Sean "I Will Die On This" HillAug 2, 2024

I have a short thread on the problems I've observed in getting people to engage with flash fiction.

If stuff I see on here is an indication of what audiences are actually like, then the lack of extensive characterization is a genuine barrier to a readership primarily concerned with character interaction and development.
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#flashfiction #MicroFiction #Writing

Show threadSean "I Will Die On This" HillAug 2, 2024
Flash fiction must appeal to secondary and tertiary interests of prose and setting, but even then, FF is an active participation format that requires much reader input--another barrier to those mostly familiar with traditional novels which rely on the art of exposition.
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Show threadSean "I Will Die On This" HillAug 2, 2024
FF is also an *experimental* format. The very word itself comes with inherent preconceptions of difficulty. FF exists almost in opposition to the novel, and comes off to many as a fun, but ultimately empty, shallow, weird exercise, simply because it lacks that familiar space.
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Show threadSean "I Will Die On This" Hill

And yet, it's probably the single most accessible kind of writing in existence. Any fears of wasted time or focus are cancelled out by the inherent low commitment nature of the format.

So why is it a problem getting people interested? I'd love to hear from folks on this!
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Aug 2, 2024 at 9:01pmWeb