Flash Fiction FAQs

Food eaten, Facebook notifications cleared, messages from mom read, and nearby Pokemon caught... Only 15 minutes left on my lunch break! What to do? What to do?
Why not grab a nice flash fiction story to pass the time? I know you may have a few questions about this style of writing so I’ve decided to answer some common questions to help you enjoy my own "Sci-Fla-Fi" story, XR-404.

A man must choose to save his pregnant wife or his entire civilization in ten minutes.
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​What is Flash Fiction?
Flash fiction is a form of writing that many have compared to poetry. The wording and action must be very concise and necessary for a complete story in under 1,000 words. Although flash fictions have a well-defined plot, there is much happening off of the page or layers in between that get sorted out the more you read through it. Example: this article is just over 600 words. However, there is no plot so it differs from a flash fiction.


Why Flash Fiction?
I decided to have my first published work in this style as it is an easy way to test the market of self-publishing and become an established author. This story is also a quick glimpse into my writing style and voice. Although the majority of my novels will be told through a third-person limited view, this story has been a good exercise of a first-person present tense story (which I hope to reserve for future flash fiction stories centered in the same universe as XR-404).



Is this story safe for kids?
I do not use any profanity in any of my stories. However, some of the action may be too intense for younger ones. It is not necessarily a YA story, as the description talks about a husband and wife, but may appeal to those dark humor/sci-fi types.



What happens when I purchase the story from Amazon?
You are able to send the download to any of your Kindle devices and read at your leisure



I don’t have a Kindle!?
Don’t Panic. You can download the Kindle app for free on any smartphone and use it to read the story. If you don’t have a smartphone, you can also download an app to your desktop from the Amazon site.



But I don’t have my own computer; I’m at work/library/etc; apps are evil! What do I do?!?!?
Not to worry. You can even read the story from your web browser. Just sign up from your Amazon account (which you used to purchase the book) and go to: https://read.amazon.com/



How can I help?
Write a review about the book, please! No seriously, most of the algorithms on Amazon use books with 20+ ratings/reviews. If you have time to write a paragraph of your thoughts, great! If you only want to leave a sentence or a few words, great! If you just feel like putting a *thumbs up* emoji… you may have to experiment on the Amazon review page… I’m not sure on that… if so, great!



Is there anything else I can do?
If you enjoyed the book, share it with your friends. I have no major publishing company doing any advertising for me so it is dependent on you and me. Tell others about this site, our Facebook page, or Twitter account. I am also available to speak at different conventions or events in the area (IA, NE, KS, MO, WI, MN, etc).

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I would love to answer any questions you may have about this sci-fla-fi story in the comments below (Can I say that? Is it okay to acronize science flash fiction in such a way? Did you just learn what acronize means too?).
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