Brevity: A Flash Fiction Handbook

by David Galef

In Brevity, David Galef provides a guide to writing flash fiction, from tips on technique to samples by canonical and contemporary authors to provocative prompts that inspire powerful stories in a little space. Galef traces the genre back to its varied origins, from the short-short to nanofiction, with examples that include vignettes, prose poems, character sketches, fables, lists, twist stories, surrealism, and metafiction. The authors range from the famous, such as Colette and Borges, to today's voices, like Roxane Gay and Bruce Holland Rogers. A writer and longtime creative writing teacher, Galef also shows how flash fiction skills translate to other types of writing. Brevity is an indispensable resource for anyone working in this increasingly popular form.

For more information, see davidgalef.com/brevity.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Flash Fiction, Short Stories, Reference

160 pages, Paperback

Published November 8, 2016

About the author

I’ve published extremely short fiction in the collections Laugh Track and My Date with Neanderthal Woman (Dzanc Short Story Collection Prize), extremely long fiction in the novels Flesh, Turning Japanese, and How to Cope with Suburban Stress (Kirkus Best Books of the Year), and a lot in between. My latest is Brevity: A Flash Fiction Handbook, from Columbia University Press. Day job: professor of English and creative writing program director at Montclair State University. I’m also the editor in chief at Vestal Review, the longest-running flash fiction magazine on the planet.
@dgalef
https://davidgalef.com/
https://www.vestalreview.net/

Reviews

[Michael Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

In one of the best guides to writing flash fiction, David Galef offers tips, history, exercises, and examples of short shorts of half a page in length to as long as three pages but rarely stretching further. This is a joy to read and learn from. The author goes back to the form’s origins and expresses thoughts on where the future may lead, sampling classically familiar writers and newer names. If you are getting your feet wet you may use this as a scholarly textbook or if you just enjoy reading various forms of flash or micro-fiction this is a thoroughgoing syllabus that can take you from start to finish and much of the content will stay with you long after you finish reading. Brevity is its title and its theme but you will not feel shortchanged when you see what’s on offer. Highly recommended.

[Shannon Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a helpful little guide to writing short fiction. I probably would have gotten more out of it if I had done the writing prompts it includes, but I liked all the examples of the different types of pieces.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Markets itself as exactly what it is. A must-have for flash writers and writers in general!

[Viola Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great little introduction to all of the interesting and powerful stories you can produce in 1,000 words or less.

I especially liked some of the examples provided. Those stories are still rolling around in my brain and have just proven the power that flash fiction can have on a reader.

See this review on my Substack: https://momsmusings.substack.com/i/14...

Learning to write is going to be a slow process for me given my limited time and leftover energy, but this book was not short on inspiration. I hope to stick with it and use the categories Galef provided to guide me in pursuing this new hobby.

[Tim Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yo.

This book is fire. I actually did some of the homework. That never happens. Then I read one piece about what I would do with one minute left until the end of the work. She cried. Then she left me. This is a piece of flash fiction.

[Gail Oare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slim "how to" primer on how to chisel short fiction. Applies to writing in general. Sort of an "elements of style" book. Lots of excellent examples.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a handy writers' reference to flash fiction, complete with examples and writing exercises.

[Suz Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

BREVITY focuses on the craft of writing flash fiction. Each chapter introduces a flash fiction concept (e.g. revision, twists) or style (e.g. vignettes, diary entries, fables, lists, prose poems) and includes exercises, examples, and discussion. The book was problematic for me, because the examples dominated the page count and I found the sections discussing the styles and concepts to be too brief. I did, however, like how the word count of each of the examples was specified. Unfortunately, most of the styles weren’t of interest to me. I also bristled over the genre section, where the author called genre fiction formulaic and stated: “These are stories with fixed plots, stock characters, and even standard lines.”

The book does contain some good tips for flash fiction writers and would be a good tool for someone looking to experiment with different styles.

[Leslie McKee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I’m new to flash fiction, and I found this book to be interesting and useful. There are numerous explanations, examples, and exercises, making it helpful to learn how to navigate this popular form of writing.

Galef’s book is divided into subjects/sections, which includes: vignettes, character sketches, fables, prose poems, dialogue/rants/riffs/themes, setting, twists, and vanishing point, among others. A bibliography of books, publishers, websites, and zines is also included. The chapters include flash fiction examples to illustrate each point, as well as exercises for the user to try. I haven’t tried many yet, but I look forward to doing so.

[erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

i was honestly underwhelmed; by it all. both the writing, the cover, all of it. i just expected more, and it felt like a book pretending to be something it wasn't. this review is all over the place, but i would say skip the read; there are many other books out there actually to give good advice.

[Colin Kitchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not the best introduction to flash fiction. It’s a bit more advanced and adds some original ideas. Lots of extracts and examples to read.
The exercises are good but the discussions leave more questions unanswered than answered.

[Jazz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for aspiring flash fiction writers!

[Hannah Mozingo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful little book

[Lyvita · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book to do step by step. You learn more about your style and what attracks your writing style. Also learn a lot about the different ways to write flash fiction.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now I can’t decide if it would be more fun to be a collage artist or a flash fiction author.

[Lena Kinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a good handbook to flash, especially if you’re starting out. I wish there was a bit more to each section, but maybe that would have taken away from the “brevity” of the text.

[Sage Abena Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book. The lessons were clear and witty. What I enjoyed most were the stories and the exercises that got me out of my writer's block... I'll be referring from this book often.

[Saretta · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
Recensione
Review

La produzione scritta può prendere tante forme: il romanzo, la novella, il racconto, fino ad arrivare alla flash fiction, ovvero un breve testo che racchiude una storia.

Il potere della sintesi è il concetto che regna nel libro, come dimostra anche l'intelligente scelta nella copertina: ci sono tanti modi per dire la stessa cosa, alcuni più concisi di altri.

Brevity è un testo che vuole orientare il potenziale scrittore di fash fiction; ogni capitolo è dedicato a un genere specifico (poesie, diario, lettera, liste, ...) e fornisce consigli utili su come creare atmosfera e personaggi in poche righe - o parole. I capitoli sono strutturati con una parte di spiegazione iniziale, seguita da esercizi e da un paio di letture esemplificative.

Nel complesso è un testo interessante, utile per chi vuole scrivere storie brevi, ma che fornisce anche una panoramica della flash fiction in generale.

Ringrazio l’editore per avermi fornito la copia necessaria per scrivere questa recensione.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked that Galef gave an overview with tips and examples of so many different types of flash fiction, which makes the book worthwhile.

However, the exercises were not as effective as I hoped. They often ask you to switch the POV of the example. Most weren't great jumping off points for me.

He had other good editing tips, but I've seen them in other craft books.

XII: "Cut the opening and get right to the point.

Focus on the one telling detail, not a full description.

Don't 'conclude,' but instead end with an action or image."

Brief chapter on cutting out excess

Different types of flash fiction covered:

Vignettes: Slice of life
Character sketches
Letters (email or texts)
Diary entries
Lists
Fables
Anecdotes
Prose poems
Soliloquies, rants, riffs, and themes
Perfect miniatures
Surrealism
What if?
Genre
Setting
Twists
Two viewpoints
Mass compression
Meta fiction
Nanofiction
Hypertext

At the end, he also includes a list of some flash lit zines.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful guidebook to writing very very short fiction.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one for my fellow writers. Brevity is a guide on writing short-form fiction, flash fiction really. It’s not really a form I’m familiar with, as an aspiring writer I’m much more focused on writing novel length work. That said, we all need to edit, to be concise in our wordsmithery. In that vein, the same techniques that can be used for flash fiction can be utilised in writing longer, narrative fiction, namely brevity, hence the title.

David Galef’s book dedicates a chapter to various forms of short/flash fiction, from vignettes and anecdotes to soliloquies. Then there’s the stuff aimed more for people like myself, writers of longer form fiction. So there’s a chapter on character sketches, another on settings, there’s even a chapter on surrealism.

As with many books of this ilk - e.g. writing guides - there are examples and exercise at the end of each chapter to help you refine the art. All in all this is a good book which will help writers of all striped to either produce short/flash fiction or edit their work more effectively. I recommend this book heartily, oh and if you’re wondering why this review is so short, I’m practicing!

[Armel Dagorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brevity is an interesting little handbook on the writing of flash fiction. Approaching the subject by sections (vignettes, prose poems, fables...), Galef gives the reader an idea of the characteristics of each sub-genre, and what one can attempt through them.

One great aspect of the book was that all the recommended reading is actually included: each section contains a couple of flash pieces to illustrate its point, from classic authors to more contemporary ones.

I must say I didn't do the exercises proposed in each section, as such don't usually interest me, but they would no doubt be a boon to anyone wanting to sharpen their very-short fiction writing skills.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

As David Galef notes, flash fiction is really a new title for an old form. Fables and epistles are ancient forms of writing short, short stories. Yet Galef encourages writers to push the envelope on all forms of flash fiction. In doing so, Galef's creative writing exercises provide any writer with dozens of writing prompts to stretch your imagination. The last chapter, "The Future," extends Galef's thesis: give us the same stories, only different to bring the short, short story genre into the 21st century. Add hypertext. Add pictures. Add Mp3 sound effects. Get creative, in 1,500 words or less.

[Gxianfranko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book on display.
Read and thought.
Exercises done.
Vast and various.
Intelligent, intense, imperdible.
Thank
You, David!

[Gxianfranko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book on display.
Read and thought.
Exercises done.
Vast and various.
Intelligent, intense, imperdible.
Thank
You, David!