Flash Fiction Day Sign-up

June 10, 2015

June 22^nd is fast approaching, meaning there’s just two weeks until Flash Fiction Day!

I know using lightning to illustrate flash fiction is unoriginal, but this was the closest thing I could find to a photograph of sparks leaping from a writer’s tear-soaked keyboard.

With that in mind, I figure now would be a good time to start getting organised. The basic premise of the event–write as many flash fiction pieces as you can in 24 hours–doesn’t really need all that much planning, but it seems sensible to get a rough idea how many people are interested in doing this and who they are. I’ve also set up a similar sign-up post over on deviantART, where the event has generated the most interest, but it seems sensible to offer the same opportunity over here where there’s no need for an account or email address to participate. So, if you want to get involved:

Before June 22^nd:

1. Comment on this post letting me know you want to take part.
2. I put together an “official” Flash Fiction Day post listing all the participants.

On June 22^nd:

1. The event begins at the very start of June 22^nd, your local time. You can start writing any time after that.
2. Write your first piece of flash fiction. Maximum 1,000 words, minimum 1 word. (I have read every conceivable 0 word story and am now bored of the genre.)
3. Publish a blog post (or equivalent) titled “Flash Fiction Day Submissions” (or something more imaginative) containing that story.
4. Post a link to your post on my FFD post. I’ll approve it and add the link to the post itself as quickly as possible.
5. Write more stories! Add those new stories to your FFD post (possibly with a note to say what time you started/finished them). You might consider tweeting each time a new story becomes available to read.
6. That’s it! All your stories for the day are available in one place where readers can easily find them.
7. When June 22^nd ends, so does the event. Of course, you’re free to stop writing earlier if you like.

After June 22^nd:

What happens after June 22^nd is pretty much up to you. Going from responses to the original deviantART journal I posted about this event, people aren’t necessarily going to be keen to see all their lovingly crafted stories crammed into one long list, and might prefer to post them individually. However, just so I can keep track of everything on the day, I really think that a single post is really the way to go, and that’s all I’m going to accept. That’s why I propose…

EDITING!

If Flash Fiction Month is anything to go by–and I think it is–the stories written for this event will vary wildly in terms of quality. Though I’m not going to feature multiple links in the FFD journal on the day, I would be quite keen to see any that people decide to come back to afterwards. If you want to submit any of your FFD pieces as single stories in their own right, go for it! And send them to me to feature! I only ask that you send them no earlier than June 26^th, and that you at least proofread them first (you’d be surprised what new things you spot after a few days). Think of this as an opportunity to polish and highlight your best work from the day.

So if you’d like to get involved with this, leave a comment below! At present it looks as though you’ll be joining myself, GDeyke, Goldfish-In-Space, joe-wright, Ladygentlemanbastard and MillieBee. If you’re at all interested in flash fiction (and especially if you’re thinking of tackling Flash Fiction Month), I’d really recommend giving this event a go. After all, it’s just one day. That could be a full 24 hours of frantic typing, or it could be the only free fifteen minutes you have that day. Even if you manage just one story, I reckon that’s time well spent.

Written by Damon L. Wakes Posted in Updates Tagged with 22nd, 22nd June, challenge, Creative Writing, event, flash fiction, Flash Fiction Day, June, June 22nd, short stories, writing challenge