WORKSHEET IN FLASH FICTION Name: __________________________ Grade & Section: _____________Score: _____ FLASH FICTION – fiction that is extremely brief, typically only a few hundred words or fewer in its entirety. FIVE ELEMENTS OF FLASH FICTION 1. Brevity – telling a complete story in 1,000 words or less. Sometimes a lot less words 2. Character – characters have little time to be developed and described, so you must make the most of your opportunities. Show them in action. Describe the little details that bring the character to life in the reader’s mind. 3. Surprise Endings – twist endings which often surprise or shock the reader. Think of a punch line or a joke. 4. Rich Language – uses poetic language to weave the tale efficiently. 5. Change – even though the flash fiction doesn’t have a lot of words, a lot of action is packed into each story. Something has to happen or change during the course of the story. EXAMPLE: Sharing, by Claudia Andrílez Amalia reached down to caress the cat’s left ear. The animal reacted badly, scratching her hand before running to hide. Washing the blood in the sink, she evaluated if keeping the tiny wild thing was a good idea. Of course it was. She brought him home because he was freezing and starving, meowing desperately behind a trash can. To leave him there to die wasn’t an option. It was her mistake to force physical contact without waiting for permission. As a woman, she should have known better. That afternoon “Scratchy” got a name and a new home. EXERCISE A: Answer the following questions: 1. Main characters: Who are the main characters in the story? _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ 2. Setting: Where and when does the story take place? _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ 3. Does the story achieve brevity? If so, how many words it has? _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ 4. Is there any figurative language used in the story? If yes, write it below. _________________________________________________________________________ 5. What is the ending of the story? _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ Republic of the Philippines NAGA COLLEGE FOUNDATION, INC. GRADUATE STUDIES City of Naga JENNIFER V. AVILA MAED ENGLISH
