R T Anders

Moments R T Anders

Flash Fiction: An Author's Explanatory Note I first heard the term Flash Fiction in the fall of 1998 from my cousin who was a member of Southern California writers. Although the genre may seem to be of recent origin it appears even in the fables of Ancient Greece. Any definition of flash fiction was obscure except it consisted of extremely short stories with at least the approximation of plot and characterization. The obvious idea is to create the most storyline possible using the absolute minimum wordage. As time passed I found many definitions of maximum word counts. It seems any story 1000 words or less is perhaps the most generally accepted. I have come across sites where 1500 and even the magical limit of 2000 words, wherein begins the true definition of short story, is acceptable. Other names for Flash Fiction include: short-short, sudden, minute, postcard, furious, fast, micro, and skinny. This genre may well appeal to those ensconced in waiting rooms or other similar places where you can't leave but some diversion is desired to fill the gap between now and a hopefully short whenever. Hence, each piece of flash fiction contained in this collection was written at different times and under the auspicious rules of the then current length definition. Therefore, each of the 52 selections will have two designated numbers on the title line. They identify the current story's length and the maximum word number rule for that particular entry respectively. So, having optimistically divulged the pertinent prerequisite information required for these readings, I close with the sincere hope you will enjoy. Most Cordially, R. T. Anders