1
6. Six-word story: Any story with a
Flash Fiction
What is Flash Fiction?
Flash Fiction
- refers to a largely fictional work
of relative brevity.
- it traces its origins to older genres such
as the fable and the parable.
- a story of 1,000 words or less
- Titles should not be longer than seven
words
-must include a protagonist, conflict, and
resolution
® Aesop's fables are early examples
of flash fiction writing.
® Contemporary writers who have
written flash fiction include Ray
Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut, and Ernest
Hemingway.
Aesop was an Ancient Greek fabulist or
storyteller credited with a number of fables
now collectively known as Aesop's Fables.
Ø Length: it should not have more than
50 words: or it can have as many as a
thousand words:
§ Internet: 300 to 1,500 words
Ë Flash Fiction goes by different names:
Ø Short-Short story
Ø Micro-Fiction
Ø Micro-Narrative
Ø Sudden Fiction
- in China. "smoke-long story"
bec. one is likely to finish
reading it before he/she
finishes smoking a stick of
cigar. (Bob Batchelor, 2011)
Ë Six different categories of Flash Fiction
1. Flash fiction: Max 1,500 words
2. Sudden fiction: Max 750 words.
3. Drabble/microfiction: Max 100
words.
4. Dribble/minisaga: Max 50 words.
5. Twitterature: Max 280 characters.
single-digit word count is a
category
Flash Fiction in the Philippines
Dagli
- Is the equivalent of flash fiction in the
Philippines
-Some claim that the term had been
around for decades before flash fiction
became popular
-it was written during the American
colonial period through studies done by
Rolando Tolentino and Aristotle Atienza
Ë Some Filipino Dagli Popular Writers:
® Jose Corazon de Jesus
® Lope K. Santos
® Teodoro agoncillo
Elements of Flash Fiction
Flash fiction has Five elements:
1. A Plot
- complete story: beginning, a
middle, an ending;
2. Characters
- They perform the actions and
speak dialogue and move the
story along a plot line
- use telling details that you can
describe for your characters in a
few words:
3. A Hook
- start with a compelling scene
and keep going; include
conflict(internal or external or
both)
4. A Slam-Bang Finish
- Employ twist at the end/Plot
twist;
- Unexpected ending that the
reader didn’t see coming;
5. Self-Editing Skills
- Check for grammar consistency:
- Check for content,
- Cut all of your little crutch words:
- Read the thing aloud and
submit;

Steps in writing a Flash Fiction
• Use strong imagery. Make every single
word count.
• Focus on one particular Moment in time.
• Don't use a lot of characters.
• Try first person point of view.
• Surprise your reader. Start in the middle
of the action.
• Make your title bold and strong.
• Don't actually end the story. Make sure
your last line leaves them wondering
Jeepney Tapestry
Best Example of a Flash Fiction written by
Charlotte Aninion-De Guzman
Charlotte Aninion-De Guzman
-Is a true blue Scholastician
- She was an English Faculty at De La Salle
College of St. Benilde.
-She became Chairperson of the English
Area for the said institution.
Jeepney Tapestry
> Jeepney
- a public means of transportation
in the Phils.
> Tapestry
- a piece of thick textile fabric with
pictures or designs formed by weaving or
by embroidering on canvas
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LITERARY JOURNALISM
Ø Literary
-comes from "LITERATURE", denotes
the use of creative styles and techniques
in making a story
Ø Journalism
-creation and distribution of
reports based on real-life events,
"NEWSMAKING".
Ø Literary Journalism
-creative, non-fiction that makes use of
accurate, well-researched information,
with the aim to deliver a more in-depth,
personal view of real-life events.
>a genre that bears close affinity
to journalistic writing.
> may involve the narrator's closeness to
the topic, literally and figuratively;
> it is not autobiographical
>it may involve some research on the
part of the author to make a compelling
>credible discussion of the topic;
Some of the Known Writers
FOREIGN WRITERS:
® Truman
® Mailer
® Didion
FILIPINO WRITERS:
® Nick Joaquin
-National Artist for Literature
-wrote regular literary journalism
pieces in the Philippines Free Press
under his pseudonym Quijano de
Manila
® Jose Dalisay
® Krip Yuson

LIT JOURN VS. TRADITIONAL
JOURNALISM
LIT JOURN
- Combines relevant facts with creative
writing
- Seeks to tell a story based on real-life
events
- Has a message that the writer wants to
deliver
TRADITIONAL JOURALISM
- Sticks to the relevant facts only
- Focuses only on delivering information
- Gives no opinions on the news items
Presented
PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY
Photographic Essay
-is a series of pictures that evokes
(expresses) an emotion, conveys an idea,
or tells a story.
-"A picture paints a thousand words."
-Image over words (Symbolism)
-it may come with explanatory
paragraphs, but words are minimal;
title, captions, and some details
PHOTO ESSAY
§ proposes an argument;
§ challenges our beliefs;
§ encourages us to reflect on our values;
§ helps us think critically;
§ helps us form opinions;
TYPES OF PHOTO ESSAYS
Ë Narrative
-Tells a story through a sequence of
events or actions; presented
chronologically;
-Recognizable beginning, middle and
end.
-It must be a visual narrative
on a SINGLE topic.
3
Ë Thematic
-Presents photos focused on a central
theme and presents photos relevant to
that theme;
-tends to be about one type or aspect of
many places, things or people.
ELEMENTS IN CREATING
A PHOTO ESSAY
1. The Story
-expresses a central message or tells a
story
2. The Range of Photos
-The variety of photos angles and
shots adds more dept and artistry
3. The Order of the Photos
-logical and creative sequence of the
photos is very important in
communicating the central idea;
sequencing
4. Information and Emotion
-provide information to convey context,
and effectively evoke emotion
5. Caption
-the words chosen by the artist work
together with the images to produce
meaning
§ PARTS OF A CAPTION
Ø Catchline- a brief catchy title of the
caption usually in capital letters and
bold face.
Ø Body- explains or describes the picture
in italics with font size bigger than the
text of the news story.
Ø Credit- attributes the source of the
picture.