Brevity

A Flash Fiction Handbook

By: David Galef

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Paperback | 13 December 2016 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
160 Pages

Age
22+

Dimensions(cm)
21.5 x 14.0 x 0.8

Paperback

$61.75

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Flash fiction is over in the blink of an eye yet lingers with the reader. In Brevity, David Galef guides creative writing students through this timely literary genre, detailing best techniques, key examples, and provocative prompts that will help aspiring writers pack the most punch in the fewest words. Flash fiction, or the "short-short," which encompasses vignettes, prose poems, character sketches, fables, lists, twist stories, surrealism, metafiction, and other forms, has taken off over the past decade in both print and digital publications. Galef traces the genre back to such writers as Colette, Donald Barthelme, and Borges, demonstrating the compression and concision of character, plot, and dialogue that make the perfect miniature. Galef, a writer and longtime creative writing instructor, shows how developing one's skills in the short-short form can translate to other forms of writing. His diverse selection of stories and engaging exercises and prompts make Brevity a valuable resource for creative writing students and others who want to try their hands at this increasingly popular form.

Industry Reviews

If I had to choose just one book for my class in writing flash fiction, it would be this one. Practical, direct, wonderful examples, fun to read-if this book doesn't energize your writing, nothing will. -- Robert Shapard, coeditor of Sudden Fiction: American Short-Short Stories Brevity represents a useful addition to the range of current creative writing texts, combining an anthology of flash fiction with an analysis of the subcategories within the form and writing exercises that will inspire students. Galef's witty, welcoming tone will appeal to beginning and intermediate writers. Often, I felt so inspired by the prompts that I wanted to sit down at my computer and try the exercises myself. -- Eileen Pollack, author of A Perfect Life: A Novel Brevity is a thorough introduction to the form, offering a variety of strategies for composition, as well as a wide-ranging, international anthology linked to each chapter's focus. A relentlessly generative, eclectic, instructive, entertaining, and motivational text. -- Michael Martone, author of The Flatness and Other Landscapes Galef is an excellent writer, and the book throughout is a delight-he makes the reader want to immediately start writing... He provides deft insights and suggestions on editing... and he suggests techniques that work well when applied to a small text. Best of all, each chapter provides examples of great flash fiction-from authors as different as Saki and Steve Martin-as well as ideas for readers to explore. Publishers Weekly

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