Flash fiction (meaning really short stories, not stories about the fast-footed superhero, nor the showing of dangly bits for that matter) is just one step away from poetry, at least in terms of word count. Also, it's not easy to write, but when done right it's worth reading.

Make each word count. Think of flash fiction as a test of your literary skills: to convey as much as you can with as few words as possible. (Or else, mwuahahahahaha!) (...Ignore that diabolical laughter. Too much caffeine turns me into an evil villain.)

Flash fiction makes for a good format and length for magazines and blogs (in theory newspapers as well, but those aren't really big on promoting fiction...err, the type of fiction we're talking about anyway). There's enough space to get a micro-plot in without spanning multiple magazine issues or blog posts.

Flash fiction generally works best as one off plots. I have yet to see a collection of flash fiction all following the same plot. But that's not to say it isn't possible. It's merely a statement of my lack of having seen any. To be fair, I haven't gone on any Indiana Jones-esque adventures to track some down, although it'd be pretty interesting if that's what it took to find some. (Dons a fedora and wanders off towards adventure!) (Promptly gets eaten by a rabid horde of plot bunnies)

With a general word limit of as few as 500 words up to 5,000 words, flash fiction doesn't leave any room for plot fluff (mmmm...fluff). If your plot requires more than 5,000 words, then flesh it out into a short story, novella, or novel depending on just how far you go with it. Flash fiction is all about impact. Each sentence needs to further the plot or expand on characters; preferably each sentence should accomplish both simultaneously.

It's a useful length of plot to get a feel for a new character or plot development you're not used to dealing with. This is where those academic-instituted prompts like "If Character Q walks out of a bar and there's an alligator in the tree outside, what does Character Q do?" usually get tossed out by diabolical English teachers. ...Okay, so maybe that's not a prompt used too often in college English courses, but the point still stands.

Being conscious of the words you use also helps make each chosen phrase more impactful. Tossing words around half-hazardly may work for longer length pieces, but in flash fiction you better not be wasting words on unnecessary bits.

As one sided rants aren't nearly as entertaining as two sided rants, I'm curious what the reading viewers use flash fiction for. Go on, don't be shy, there's a comment box approximately an inch lower down on your screen. You don't even have to use your real identity if you don't want. Your secret identity is perfectly acceptable to Word Ninja.

Do you craft stories, or use it more as a sandbox are to play around with larger ideas and fussy characters? And just what does Character Q do about that alligator in the tree?