RobbiHess.com: My Thoughts Exactly

My Thoughts Exactly

With Spiders, Size Doesn't Matter

In my house, the lyrics of "Itsy-Bitsy Spider" were never allowed to be sung. I realize I may have deprived Nicholas and Alexa of an allegedly fun song and hand motion activity but spiders are no laughing (or singing) matter. If one of those eight-legged evil arachnids happened to climb up a spout and get washed back out, I expect someone in my family promptly squash it with a boot heel.

I have heard people say they are gentle creatures, necessary to the environment but I don't buy it. I'm not sure when my fear of them was borne, maybe when I went to Girl Scout camp and was away from home for the first time and was so homesick and the tents were surrounded by those crawling monsters. All I know is, if they are in a room or a house, or the out of doors, I must promptly retreat.

I've got it...now what do I do with it?

An idea, your idea -- it appears to be everything you had ever dreamed of, but now that you finally have it, what do you do with it?

After you have taken the time to savor your genius at having discovered a nugget of an idea that speaks to you, now you need to ponder your writing style.

Are you intrigued by plot, character or setting?

Flash Fiction Tips

Fitting a Story on the Head of a Pin

by Robbi Hess

Challenge yourself. Make every word count. Tighten up your prose. Experiment with that deceptively simple form of writing called "flash fiction."

Flash fiction — "short-shorts," "sudden," "postcard," and "microfiction" — refers to pieces of prose that range from 75 to 1,000 words. In China, such fiction is called "smoke-long stories": stories that are just long enough to peruse while smoking a cigarette. Whatever name you give it, these vignettes are made to be devoured quickly and their taste left to linger long after you have savoured the final word.