June 4, 2021

Since the moment I first set out to learn the art form, I have loved flash fiction. One of the things I appreciate most about it is its transient nature. Flash fiction doesn’t ask for a lot of commitment. It asks for two minutes of your time to read or an afternoon to write. And then you are free. This freedom has given me permission to explore different aspects of my own writing without the commitment of a short story or a novel. It lets me figure stuff out and then walk away.

One such case where I tried something new with flash fiction was with my story “I Met Her in the Aspen Grove” (which we’re going to call “Aspen Grove” for short because why did I title it something so long‽) “Aspen Grove” is contemporary fiction. No magic. No spaceships. It’s our world, our time, our rules, and therefore nothing like my usual science fiction/fantasy.

Before “Aspen Grove” I had only written contemporary fiction because I had to. In college, speculative genres were frowned upon in some of my classes, so I tailored my work to get my good grades. Once I graduated, I thought I’d never write it, much less publish it alongside my speculative works. But the ephemeral beauty of flash fiction presented that genre to me in a new and enticing way that led me to give it a shot.

“Aspen Grove” was published with F(r)iction’s Dually Noted as a response to the theme “For the last time, dear, I told you—trees can’t move.” This was for the fourth week of the contest, and I already had two rejections under my belt, and I was stressed for a new submission.

Writing is work, and that means it will feel like work sometimes. When I was working on potential submissions, it felt like I was trying to cram magic down the throat of my own stories. I sat at my computer typing nonsense about the magical woes of a Portuguese blended family and deleting gibberish about the accidental genocide of tree aliens and everything felt forced.

Eventually, I realized what I was doing was not working, and I dialed back. I went fairy tale, then magical realism. Then came a line: “The trees can’t move, so Billie moves for them.” I had no idea who Billie was, nor any idea why these trees were refusing to move, nor what it meant for Billie to move for them. But I knew, without a doubt, there wasn’t a shred of SF/F in this line, and there was no way the story would allow any in either.

I was so desperate, I didn’t care. Something told me I needed to try this, so I did. I tried to write about Billie. And tried. And tried. And did my best not to toss my laptop out the window. The story, the contemporary story that was filling my head, blocking my spec stories, and needed to come out right now, was stuck. It still felt wrong, and not because I was far outside my genre expertise. It even felt wrong to be sitting at my computer typing.

At a total loss, I closed my computer, grabbed a notepad and pen, walked outside, and started writing the old-fashioned way. This is another beauty of flash fiction: it can be written in its entirety by hand. Back when I was a teenager and had the hands and wrists of a Greek god, I wrote all my novels by hand no problem. As I got older, writing that many words by hand was too much and my wrists would ache. But I loved writing by hand, and I still love doing it when I can. With flash fiction, I can. And with “Aspen Grove”, I did.

As soon as I made it outside and put pen to paper, it all made sense. Billie’s story came tumbling out of my mind and onto the page easily, beautifully, joyfully. I filled out three pages before I realized I had something that could be polished into a submission, and I immediately stopped writing, went back inside, and began to refine the idea into an actual story. Next thing I knew, my first willing foray into contemporary fiction was published and a fan favorite of my portfolio.

I still don’t consider myself a writer of contemporary fiction. But what I learned from the experience writing “Aspen Grove” is I don’t have to be something to try something. Flash fiction provides the perfect proving ground to experiment with your work in a low stakes, low commitment way. I would have never given contemporary a try without flash fiction, and I am glad that I obeyed the impulse to write “Aspen Grove.” Not only have I learned a lot about story/character development and implementing contemporary aspects into SF/F, but after “Aspen Grove”, I went on to publish two more contemporary flash pieces!

The more you write, the more you develop those impulses, those creative instincts. Indulge them. Even if they’re unfamiliar and a little crazy. Even if you don’t fully understand them. And even if you sunburn your legs and cramp your wrist from writing them by hand outside. You never know where they’ll lead.

Read “I Met Her in the Aspen Grove HERE

Wondering about those redacted sections of “Indisputable”? This rejected flash piece inspired one of my current WIPs. Come follow me on Twitter @JennaCGlover where I discuss current projects under #WIPWednesday to learn more.