The phrase “flash fiction” conjures images of lightning-bolt inspiration and quick penmanship, but actually it simply means a very short story.  

Flash is the perfect form for both face-to-face and remote teaching because it is possible to read an example and then write and edit a piece in around an hour, giving students a wonderful sense of achievement. And because flash is, by its very nature, confined to a single main event or epiphany, teachers are rarely presented with stories that read like whistle-stop summaries of novels - event after event with little detail, and even less stylistic control.

I usually set a limit of between 100 and 250 words, which allows students to still include a defined beginning, middle and end.

How to teach flash fiction

Here are my five top tips for helping students to create dazzling works of flash fiction:

Allow overwriting at first 

Creative writing is not simply a flood of ideas to be recorded - rather, it is something students should be in control of. Allowing students to write “long” and then edit towards a specific word count encourages them to understand that they can make considered choices about their writing. This can be done in rounds, continually cutting the word count until there are, say, 100 words without losing vital elements of plot and character. This is how students get to the very heart of what they are trying to say. 

Edit in pairs

Editing your own work is sometimes more difficult than editing someone else’s. Pairing students up and asking them to reduce each other’s word count can be a great learning experience for both. Armed with a green pen and a word target, the editor can cut words, while explaining their choices to the writer. 

Plan out loud

I put a single image on the whiteboard, and ask students to articulate their creative ideas. This encourages them to shape their narrative before putting pen to paper. Then they complete the statement: “This is the story of X, who does Y and in the end Z happens.” It’s a statement even novelists would do well to complete before writing, but because flash is so short, students can easily manage the content and organisation of their work without being overwhelmed.

Limit techniques 

A manageable length means students can try out techniques without forgetting about them halfway through. One I have used is asking students to write in first person, but to only use one of the senses. Just describing what can be heard or felt can make for unusual, atmospheric writing.

Restrict vocabulary

Another technique is restricting vocabulary. Show students a black and white image and a monochrome word bank. Tell them they can only use these words in their description until the moment of epiphany, when they can introduce a bright colour: a man is lost on a wild moor in a storm, then he sees the brilliant orange of a car headlight, for example. This would be too difficult over three pages, but flash fiction can be very focused.

This is the beauty of flash fiction. It shows students they can be in control of their writing, while still giving them space to experiment.

Lynne Voyce is a secondary English teacher at an inner-city comprehensive school in Birmingham