Writing Flash Fiction

Writing Flash Fiction comes to the North-East Branch of the Kansas City Public Library on Saturday, November 14, from 2 to 4 PM. It's an in-person adult class held in Room A, and the whole session is built around one specific challenge: writing a complete story in under 1,000 words. Flash fiction is a broad category, and the class covers the different lengths it can take, so you'll get a sense of how a story can work whether it's a few hundred words or pushes right up against that thousand-word mark.

The workshop is part of the Writers for Readers series, which the library bills as one of Kansas City's top literary events. It's a partnership between the Kansas City Public Library and the University of Missouri-Kansas City's MFA program in creative writing. Because of that connection, the session is taught by a graduate student from the program, so you're learning from someone currently working through the craft. The series has a history of bringing in heavy hitters, too—#1 New York Times bestseller Gillian Flynn is one of the authors who has appeared as part of the program.

If you've ever wanted to try your hand at short-form writing, this is a good place to start. You'll spend the afternoon working on a piece and talking through the constraints that make flash fiction its own thing. It's an adult class, and you'll be working in person at the North-East Branch. Just keep in mind that an RSVP is required to attend, so you'll need to sign up ahead of time. The class runs from 2 to 4 PM on Saturday, November 14, in Room A.