Plotting without a plot

Part one of a two-part mystery about plot

Part one of a two-part meditation on plot.

I recently taught a flash fiction class, and I said that one thing about flash that I appreciate is there is less burden of plot.

I say “burden” because when I’m writing longer works, especially novels, I feel the weight of keeping the action escalating — and it’s a burden because I’m insecure about my plotting abilities.

Maybe I’ve just told myself I’m an inadequate plotter (and made myself into one in the telling), but I love how flash fiction, by lessening the pressure on plot, opens up other storytelling elements.

Most craft books say the primary elements of fiction are character, setting, and plot, but I think it’s worth questioning whether that’s true. Rhythm, spatiality, and texture seem as important to me. Mood. Tone. That ineffable sense of voice (or perhaps it’s more appropriately called “being”).

Plot — defined as stories with a beginning, middle, and end (three acts) and a character who faces a conflict and changes — tends to be less pronounced in flash fiction because the story is spawned by a situation, a moment that might be quite ordinary, not by the grand arc of a lavish storyline.