David Robertson gives us a taster of what to expect during his Flash Fiction Workshop on 18th May!
David writes children’s books but he has also mastered the art of flash fiction. If this post is anything to go by, you’re in for a treat should you choose to attend his workshop!
Musings from David
“I’ve been asked by Oakwood Literature Festival to host a flash fiction workshop at their upcoming event on May 18th at Oakwood Community Centre.”
‘Oh no!’ I hear you groan, ‘What on earth does a bloke who writes kid’s books know about writing flash fiction? And what the heck is flash fiction anyway?’
Well, let me just explain by saying that…
Pardon?
You’d rather, ‘have someone tell you how to write a blockbuster novel like that Harry Potter woman’?
Well I guess we’d all like to be as successful as J.K. Rowling, but…
What?
That’s the woman that wrote Harry Potter.
Say again?
Yes, she did really and…
You thought it was who?
No, I think you’ll find that he wrote Lord of the Rings.
The one about the hobbits, yes.
So anyway – about the flash fiction thing, I’ll be explaining what it is, how to go about writing it and how it could actually help you to get that 135,000 word epic you’ve slaved over a hot laptop night after night for the last eighteen months, into a trim 80,000 word novel which Joe public might actually want to read. And why you shouldn’t use words like actually, actually.
And I...
You again, what is it now?
You like to, ‘suffer for your art.’ Well I dare say you do, but there’s no reason the rest of us have to suffer too. I’m a great believer in the old adage that, ‘less is more.’
You’re kidding! Really?
Anyway, back to the flash fiction thing. If I can show you that writing a tale in twenty-five, fifty or a hundred words can be fun and might be useful in making your Opus Magnus a publishers magnet, how do you fancy coming along?
No, you don’t have to pay to attend. Those nice people at Oakwood Literature Festival have made it a FREE event.
Yes, there will be tea.
And cake.
But you’ll have to pay for those.
Will there be what?
Hob Nobs? Well I don’t know, but I suppose I could ask.
You could even treat yourself to one or all of my children’s books at a very reasonable price.
No, I’m not trying to infer that you have a reading age of eight, merely that you could give them as presents to your grandkids. Just imagine how popular you’d be.
What’s that? You have no grandchildren because you’re only how old?
Blimey – you must have had a hard paper round!
Oh go on then, one final question.
Speak up. Oh, you want to know if I actually write flash fiction?
Well – I suppose that’s what this is really, isn’t it? If you squint.
See you at Oakwood.
And bring something to write on, we can’t have you scribbling on the walls, can we!?
David Robertson is author of Misty Books for children. He also writes a column for Canals Online magazine.
