Lightning Flash Writing

I’ve been reading a few F. Scott Fitzgerald short stories as part of my project (specifically “The Ice Palace” and “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”). I chose to read him this month because it’s the one-year anniversary of Green Light: A Gatsby Cycle, which Janet Dale and I published on April 10th, 2025, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of The Great Gatsby.

It was funny to do a few interviews and podcasts about that book in 2025 because I actually wrote it in 2021 (which I get into here).

I’m going through something similar now, with a new chapbook, though I’m still in the “sit around and wait” slash revision stage. But by now, the writing process seems so far away. I wrote these during Flash Nano, November 2025. But lifetimes have happened since then, right? And feeling close to my creativity has been a struggle through those times, so the person who wrote those feels like a different person than the one I am now. Which could be great for revision, let’s be honest! But when I talk about them with my writing partner, she asks questions about what I intended or where I wanted something to go… I genuinely don’t remember anymore! It can be helpful to think of my own stories from such a distance, like how I feel revisiting some of F. Scott’s that I haven’t read since college, but still feel familiar in such an interesting way. I connected deeply with his writing back then, so it feels like a layer of who I am and how I think.

I have other projects in the works, in addition to the revision mentioned above. One is mostly written but needs a total overhaul because it’s *gasp* creative nonfiction and what I was willing to put out there 13 years ago is different than what I’m willing to put out there now. Looking at the work more critically like that also helped me realize that the framework I originally had wasn’t as interesting as it could be. Cue the total overhaul, which is exciting because it involves research and has me revisiting these personal essays I wrote so long ago, which seem like they could have come from someone else entirely.

I’ve been keeping my head down (and my phone in another room) lately, so I’ve been writing more than ever. To help nurture my creativity, I’m reading a writing craft book a month, and April’s has some excellent prompt ideas that I’m pushing myself to try.

Brevity: A Flash Fiction Handbook by David Galef

I highly recommend this book for writers of any experience level, whether you’re into fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. Each chapter is a bite-sized lesson with explanation, examples, and prompts.

I recently wrote a collaborative story and had a blast. Writing can feel lonely at times, so working with someone else opens up a completely different side of my mind. I want to share our idea here as a writing prompt because I think it’s fun and carefree, which is what I want to harness right now.

Choose two characters from different shows, books, or movies. Have them meet. What would bring them together? How do they react to each other? What happens when they interact?