moments in short stories appear effortless in the work of authors like Cate Kennedy, Le Nam, David Malouf, Juliet Marillier and Roald Dahl, but of course, it’s not – the shorter the story, the harder you must strive to make it work. Therefore, writing a perfect short-short story in even less words is likely to be even more of a challenge. And as challenges are wont to do, they turn into obsessions … addictions.
Obsession, know thy name … Flash Fiction.

A year ago, I stopped resisting the siren call of this genre. I set up a challenge to write a story a week for a year. And so began, my flash fiction collection – a most satisfying, intimidating, crazy and rewarding literary obsession.
At its heart, these fifty-two, 500-word narratives are snappy, sensory exposé of the human condition, frailties and strengths – stories that rings with a sense of shared humanity. Their finales hold a twist, an exquisite ah-ha moment that surprises both protagonist and reader.
The stories cover many genres – mystery, historical, fantasy, dystopian, contemporary, humour, romance and more. Each of the narratives is inspired by a single abstract word, randomly chosen before I started the challenge by a ‘shut-eyes, open dictionary and point’ method.

A side note: To keep me company along the Challenge, I set up a Facebook Flash Fiction page, a site dedicated to a community-based, 52-week writing challenge. An ulterior motive was to promote the flash fiction genre as well.
The Facebook site has proved popular with many writers and readers from Australia and abroad who joined The 52-Week Flash Fiction Challenge. Some writers who’ve never shown their stories before, now openly contribute, their confidence measured by willingness to share and comment on others’ stories. Other members are published authors who’ve become hooked on flash fiction. 

Join the Facebook Flash Fiction Challenge here