New Flash Fiction

My flash fiction, "Kill Switch Override", was published in the first issue of Infocalypse January, 15, 2026.

https://www.infocalypse.press/issue-one/

Tips for Flash Fiction

Karen Schauber is the person who introduced me to, and published my first, flash fiction and is one of the most prolific and successful flash writers. She was flash editor for Miramichi Reader and a leading light in Vancouver Flash Fiction, which featured regular tips from successful flash writers. This new book available now is a compilation of 300 of those published tips (including one from me, p. 254). If you're interested in writing flash, this might be a place to start/be inspired by.

Two Short Fiction Published

My short story, "Split Decision" appears in Twin Flame Literary. The story originally appeared in Tesseracts 15 in 2011, was reprinted in Imaginarium: The Year's Best Canadian SF, 2012, and twice since, but this is the first time it's been available for free online.

I also had my 50-word micro-fiction, "The Experimental Writer" published on Sudden Flash Sept 17, 2025. It is also available online for free.

"Fami's Dissertation Defense" in Audio

My flash fiction, "Fami's Dissertation Defense" is on AntiSF Radio Show, May 4, 2025 episode, starting at 21:56 minutes in.

This is the fourth release of this flash piece, previously published in Antipodean SF #315, January 2025, reprinted from Polar Borealis #26, Sept, 2023, pp. 42-44; originally appeared on Ripples in Space, Spring 2020.

This is also the thirteenth appearence of Fami and his Watch (though that includes one Fami story without Watch, and Watch one story without Fami).

Thanks to narrator Ed Errington and editor Ian Necolmb for this audio version.

Two of My Drabbles Reprinted in Siren's Call #66

Two of my drabbles, "Pillow Talk" and "Pepermints", have been reprinted in Siren's Call #66 Copies of the magazine are free to download at http://www.sirenscallpublications.com/pdfs/SirensCallEZine_Summer2024.pdf

Six-Word Story

My six-word story, "After", was published in Flash Flood as part of the UK's National Flash Fiction Day.

After

Another Flash Fiction Published

My flash fiction, "Garbage In, Garbage Out", was published in the Summer 2024 issue of Sci-fi Lampoon (May 5, 2024). It is another in my series about Fami and his AI Watch.

"Crossing Avenue" Reprinted Online

My flash fiction, "Crossing Avenue", was published by Stupefying Stories and is available for free online.

The story originally appeared in the literary magazine Meat for Tea:The Valley Review Vol. 14 #1, 2020; and was reprinted in Polar Borealis #Dec 2022, pp31-32.

"Disposable" Reprinted

My drabble, "Disposable" was reprinted in the newly released PROGRAMMED HEARTS from Shacklebound Books. Https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CY5R9SWK

New Flash Fiction Published

My flash fiction "Preliminary Exploration of Diacron-C" is up today at Spank the Carp:

https://www.spankthecarp.com/issue80_runte.html

Fami's Watch Reprinted

Australia's Antipodean SF #301 (Nov 1, 2023) has reprinted my flash story "Fami's Watch", which originally appeared in Polar Borealis #20, Dec 2021.

"Misdial" Republished in Audio

My flash story, "Misdial",is up today at Manawaka Studios, Flash Fiction Podcast.

The story originally appeared in Active Voice/Voix active, the Editors Canada newsletter, Spring/Summer, 2019, and reprinted in Metastellar March 8, 2021.

New Story by Robert: "Fami's Dissertation Defense"

My flash fiction, "Fami’s Dissertation Defense" was published today by RIPPLES IN SPACE and is available free at: https://ripplesinspacecom.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/famis-dissertation-defense.pdf The tagline is "Having your AI pass the Turing Test may not be the problem…"

Ten Points About Flash Fiction

A colleague recently asked me to tell him about flash fiction. His writing group's next meeting was going to be about flash and he wanted some background beforehand. "You're the only person I know who has published flash, so what can you tell me?"

Here's my answer:

1. There are more flash markets than one might think. I've compiled a list of about 50 for myself, but that doesn't include genres I'm not interested in.
2. Each market defines flash differently (or publishes a different kind of flash, if you prefer). Everyone agrees it's no more than 1500 words, but I've seen 42 words, 50 words, 100 words (which is called a Drabble and has to be exactly 100 words) 140 words (the old Twitter limit) 500 words, 1200 and 1500. Titles are not usually counted, but editors will reject long titles, especially for shorter forms of flash, if they think you're trying to sneak in extra words. On the other hand, a carefully chosen title can orient the reader, suggest an interpretation, and carry a lot of the significance of a flash piece, though of course, that's true of any story title.
3. It's easier for an editor to take a risk on a new author if the story is 500 words than if it's 5,000. As a subscriber, if I don't like the ending of a 500-word story, I think, "Well, that was a dumb ending", shrug, and move on. No harm done. But if I've read through a 5,000-word story and think, "Well, that was dumb" I might not buy the next issue of that magazine. Why would an editor risk the space for 9,000 words if they can fit in two 4500-word stories—thereby doubling the number of authors in the magazine and on the cover, or eight flash fiction pieces and therefore 8 more sales to authors' mothers? Shorter is generally better if you're trying to break into a market.
4. Flash doesn't pay a lot. I've seen the occasional contest for $1000, which would definitely be worth it, but we're never going to win that contest, so I don't think that counts. Most markets pay a flat rate of $5 or $25 or at most $50, but that's rare. A few markets claim to pay "professional rates", but they mean 8 cents a word, so at 50 words, that's only $4.00. Given that flash takes as much or more work than a longer short story, return on effort is low. Therefore, many flash markets (like many poetry markets) don't bother with token payments and are simply non-paying.
5. For many authors, the primary motivation for writing flash is for the challenge of the format (like writing haiku).
6. Some authors like writing flash because it inflates the number of publications to list in their bios. Again, good flash takes probably takes as long or longer to write as a regular short story, but it may be easier to collect acceptances (see #3, above).
7. My motivation for writing flash—and why I recommend it to many of my clients—is to learn how to tighten my writing. I am frequently told that my style is too "flowery" or "verbose" and that I need to "tighten" it up. I was never clear what "tightening your writing up" meant until I started writing flash. Writing flash forces you to be more focused, to cut down to the essentials. It teaches you which words can be cut out without any loss of information, what can be implied without being stated, which details you don't need, and so on. I was then able to take those lessons back to my novel writing and really pare down my bloated manuscript to something readable.

   [I'm not, of course, suggesting that all authors need to "tighten up". I have to encourage some clients to expand their abbreviated manuscripts, fill in a little more color commentary, broaden their brush strokes. The point of undertaking flash as a writing exercise is simply to acquire and refine that skill for those who need to develop it and for when it needs to be applied. It's just one tool in the writer's toolbox. Action scenes can probably benefit from tight, staccato writing, but rich description may be in order for another scene in the same manuscript. Knowing how to successfully condense writing, as poets must, is just one of many useful writing skills.]

8. Ploter vs. Pantser applies to flash, same as any writing. Some people need to outline to make sure their flash is an actual story, with a beginning, middle, and end. Others just start writing to see what comes out, which is fine, as long as you then go back to edit with "beginning, middle and end" as a checklist. Most flash markets complain that they get too many submissions that are just pieces of description or mood pieces or a chunk of dialog, and so on, with no actual story. Fitting the story into 140 words (or whatever) is the challenge. Reading successful flash where others have managed to crame a story into a drabble (or even shorter) is the best way of knowing it can be done, which is the first step in doing it yourself.
9. Some story ideas are clever but cannot sustain 3000 words. If the idea is the story, then it needs to be flash. Trying to flesh out an idea with redundant characterization and action just makes for a weak story where those things are a distraction rather than a strength. Mini-prose seems to be the better format for idea-stories.
10. Flash is prose poetry. Same density of words/thought. Same level of difficulty. Same mastery of language. But it doesn't have to rhyme and it doesn't have to have meter and it doesn't require metaphor or etc. I don't "get" poetry myself—I'm too literal-minded and dysgraphia is apparently associated with an inability to do meter. So...flash is a workable alternative to poetry for me.

The truth is, I probably never would have considered writing flash if Karen Schauber hadn't reached out to me to write for her The Group of Seven Reimanged: Contemporary Stories Inspired by Historic Canadian Paintings. Karen helped edit my first flash story and got me hooked. I'm not sure I would have succeeded without her coaching. Watching her take out words from my draft to make room for new words where they were needed to clarify, or take out whole lines (subplots), etc. really taught me how this works. Finding a writers group that does flash (like Vancouver's Flash Fiction group) is likely very helpful to anyone setting out to write it.

You can read two examples of my flash fiction free online in Active Voice and at Drabble.

Group of Seven Reimagined: Contemporary Stories Inspired by Historic Canadian Paintings

I like to update when EssentialEdits.ca editors get things published.

I was therefore pleased to receive my copy of The Group of Seven Reimagined: Contemporary Stories Inspired by Historic Paintings, which includes my story "Iceberg" inspired by the Lawren S. Harris painting "Icebergs, Davis Strait", 1930 (shown above). Honoured to have a story included in this magnificent collection: my first piece of flash fiction and my first appearance in an art book! Thanks to editor Karen Schauber for conceiving and sheparding this audacious project to its successful culmination, and especially for her help in shaping my own entry. (Even editors need and greatly benefit from editors!)

The book is available from Heritage House press https://www.heritagehouse.ca/book/the-group-of-seven-reimagined/