Join Author & Creative Writing Teacher Jean Robison for this Creative Writing Workshop: Flash Fiction

Flash fiction is in the short story genre, but the difference is the greatly reduced word count: 1,000 words or less, compared to a short story, which is typically 1500 – 7500 words. Working with a reduced word count obliges the writer to choose words that have the greatest impact in terms of advancing the story and the reality of the character(s) and their inner conflict. Writers learn to apply the technique of “show don’t tell,” allowing the reader to figure things out on their own without explaining it for them. Jean will discuss the five elements of a short story and provide sample flash fiction pieces to read and discuss. Working with flash fiction is a fun challenge for writers who tend to get too wordy, and the condensed plot structure allows the story to roll out quickly, often leading the reader to an exciting, surprising, or even shocking conclusion.

Jean Robison is a skilled writing teacher of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. With a Masters in English and 15 years’ experience as an English Language Arts teacher, she is passionate about writing and literature. With a warm and supportive style, she teaches highly engaging creative writing classes with a focus on the tools and techniques for writing poetry, creative nonfiction, and short fiction.  Jean is the author of Deer, Dragonfly, and Cardinal (Barnes and Noble 2025), and she gives author talks about her memoir with discussions of the themes of grief and healing. To receive her free newsletter or to inquire about creative writing classes, author talks, or other events, please send her an email.