Episode 017: Flash fiction is not as sexy as it sounds

Fresh off of his announcement of a contest in which he will challenge any writer of crime flash fiction in a monetarily-prized writing battle, Pablo D’Stair explores with Caleb J. Ross the impetus to his denouncement of the abbreviated medium and what exactly it is about the flash form that has elicited such a reaction.

Caleb J. Ross (I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin, As a Machine and Parts) and Pablo D’Stair (they say the owl was a baker’s daughter: four existential noirs, you’re dead and i killed you: a conversational anthology of crime, noir, and murder) discuss the idea of flash fiction, particularly how it speaks to the writer’s ego, perhaps more than it does a reader’s interest.

Here are a few bullet points to help you understand what this D’Stair contest is all about:

• 12-20 Crime/Noir authors (for details see the Challengers tab) will contribute Crime/Noir flash fiction pieces of their choosing to compile one collection.
• Pablo D’Stair will, in one consecutive 8 hour period, write a collection of approximate length (an equal number of stories, the lengths of which are up to D’Stair). This collection will be fully executed, from conception to finished product inside these 8 hours. NOTE: D’Stair is given one additional 2 hour period to make a run through to correct only superficial details such as typographical errors–no new material may be added, no material may be deleted or reworked
• These collections, labeled simply A and B, will be made available, free of charge, in nearly all e-reader formats, to any interested party for the duration of the contest time via Smashwords.  NOTE: Neither collection will in any way identify authorship of the individual stories, nor will there be any indication which collection is multi-author and which is single author. Readers will approach both collections and vote on them, blind.
• Readers will decide (1) which collection they prefer and (2) from that preferred collection will pick their three favorite pieces, numbering these in order of quality (#1 is best, #2 is second best, #3 is third best)

Find out more about Pablo D’Stair at Blank Verse Dead and his flash fiction challenge at Out of Bullets, Throw the Gun.

Find out more about Caleb J. Ross at The World’s First Author Blog.

Long ago, way back in 2010, when the world was a simpler place, a group of writers and readers decided to create a podcast which would establish a round-table, literary discussion format for the purposes of imbuing dick and clit jokes into otherwise serious literary discussion. Well, in late 2011, The Velvet Podcast sadly went the way of the dodos. But I didn’t feel it right to watch this great content fade away. So, over the next few months look forward to a resurgence of The Velvet Podcast…as much as re-posted archived material can be called a resurgence. Enjoy. And don’t hesitate to add this podcast URL to your favorite podcast subscription app so you can enjoy the wonderful content wherever you may be.