Use Flash Fiction To Fight Writer's Block & Start Writing

Transcripts
1

The transcript discusses the benefits of using flash fiction as a tool to combat writer’s block and explore various writing genres. The speaker, Allison Spooner, shares her personal experience of discovering flash fiction after struggling with creativity for many years.

Key points include:

  1. Definition of Flash Fiction: Flash fiction refers to very short stories, typically under a thousand words, that allow for concise storytelling without the need for extensive backstory or world-building.

  2. Combating Writer’s Block: Writing flash fiction can help writers overcome feelings of being stuck by reducing the pressure associated with longer works, making writing fun and attainable.

  3. Exploration of Ideas and Genres: Flash fiction enables writers to experiment with different ideas and genres, which can lead to the development of larger projects later on. The speaker emphasizes that finished flash fiction pieces can serve as a springboard to longer narratives.

  4. Setting Smaller Goals: By setting achievable word count goals (like 500 or 1000 words), writers can find it easier to make progress and reduce feelings of overwhelm.

  5. Enjoyment and Variety: The speaker expresses the joy of exploring various genres through flash fiction and encourages writers to try writing in genres they might not typically choose.

In summary, the transcript highlights the utility of flash fiction in fostering creativity, providing a sense of accomplishment, and allowing for exploration in the writing process.

To fight writer’s block, drink a whole glass of water as fast as you can while upside down.

No, that’s hiccups: to fight writer’s block! Make a salt circle? No, that sounds like demons.

Fighting writer’s block can be hard, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, fighting writer’s block can be as simple as just using a different type of writing to get the wheels turning.

Hi, I’m Allison Spooner, author, yoga instructor, and creative warrior. Today I’m going to be talking about why you should use flash fiction to help you fight writer’s block.

For those that don’t know, flash fiction is super short stories, all less than or around 1,000 words. They are complete stories in less than 1,000 words—they’re not excerpts or chapters or poetry, but complete fiction stories. In fact, flash fiction is one of my favorite mediums, and I have two collections that you can find on Amazon.

I originally started writing flash fiction as a way to get myself unstuck when I had been in a creative rut for many, many, many years. It started out as a fun way to just try to get unblocked; it ended up being a type of writing that I really, really enjoyed. But it eventually helped me get my wheels turning, get my creativity flowing, and I eventually wrote a novel.

So if you’re stuck and your goal is to write longer fiction, then flash fiction could help you get there.

So why can flash fiction be such a great way to fight writer’s block? Well, because flash fiction is a shorter form of fiction, it can be a great way to feel less overwhelmed by your novel or larger project. Flash fiction can also help you start finishing things more quickly.

Here are some other quick reasons why flash fiction can help you fight writer’s block:

First, the short word count. The short word count of 1,000 words in flash fiction is like the “A” in SMART goals—it’s attainable. If you decide that you want to start exercising and tell yourself you’re going to exercise for one hour every single day when you haven’t been exercising at all, that’s probably not gonna go so well.

But if you tell yourself, “I’m going to start exercising for 20 to 30 minutes two to three times a week,” there you go! That’s a little more attainable and a little more doable. It’s going to be a less overwhelming goal, and it’s going to be easier to achieve.

The same is true for the 1,000-word goal of flash fiction. If you’re feeling stuck or overwhelmed, even a short story of 10,000 words might feel like too much for your brain to comprehend right at this moment. But a flash fiction story of 1,000 words—or even shorter, like 500 words—that’s attainable! That’s doable!

Just setting these smaller goals of 1,000 or 500 words can help you feel less overwhelmed and more willing to get going.

Flash fiction can also help fight writer’s block by helping you explore a number of different ideas before you settle on one big one for a novel. I was trying desperately to write a novel; I wanted to find that idea that was going to make me famous, get my book on bookshelves, and make me a bunch of money. But I couldn’t finish anything.

By using flash fiction and writing small 1,000-word stories, I could explore a lot of different ideas. Then, once the story was complete, I could decide if I wanted to take that story and make it longer. When I tried to take an idea that I really liked and write it as flash fiction but wanted to keep going, that actually became the subject of my novel.

So you can use flash fiction as a tool to explore ideas and genres before you settle on a bigger project. Flash fiction helps to take off some of the pressure when it comes to building out worlds and plots that are going to last for 50,000 to 100,000 to 200,000 words. That was what ultimately held me back when I tried to start something. I would start it, get to a point where I didn’t know how far I could take it, and that question—that uncertainty—stopped me from even trying to take it any farther.

So when I used flash fiction, I didn’t have that pressure. I knew I had to take the story as far as 1,000 words. When you have to wrap up a story in 1,000 words, you don’t have a lot of time for backstory, complicated plots, or world-building. You just get the idea out—get from beginning to middle to end—and you’re done.

So if you’re struggling or feeling overwhelmed by the pressure to build a world that will work for a novel, try flash fiction. You’re taking off some of that pressure. When you’ve been feeling stuck, it can help make writing fun again. Remember, it’s supposed to be fun, right?

Flash fiction can help you explore other genres if you’re not sure what genre you ultimately want to write in. I’ve written flash fiction stories in sci-fi, fantasy, horror, romance, and let me tell you, I enjoyed writing sci-fi way more than I thought I would! There are actually a few sci-fi stories in my books that I love, and they’re some of my favorite stories. I never thought that would happen, but I actually ended up entering contests that gave me a genre I had to write in, and that allowed me to explore genres I would not normally try on my own.

You can try that without the confines of a contest! You can just pick a genre out of thin air or draw it from a hat, and then tell yourself you’re going to write a 1,000-word story in that genre. Because it’s only 1,000 words, it’s okay if you don’t like it; you’ll be done soon, and then you don’t have to write it ever again if you don’t want to.

So flash fiction can help you explore other genres and write a number of stories in a number of different genres before you settle on one for a larger project.

So if you’re feeling stuck, if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the idea of writing a novel, try fighting through that writer’s block by writing a flash fiction story. If the word limit and the idea of a flash fiction story are not enough in themselves to get you unstuck, try combining them with a prompt and a writing sprint.

I have a whole playlist of prompts combined with timed writing sprints and inspirational music. So decide you’re going to write a 1,000-word story, find a prompt from the playlist that speaks to you, or just close your eyes and pick one. Then push play and write for 25 to 30 minutes.

Hey, if you like this video, give it a like! Don’t forget to subscribe to this channel if you want to see more content like this.

Thanks so much for listening, warriors! Now go fight for your creativity!

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