Flash Fiction: 24 Creative Writing Prompts for Students

Flash Fiction: 24 Creative Writing Prompts for Students is a slideshow designed for students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades and includes 24 Flash Fiction Prompts as well as a slide explaining what Flash Fiction is with links to examples, and directions for the students. This slide show is perfect for writing warm-ups, Do Nows, a Creative Writing elective, a Creative Writing unit, or daily practice.

The purpose of this slideshow is for students to develop a writing practice in which they write quickly for a short period of time. The goal is to create one or more very short stories of 1000 words or less.

Students can choose to write to as many or as few of the slides as they would like over time or they can choose to take one of their Flash Fiction stories and develop it with the idea being that their story will be 1000 words or less.

How I use it: I share 3 slides with my students each time we write.  I go over each slide first. Over the course of 20-25 minutes, they write to one, two, or all 3 of the slides of their choice.  They have 20-25 minutes to write. The next time we write, I include the original 3 and I add 1 or 2 more slides.  Eventually, they will see the whole slideshow.

Every few days, instead of writing, students break into small groups and choose one of their stories to share with their group members for feedback.

Over time, they will have many very short stories or beginnings of stories that they can develop.  

Students enjoy writing this way--it’s low pressure, it’s dynamic, they have a choice, and it’s fun.

• I have produced a number of Creative Writing Slide Shows that you might be interested in

• The Setting Sets the Mood: How to Write Effective Settings

• 24 Creative Writing Prompts to Inspire Your Students

• 24 Additional Creative Writing Prompts to Inspire Your Students

• Characterization: What It Is and How to Develop It

• Writing with Suspense: A Google Slideshow

1 PowerPoint with 30 ready-to-display slides

--1 slide explaining how I use the slide show

--1 slide explaining what flash fiction is

--1 slide with links to examples of flash fiction stories and directions on how to use them

--1 slide with directions for students

--24 slides of interesting prompts