Category: flash fictioin

Friday Five: Thoughts on Steve Almond’s ‘Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow’

Why Steve Almond’s new book about the craft of writing is worth a read.

Cover image of the book "Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow," by Steve Almond.

I’ve read my share of books about writing in my time, and most of them have given me at least a nugget or two of wisdom or inspiration. A new entry to the craft genre by Steve Almond, Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow: A DIY Manual for the Construction of Stories, which came out in April, is one of the best I’ve read in a while.

If you’re a writer, you should read this book. Here are five reasons why:

Continue reading “Friday Five: Thoughts on Steve Almond’s ‘Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow’”

Friday Five: fabulous flash

Five great stories I’ve read recently.

As I continue to work on my writing — as I try to learn how to make my writing more compact and forcible — I’ve been paying greater attention to flash fiction lately.

I love how flash fiction writer and editor Tommy Dean describes the genre in a recent Friday Five Q&A on this site. Flash, he says, is “the flash bulb and the reaction in the dark, the scene coming in and out of focus, before being lost.”

I think these five recent flash stories capture that sentiment well. Enjoy.

  1. “Grief and Gravity,” by Barlow Adams (@BarlowAdams on Twitter/X) in The Molotov Cocktail.
  2. “Baby,” by L Mari Harris in Ghost Parachute. She’s on Twitter/X as @LMariHarris. Also check her website for more of her writings.
  3. “Side A: Violent Femmes,” by Sabrina Hicks in Roi Fainéant Press. Find her on Twitter/X at @desertdwellera3 or at her website.
  4. Another from Roi Fainéant Press: “Bon Appétit” by Grace Black. Her nom de Twitter/X is @graceblackink, and she too has a website.
  5. A bit of punk noir from Casey Stegman (@cstegman on Twitter/X): “Watch It All Burn,” in Punk Noir Magazine. Read more of his stuff on his website.

Have a good weekend.

AI-generated image.