Flash fiction prompts

To encourage my Sudden Prose students to write more flash fictions, so they have more to choose from when it comes time to select a portfolio, I've been trying to come up with more prompts with which to help them along. Here's the one we tried in class today: Choose two fairy tale characters and put them in conflict to create your own fairy tale flash fiction. Possible characters include a wicked stepmother, a saintly stepdaughter, a princess, a prince, a troll, a dragon, a talking animal, a trusty steed, a fairy, and an old lady.

I'd be glad to hear of other flash fiction prompts that you've found successful, as well as see any responses you come up with to this one!

A new online class in prose poetry and flash fiction

From 10 January I'll be teaching a new online course on prose poetry and flash fiction for The Poetry School; it meets biweekly (online) on Tuesdays from 7-9 p.m. UK time for five sessions, and participants need to sign up at least two weeks in advance. Come along! Click on "a new online course" for more details.

"Lent" by Julia Webb

To read an ambitious, compelling prose poem, please see Julia Webb's "Lent," which I chose as the winner of this year's Poetry Society Stanza Prize.

Thoughts on Flash

Here are some interesting remarks on short prose forms from a number of practitioners. Thanks to Andrew Bailey for bringing this post to my attention.

A new online course

Flash fiction and prose poetry fans wherever you may be, I'm happy to tell you I'm teaching an online course on "sudden prose" for The Poetry School, beginning 10 January 2012 and running for 5 fortnightly evening sessions. You can find further details here, but if you're interested, register soon--the class has a limit of 12 students.

The Bath Spa University Flash Fiction Prize

Bath Spa University has just instated a number of prizes for undergraduate students across the various schools, and I'm heading up several in creative writing. The one relevant for this blog is the Bath Spa University Flash Fiction Prize, for the best flash fiction portfolio from an undergraduate, and the winner for 2011 is Adrian Berg. Congratulations, Adrian!

I hope next year to add a Prose Poetry Prize--stay tuned!

The Binnacle's Ultra-Short Competition

The Binnacle, the literary journal of the University of Maine-Machias, runs an annual competition for poetry and prose under 150 words. The competition deadline's past, but it would be good to mark the calendar for next year, especially as submissions are free. Last year entries were accepted from 1 December.