30 DAYS OF Flash FICTION
Progress in a Flash
30 Days of Flash Fiction does for your writing what boot camp does for your body.
It tones. It tightens. It strengthens.
What is flash fiction?
Flash fiction is a very short story. It is also known as microfiction or sudden fiction. It is very short, but will still have a plot that evolves. It is a lot of fun to write and definitely flexes the creative writing muscles.
“Writers arrive at flash fiction with different strengths and weaknesses. Prose writers, including novelists, memoirists, and short story writers, are usually comfortable with narrative but can struggle with the word constraint. Poets are usually good working in small spaces, but they can struggle with narrative, creating vignettes or prose poems that may or may not be telling a story.” – Nancy Stohlman
As Nancy says, flash teaches long-form writers to strengthen their writing and to reduce the number of words they use, and it teaches poets to tell stories.
We want all to be better writers. We all want to see our work published. For that to happen we have to improve our craft and produce good work. So, we practise. We diligently apply ourselves to daily, weekly or monthly writing sessions and that is brilliant. Keep doing that, but the danger is we fall into a routine. We find our comfort zone and then, we stay there. We do that same thing over and over again and then we expect different results.
Well, the 30 Days of Flash Fiction Challenge will help to get you out of the rut.
Tell me more...
We learn by repetition and implementation. You will attend a 60 min class. You will receive daily emails and video lessons reinforcing the course material and you implement the lesson by writing daily. And then you will give feedback to and receive feedback from your fellow writers.
Just like we have to do boot camp to target certain parts of our bodies we can do boot camp for our writing.
Why will the 30 Days of Flash Fiction Challenge make you a better writer?
There's a free class
We start the challenge with a free class. This will be the formal theory. The class is open to everyone. The link is below. Please register. It’s about 60 minutes with an opportunity for Q&A. We’ll also be writing during the class so sharpen your pencils.
We use awesome writing prompts
You will receive your first prompt and the word count on the first of the month. The word count is different every day. The shortest story you will write is only six words and the longest 300 words. The different word count will force you to shrink and expand your stories. This is an invaluable skill for any writer to have.
Deadlines make the stories appear
You have 24 hours to write and post. Once you have posted your story you will give feedback to three other writers. This is where the magic happens. By reading the work of others, we learn how to evaluate stories, and this teaches us to evaluate and improve our own work.
You give and receive feedback
You will also receive feedback from other writers. I don’t have to tell you how valuable this is. To learn how readers interpret your work, to figure out what they like about your writing and what they wonder about is awesome.
You will repeat this brilliant routine for 30 days, but there is more...
Remember the class we do at the beginning? I’ve broken that class up into short, daily lessons. So, before we start you will have all the theory and then every day you will receive an email with a short section to remind you of the theory.
The class recording will be available throughout the challenge and to make it even better there are 30 short videos that echo the email lessons that are quick and easy to access.
Yes, you will have 30 brilliant tiny tales written by you
And before I forget to mention you will have 30 awesome tiny tales to perfect and submit to competitions and anthologies. At the end of the month, you will have written about 4500 words.
The word count of the challenge totals 4500 words.
The challenge costs US$55.
Every day during May 2025 I will post a Flash Fiction prompt on www.deadlinesforwriters.com at 8 am (GMT+02:00).
You will have 24 hours to post your flash fiction submission.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I don't have an idea?
This is probably the best lesson you will learn during the challenge. You will learn that you can write on demand. We need to wean ourselves off the dependence on inspiration. We need to stop waiting for the muse. I love this quote from William Faulkner, “I only write when I am inspired. Fortunately, I am inspired at 9 o’clock every morning.”
What if I don’t have enough time?
The simple answer is ‘you will never have enough time’. You need to make time. Whether you can manage this will depend on your commitment to the challenge and your circumstances. I set aside about 30 minutes per day to write and read. I usually make it my first task when I get to my desk.
Do I need a routine?
Nope, but you will have started building one during the challenge. You will improve your discipline. You will prove to yourself that you can write every day.
What happens after the 30 days?
On the last day of the challenge, you will receive another 30 writing prompts for the next month. I hope you will use these prompts and keep up with your daily habit.
How are these benefits different from 12 Short Stories or 12 Poems?
They are not different, but you will progress much faster and experience the benefits sooner. You will speed up your progress.
I am away for a few days during the month. What happens then?
If you cannot post on a specific date/s or if you are planning a weekend away you can request to receive a few prompts in advance. You will be able to post these a day or so early if needed.
What are the results of the challenge?
During the month you will write for 30 consecutive days. You will post 30 pieces of writing. These will be written in answer to flash fiction-specific prompts, and if you post every day you will have practised writing for 30 days and you will have completed 30 pieces of flash fiction. Is it going to be easy? Nope, but you will have the support and enthusiasm of a group of like-minded writers with the same goal. You will also give and receive feedback while you write with and learn from your fellow writers.
Must I use the prompts?
I believe in prompts, and I would encourage you to use the prompts for this challenge. Every day you will receive a new prompt. The deadlines make the stories appear, but the prompts add the magic. It is a little bit of the unknown to keep you on your toes. You do not need to use the word in your story. The prompt is meant to get you started.
Do the deadlines really work?
Yes! I started Deadlines for Writers because I needed accountability. I know how hard it can be to motivate yourself because I’m a recovering procrastinator. Now, it’s seven years later and I have learnt how effective and productive deadlines can be.
What are the Rules?
- Post one, comment on three.
- Be kind.
- Post in the correct time frame/window.
- Stick to the correct word count.
- English only, please. Sorry, I just don’t have the resources for more languages.
- You post on the website at your own risk.
- You earn one point per post. The goal is to earn 30 points.
What the writers said
About the 30 days of Flash Fiction Challenge.
You will invest US$55. in your writing career.
This fee is non-refundable.
It adds to your accountability.
Want to refresh the theory before the challenge starts?
Join Mia for the free Flash Fiction Workshop before the challenge starts. The class is free and everyone is welcome.
Who is Mia?
Mia has used her many years of procrastination experience to create Deadlines for Writers. She is a writer and a writing coach, as well as a master of desk organisation and tile grout scrubbing.
After yet another year of unfinished manuscripts, random scribbles and self-loathing she decided to set a challenge for herself to write 12 Short Stories in 12 Months.
It turns out she was not the only one who needed to outsource her discipline. That was nine years ago. Along with the kindest and most talented group of writers she also started 12 Poems in 12 Months, a novel-writing challenge called 52 Scenes in 52 Weeks and the awesome 30 Days of Flash Fiction challenge.
She loves coaching and doing manuscript appraisals. She is a trained copywriter and has earned her degree in Creative Writing. She has taught, coaxed, and encouraged writers for more than 14 years. Read more at miabotha.com