Copyright Oggbashan May 2008
The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
This is a work of fiction. The events described here are imaginary; the settings and characters are fictitious and are not intended to represent specific places or living persons.
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Flash fiction and particularly the variant 50-word fiction that I write requires a plot even though there are very few words available. This is a very short introduction to how to produce a minimal plot.
A simple plot for a short story is an introduction followed by some development and a conclusion. Even that may be too much for flash fiction. There is little space for development in 50 or 100 words.
THE BEGINNING:
The first sentence must establish the setting or premise of the story. Here are some examples:
A. "The bride swung her unaccustomed wide skirts."
In seven words that sentence sets a scene. The bride, so a wedding is in the story, is dressed in her bridal gown. "Unaccustomed" tells the reader that she doesn't normally wear large skirts so the story isn't set in the 19th century.
B. "The courier dismounted from his steaming horse."
Those seven words give some clues. Couriers don't arrive on horseback in the 21st Century so the story is set in the past. If the horse is steaming it has been ridden hard so there is some real urgency in the message the courier is bringing.
THE ENDING:
Flash fiction requires a neat ending preferably with a twist that is unexpected. With such a short story there is little scope for development between the beginning and end so the next part of the plot that must be considered is how the story will end.
The end of any flash fiction story must relate closely to the beginning and be relevant even if unlikely. Before the short story can be started the author must have a good idea of the ending even if the exact words are not written yet. In some respects thinking of a suitable ending is more important than any other part of the plot.
Taking the example A above, it could end with some of the bride's words: