Introducing "Flashes of Wonder!," a Monthly Magazine of Genre Flash Fiction

So, a little coffee house writing session has become a pet project: Flashes of Wonder! Let me explain.

The first issue of "Flashes of Wonder"

Background: yesterday afternoon, some friends and I had a flash fiction writing session. After a couple of hours, we produced three flash fictions: a cyberpunk, a supernatural horror, and a dark fantasy. They delighted us so much, we decided to publish them here on my blog. But that's not all.

Print publication: in spite of the fact that I was up quite late last night, I snapped awake at 6 o'clock in the morning. Having nothing better to do (everyone else was asleep), I worked up a print version of the magazine, made 20 copies, and left them at a local coffee shop in Columbus, Ohio. And so, a magazine was born, something I conceive of as a kind of self-indulgent public service.

Preliminary musings: I think of the magazine as a "coffee shop" read, something you might incidentally grab up and get through in the course of a cup of coffee. Furthermore, I don't intend it to be for genre enthusiasts specifically; rather, I aim for it to be "stumbled upon" by people who may or may not read science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Thus, I think of it as a kind of "marketing" endeavor--not for me, or my work, or my friends, or their work, but for the genres.

In Flashes of Wonder! you'll find quick, dirty, and complete science fictions, fantasies, and horrors. No twenty novel cycles. No series. Just short and sweet stories.

Why do the genres of science fiction, fantasy, and horror need a "flash fiction" magazine?

Well, speaking strictly in terms of my tastes, genre fiction has become "swollen" of late. Narratives like George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones have become bogged down with too many characters, sub plots, and descriptive passages. The narrative pace of your typical genre novel these day's is particularly slow. An 800 page novel requires a lot of commitment.

Not so in flash fiction. The flash fiction demands that the writer produce an economic and "tight" narrative.

Also, it's my hunch that there are readers out there who love the ideas behind genre fiction but who don't love slogging through 800 pages.

Why write "flash fiction"?

Well, you can write flash fiction quickly. A lot of my writer friends--who are possible contributors--are also very busy. Getting them (and myself) to sit still and spin a yarn is difficult. And so, the flash fiction is perfect for us because it can be planned, drafted, and revised in, say, two hours. It's a great creative outlet for the novice writer who has professional commitments elsewhere.

Why specifically "genre" flash fiction?

Aside from the obvious fact that genre fiction is awesome? Well, it's a hunch of mine that linking a genre to a flash fiction communicates a lot of information. When you say something like, "this is a 'sword and sorcery' flash fiction," you're communicating a lot of information to your reader. This is great for flash fiction because you have so little space to tell your story. Linking a genre to a flash fiction intensifies it in a way linking a genre to other longer narratives can potentially constrain it.

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Anyhow, I wanted to more fully document the arrival of this magazine today. I'm sure the project will evolve the longer we do it. Right now my goal is to have one issue a month composed of 3 flash fictions of separate genres.

If you're interested in contributing, then please drop me an e-mail! I have to be up front, though: this is just for fun, and so I can't offer anything other than the possibility of connecting you to an audience.