Flash Craft: Whitaker Knows How to Keep Readers Satisfied

While reading Kathleen Ryan's article "Whodunit: Mystery Writing Advice from the Masters," published at Flash Fiction Chronicles, I realized that elements important to good mysteries are also important to good flash. The article includes a quote from Mike Hammer creator Mickey Spillane: "Nobody reads a mystery to get to the middle. They read it to get to the end. If it's a letdown, they won't buy anymore. The first page sells that book. The last page sells your next book."

This concept can be applied to flash fiction. The first sentence is the hook. It must grab readers' attention, make them want to keep reading. It is the equivalent of the mystery's first page. And like the ending of the mystery, the ending of the flash piece must deliver the goods. If the ending doesn't work, it doesn't matter how good the rest of the story is. Readers will be disappointed and may not be willing to read other works by the author. Conversely, if the author nails the ending, flaws in the earlier part of the flash may seem more forgivable.

One way writers try to make an ending memorable is by including a twist. In flash, it's important to write the unexpected. A twist ending is just that: unexpected. However, writers must be careful how they handle the twist. Revealing new information at the end is fine as long as it's new to the main character as well. If the main character knows something, then the reader needs to know it right away too. Otherwise, the reader will feel deceived. This is not the way for writers to encourage readers to explore more of their work. Essentially, while it is okay to surprise readers, it is not okay to trick them.

If the writer does choose to have a surprise ending, he or she needs to make sure the ending still is believable. As I mentioned earlier, writing the unexpected is important. Avoid formula and cliché; readers don't want to read the same thing they've read in a hundred other stories. They want something new and fresh. However, if "unexpected" translates into "unbelievable," readers are going to feel dissatisfied.

Unlike novels and even short stories, in flash fiction it's important that the key to the story--the element that makes the entire piece work--comes right at the end. The final sentence, even the final word, must be perfect. In longer works, the climax comes before the physical end of the story so that the outcomes can be played out. With flash, that doesn't work. There just isn't enough room.

So while there are many elements that must be included in flash fiction to make it work well, the ending is of key importance. It may not be easy for writers to create an ending that is unexpected, believable, and fresh, but, if it's done right, readers will feel satisfied and appreciative and they'll want to come back for more.

About the Author

Rachel Whitaker is in her second year of the Publishing Master's program at Rosemont College. She has had several film reviews and articles published in Ticket Magazine as well as the Ambler Gazette, both in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Upon graduation, she hopes to work as a copyeditor. Originally from Southeastern Ohio, she currently lives in Norristown, PA with her fiancé and their two cats.

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