Hi everyone, I'm the head mod here and I'm posting this from my actual account instead of the fmfmod account because its an issue that I inadvertently brought around
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I picked no. I'm probably going to be the only one :(
Flash fic (a story of less than 1000 words) is a challenge. It's hard to write a complete story in so few words. You have to be concise, and careful. You have to edit well, examine every word to see if it's really necessary.
It's something I like to do regularly, so I don't go off on tangents in my longer works. It's good practice.
I also love reading flash fic. I adore a well crafted, concise flash. Knowing that the author has worked hard to keep within the 1k constraint, I know that effort has been put into it and it'll be a worthwhile read.
I think the current format with the current constraint is valuable. I'll be sad to see it go.
I think we may not all be coming to this with the same assumptions. Flash fic to me is a short story written within a tight time constraint (as we have here) rather than within an absolute word limit. It may just be the fandoms I've been in, but I've never seen that narrow a definition before. I've just looked on that word limit as a particular feature of this comm rather than as a definition of flash fic.
Actually, Flash Fiction is well accepted in wider fandom and the literary community to be 1000 words and under. I used this term because it is by definition '1000 words and under'. I prefer this term to 'ficlet' because the definition is so well defined.
Ficlet tends to be the term with different meanings in different fandoms. It had been defined here very clearly though, and that definition lined up with my passion for flash fic, which is why I stopped and joined in.
Yes we have a time constraint here, but we've also always had the word limit constraint as well. Both of these define the community and the challenge, I would argue that it is the word limit that defines it more, however.
I'm answering in comments because it isn't a simple yes/no for me.
I'm a consistent offender of breaking the 1k rule. I have been since I started, but the funny thing is, I like having the limit there. It means I know I need to come in somewhere damned close to 1k in order for it to suit. And it keeps me from running off (I write 10k fics by accident, and my 5k fics often bloom to be 30k when I'm not looking
( ... )
100 words actually doesn't take me much time to cut, if it helps. 5 or 10 minutes, tops for a 1k fic. I know a lot of people think they have to remove content, but you don't. It's just a word here and a word there, in most cases words you don't need anyway.
It takes me a lot longer than 5-10 minutes, which I suspect has to do with base writing style. I don't tend to use a lot of extraneous words--I clean as I go, so when I'm done, I'm really done. It's a habit developed after writing for thirty-some years. For me, cutting 100 words can be a half hour's worth of work at least, trying to fidget things out and rework sentences to be said a slightly different way and not losing things that need to be said. Often I'll have to cut entire sentences, or rework the path between paragraphs to get there a different way. I honestly hate editing, because I've developed the habit of writing a pretty clean draft. Plus... if anything... when I edit I usually end up needing to add words because I forgot one. *wry smile* Trust me... loads of practice in this, I know the timeframes that it takes for me to edit words out.
Oh, bugger lol I'm a word vomiter at heart, though my first drafts are a lot less full of lose-able words than they used to be. I remember the week I wrote 1400 words and got it down to 1k - though that *was* hard and took me a bit longer and about six edit passes *headdesk*
I definitely take more care with flash because it is relatively quick and easy to edit. I hate editing longer works, it's the not-fun part of writing. Thank god for flash, the editing is a lot less daunting and reminds me that I *can* do it (or I'd have a lot more complete-but-unedited fic on my hard drive (there's still an awful lot there).
I like the fact that this comm is for short fics. That's why I come here. Upwards of 1k isn't a "flash fic," it's just a fic. Which isn't a bad thing, by any means, but I was under the impression this was a com for flash.
What tryslora said pretty much. I like having the limit but have gone over it (still under 1100) a few times. I've also edited and cut to get closer to 1000, but sadly most of the times I edit I end up adding. If the ficlet goes over 1100 I don't post it here. I like having a bit of leeway but wouldn't want longer fics. I like the limits as they are.
Sorry LJ ate my posts last night, so this is going to sound a lot like everyone else.
Personally I like that this is a group to write a ficlett/flash fic. Writing them is a challenge, and good practice in toning out useless parts (like if you find yourself repeating things over and over.)
BUT
Also, as a person who loves to see what people create, I am not going to yell at you (or make you take it down) for going over. It happened to me once. Personally it hurt, because I felt it was stupid to say, "you have 50 more words."
In this case, if the group sticks to the 1000 rule, I'll just post it on AO3 and try again next week. Not as a punishment, but because I really loved the idea. Or post a edited version, and then post the longer on my AO3.
If you find yourself LOVING the idea, then go with it. Why HATE your story because you cut it down to make it fit the rules. It happens some times.
Posting an edited version to the comm and then the longer version to AO3 after the masterlist goes up is a good idea. I know a lot of participants in the Mating Games did that last year (the max wordcount was 750).
Comments 18
Flash fic (a story of less than 1000 words) is a challenge. It's hard to write a complete story in so few words. You have to be concise, and careful. You have to edit well, examine every word to see if it's really necessary.
It's something I like to do regularly, so I don't go off on tangents in my longer works. It's good practice.
I also love reading flash fic. I adore a well crafted, concise flash. Knowing that the author has worked hard to keep within the 1k constraint, I know that effort has been put into it and it'll be a worthwhile read.
I think the current format with the current constraint is valuable. I'll be sad to see it go.
Reply
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Ficlet tends to be the term with different meanings in different fandoms. It had been defined here very clearly though, and that definition lined up with my passion for flash fic, which is why I stopped and joined in.
Yes we have a time constraint here, but we've also always had the word limit constraint as well. Both of these define the community and the challenge, I would argue that it is the word limit that defines it more, however.
Reply
As a slow writer generally, the time constraint is of more importance to me than length. I won't have any objections if it stays at 1k for the limit.
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I'm a consistent offender of breaking the 1k rule. I have been since I started, but the funny thing is, I like having the limit there. It means I know I need to come in somewhere damned close to 1k in order for it to suit. And it keeps me from running off (I write 10k fics by accident, and my 5k fics often bloom to be 30k when I'm not looking ( ... )
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I definitely take more care with flash because it is relatively quick and easy to edit. I hate editing longer works, it's the not-fun part of writing. Thank god for flash, the editing is a lot less daunting and reminds me that I *can* do it (or I'd have a lot more complete-but-unedited fic on my hard drive (there's still an awful lot there).
Reply
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Personally I like that this is a group to write a ficlett/flash fic. Writing them is a challenge, and good practice in toning out useless parts (like if you find yourself repeating things over and over.)
BUT
Also, as a person who loves to see what people create, I am not going to yell at you (or make you take it down) for going over. It happened to me once. Personally it hurt, because I felt it was stupid to say, "you have 50 more words."
In this case, if the group sticks to the 1000 rule, I'll just post it on AO3 and try again next week. Not as a punishment, but because I really loved the idea. Or post a edited version, and then post the longer on my AO3.
If you find yourself LOVING the idea, then go with it. Why HATE your story because you cut it down to make it fit the rules. It happens some times.
Reply
Reply
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