Brevity: A Flash Fiction Handbook

I teach creative writing and was very happy to read and receive this book. A practical breakdown of the possibilities of brief fiction, the book gives suggestions and prompts in a voice both experienced and encouraging. The chosen readings incorporate masters of the genre and newer voices. A full portrait of a popular genre.

I found this book at the local library and read it beginning to end, then decided I couldn't live without it. Wonderful,EASILY UNDERSTOOD recipes for a variety of flash fiction possibilities. Inspiration abounds with every turn of the page. As a former journalist, brevity is my middle name. As a fiction writer, I struggle to add words to my work. David Galef has made my day, my month and my year. For teachers -- a dynamic tool for the creative writing classroom!

If I could give 4.5 stars, I would. Content-wise, I LOVE THIS BOOK!! I am attempting to write a novel/novella-in-flash, and I really like how this book breaks down SO MANY different forms of flash fiction (vignettes, prose poems, lists, diary/journal entries, rants, etc.) It truly has been invaluable to me as I work on drafting my manuscript because it has reminded me that flash can come in many forms, and it helps me to vary the forms of flash I experiment in. The half-star I would retain would be because the printing of the book seems a little shoddy, like there wasn't enough ink in the printer or something...there are pages where the text is light gray as opposed to black. Everything is readable, but the boldness of the ink is not consistent.

Pithy, powerful tour of how all of us can say more with fewer words.Compressed writing is magical!Great truths are often best expressed--revealed--in short and simple prose. Poetry, too.Packed with tips, tactics and all the fundamentals, Galef's "Brevity" gets the job done.

I can't say enough about this book. I have read countless books on writing, but this one stands at the top of my list for it's clear instructions and inspiring stories. I would recommend this for any writer, flash fiction or other.

Cut the opening, get right to the pointFocus on the one telling detail not a full description.Don’t “conclude,” end with an action or an image

If you are interested in flash fiction, not a bad place to begin. It's basic but also intelligent.

This book is good. Although I would have liked a more generalized, or overall section of instruction, on how to write short fiction. This book divides the instruction up into very specific types of short fiction such as letters, diary entry, character sketch, etc. I would like to have both - more in-depth but generalized info and then the specific types as well. The exercises and examples are very good.

Rather a slim tome considering the price, but then I suppose that fits with the theme.

Very useful book. Each section describes a type of flash fiction stories with an example story or two to illustrate the point. I really enjoyed reading the examples - some were truly excellent and there was only one which I thought was amateurish and not very illustrative.The only thing I didn't like much about the book were the exercises. I'm not sure if the author was told to put some exercises in so they were an afterthought or if it's just that exercises aren't something that thrill me. While the stories and what the author said about the various types of flash fiction were inspiring and made me want to write, the exercises didn't. They seemed a bit dull and more about the surface aspects of flash, not about the deeper parts of the writing. But what I found dull, others might like and the exercises don't affect the deeper meat of the book.Also contains a very useful bibliography and clickable index.Some of the example stories are going to stick with me for a long time and I think that can only be helpful for my writing. And this is a book that I am going to read and reread.Recommended.

Five points:1. Very informative2. Broad scope3. Great illustrative stories4. Light and humerous(In the interest of brevity, point 5 has been omitted.)