Help me… and win a limited edition hardback copy of my novel, Snowflake

Can you help me and have the chance of winning a hardback limited edition signed copy of my novel Snowflake? I’m looking for ideas for a piece of flash fiction. Not sure what that is? Well, read on…

“I have always held the old-fashioned opinion that the primary object of work of fiction should be to tell a story.”

So said Wilkie Collins the 19th Century writer of stories such as The Woman in White and The Moonstone. Many people think that The Moonstone was the forerunner of what is now the modern detective novel.

What most of us probably don’t realise is that Collins was a short story writer too. Short stories became popular in the mid to late 1800s and have remained so. 2018 saw a real upsurge in readers wanting a quick fix of writing and I love short stories. But can I write them?

The problem with short stories is that they take different forms. How long should they be? When do they stop being ‘short’? Should they be 20,000 words long or 2,500 or even shorter?

I’m lucky enough to be able to pick up and speak different languages, and for my money one of the best short stories I’ve read is Le Horla by the 19th Century French writer Guy de Maupassant.

However, it is nearly 8,000 words long. Is that a short story? It certainly has the essence of what is needed in a short story – characterisation, setting, plot, conflict and theme.

Simply put it tells the story of a man who descends into madness. When I first read it, it scared me. When I read it a second time I could feel Maupassant’s own madness and not long after writing it he died believing his brain was being eaten by flies. He died at the age of 43.

His life itself was a short story.

The fabulous American writer, Lawrence Block, is a master of many things including the writing of short stories. Edgar Allen Poe was another great short story teller.

Nowadays the short story has taken on an even shorter style. Flash fiction abounds where a story is told in 250 words or less.

Capturing a story in fewer words is a skill and when done well is a delight to read. I write crime novels in the genre of a good thriller or a crime caper. But can I write short stories? I don’t know, but maybe you can help me?

I’ve a limited edition hardback copy of my novel Snowflake as a gift to someone who can suggest an idea for a piece of flash fiction which I can turn into a story of no more than 250 words. You can send me an idea for a character, a theme, a plot or anything else that takes your fancy. I’ll try and choose the best, write a story and send a signed copy of Snowflake to the winner. Maybe ask your friends to have a go too by getting them to read this blog? Send me your ideas by the end of October by filling in the form below. Thanks and good luck.