Havok is what you’d call a labor of love. Our staff are all volunteers (even Cerberus, our leadership team), and many of us contribute our own money to put wings to this publication’s rebirth. WHY do we do this?
- Because we believe in the power of story.
- Because we believe in the people who have stories to tell.
- Because we believe everyone should enjoy a powerful story moment–every day.
And we chose this ongoing-contest format because we think life is better with a little fun and excitement. (A little HAVOK, if you will.)
This Week’s Most-Loved Stories
Thriller Thursday’s tale Worth Saving by Michelle Perry hit a nerve, provoking the most comments and highest rating. Coming in second is Techno Tuesday’s World Redone by Kaitlyn Carter Brown, and we love that both stories share a powerful message of hope.
Speak Out, Friends
With Valentine’s Day fresh in our minds, today’s “Saturday Scoreboard” is a little different. Today we invite each of you to chime in with a comment to share YOUR why, and what Havok means to you. Specifically, we’d love to hear (pick one, or answer all three!):
Havok authors, tell us about your current WIP. If a story we published was set in your novel’s world, tell us about that. Share a link to your website, a teaser, or your published book on Amazon.
Readers, what do you love about flash fiction? What Havok story stood out to you the most so far?
Authors, what do you love about the flash fiction format? What makes a flash story hit you hardest?
If you aren’t a Havok Horde member and want to leave a comment, please do! Just a heads-up, though: after you leave your comment, a page will display saying you need to login to see the page. Have no fear, your comment was submitted (and once approved, it will appear with the other comments)–you just don’t have access to the “permalink” for today’s post.
What I have been loving about flash fiction is how much is packed into such a short amount of space. Seeing a full and detailed story unfold that packs an emotional punch, see the world in a new light, or the unique, creativity of the author with how they twist a story or theme we know to make it their own has been blowing me away.
I’ve loved the level of creative interpretation of the prompts that I’ve seen! It’s been so cool to see what everybody’s mind spins out of a couple of little pointers.
I love how the stories are all so different. I never know what a story will be from one day to the next, and what emotions will be pulled. Will it be scary, funny, thought-provoking, sad?
I enjoy the VARIETY of the Havok stories! Even though I may not usually go out of my way to search out “mystery” or “thriller” or “comedy” stories when looking for novels, I’ve been enjoying all the stories in the various genres.
I also like the THEMES — there’s a cohesive feel to the stories that gives my brain something “extra” when reading one after another. I can see the similarities but also savor the wild differences the authors brought to the theme.
Discovering new authors is also exciting. If I like their short story writing, then it gives me so much more confidence in buying their book(s) or signing up for their mailing list.
What I love about the flash fiction format is how much fun of a challenge it is to fit all the elements of a good story into less than 1,000 words, and the satisfaction it brings to be able to figure it all out, write it, and edit it in usually no more than a week – if I’ve got the time and motivation to commit, say, 10-15 minutes of interrupted work to it every day, that is. A good story starts with a character who is one thing and ends with that character having changed in some way (whether that change be subtle or not-so-subtle). The challenge of weaving that change realistically into a compact storyline is ridiculously fun. XD
Years ago, a site called Worth1000 had a text section. It was a running joke. In the early days, software limitations forced a word count of 800. So in competitions we had to capture the reader and evoke something in that space. Later on it grew to 1000 and even longer, but I have a fondness for the discipline of creating a complete experience for the reader in the short form.
Flash Fiction challenged me and stretched me as a writer when I first heard the term back in 2010. I was able to write in genres that I normally wouldn’t, without having to commit to an entire novel. I distinctly remember the challenge of writing Voxstein’s Monster (a Cyberpunk piece) and how difficult it was for me to break from the Steampunk mode. But I did it, and received much praise when Voxstein’s Monster was published. It’s not a genre I would write and entire story about, but Flash Fiction gave me the ability to push myself to create something different, and that made me a better writer.
Flash Fiction also challenged me not to be passive (a writing struggle for me) because Flash Fiction requires you to be in the moment and cut the fluff. It’s a great exercise for verbally verbose authors.
I think flash writing is making me a better writer. When faced with a word count, you soon learn the difference between words you like and words you need. I love the themes! Recycle was such a challenge.
I wrote Morelli Family Secrets and Worth Saving for Havok, and have a thriller called Time Served upcoming. I’m also working on a full-length apocalyptic trilogy.
You can find me on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stephaniescissom2019/
Or on twitter at https://twitter.com/chell22_7?s=09
As a reader, I like seeing how different authors choose to interpret the themes and genres—and the fact that I can fit reading a story into odd minutes of the day. So far, the Havok story that stood out the most was Tracey Dyck’s “Dead Magic.”
As a writer, I like how flash fiction forces me to be more focused. After 100 words or so, I have a good sense of whether a piece will fit in the 1000 word limit, and it’s nice to avoid discarding a larger word count if something isn’t working! I think the stories that hit the hardest are the ones that begin with a unique premise, then flesh out the plot around it to convey a feeling that gives the story more depth.
As a reader, I love that I can read an entire story in one sitting.
As a writer, it forced me to hone words, write a beginning, middle, and end, and get a story out there. You can play with a novel forever. A flash piece has to be called finished at some point.
It always amazes me how much story and characterization can be packed into such a short piece.