Announcement - Fast Flash Fiction Series

      Hey, everyone! I thought I'd come on here to give you guys a heads-up as to some of the future stories you'll be getting.

     I've decided to begin a series here on Two-tone Tales called Fast Flash Fiction. The idea behind this is that I'll share with you flash fiction pieces (1,000 words or less) that I wrote in a short amount of time with minimal editing. After presenting the piece, there'll be an author's note discussing the process, idea, observations, and more behind each story.

     There's a couple things that got me thinking this series would be a good idea. One is that, in case I have weeks where I can't edit one of my pre-written stories or work on a brand new short story, I can still have something to share with you. I need to keep writing no matter what and I want to keep my promise in sharing more stories with you this year. I don't intend for this series to be the majority of the stories you see on the blog, but these will appear in times when outside obligations complicate my ability to work on longer, more polished stories.

     The other reason I thought of starting this series is kind of multifaceted. On the one hand, I want to share rougher works paired with insights so you guys have an idea of my creative process and where I'm at as a writer. While work with minimal editing isn't exactly perfect for showcasing a writer at their best, it can serve as a great way to understand the writer's mind in the initial stages. When you're writing fast and limited to only so many words, your mind goes through a different kind of gymnastics to make such stories work. You also tend to leap to the first visuals your imagination comes up with and, in this sense, it becomes a very subconscious process. I won't say stream-of-consciousness, because like I said before, these pieces of flash will have some minor editing (for grammatical correctness and general storytelling touch-ups). But a lot of what I share with you may end up being very dreamlike as a result. If that's your cup of tea, you're going to love this series!

     On the other hand, this series is sort of a test for myself. Sharing any of my stories takes a certain amount of courage (I've held my breath before publishing both "Nocturne in Magic" and "Every Little Banished Thing"!). But I feel like a lot of my fears surrounding sharing come from a still-persistent foundation of perfectionism. I've gotten a lot better at overcoming perfectionism for the sake of creating whole stories. However, that doesn't mean that the need for something to be its best version doesn't get in the way of things. It has often gotten in the way of finishing novel-length works. 

     By sharing rougher work, I already accept that it's a story that's not entirely perfect. The point then becomes seeing what my imagination is capable of in a short amount of time with only so many words. Exercising the imagination like this can be very helpful in freeing your mind from self-inflicted pressure. It also is an opportunity to appreciate the imagination, which can sometimes be taken for granted in the later stages of the writing process. 

     The author's notes will serve as insights for myself to understand my current strengths, flaws, and tendencies as a writer. An exercise can be helpful, but it becomes twice as helpful when you reflect on the overall experience. And this is also part of how you grow as a writer - you have to pay close attention to what you're doing in order to learn and improve over time. For you guys, these notes will serve as a behind-the-scenes of each story!

     With that out of the way, I've already written the first in this series this morning! I need to add an author's note to it, but once that's written, you can expect to see it published sometime this week. I'm excited to take you through this series, and I'm excited for you to see what kind of stories this unique challenge produces!

 ~ Madeleine