Flash Fiction
Flash fiction is a short story genre that focuses on brevity. Its aim is to convey a powerful tale in as few words as possible. At Story Shack we judge anything under 1.000 words (with the occasional exception) to be flash fiction, and are proud of the high quality work by around 400 authors and over 50 illustrators. Every single story is illustrated.
Explore the story genres
Discover a wide selection of flash fiction
Skip list of stories- Tarantulas in Flagstaff
- The Ants Go Marching Two by Two
- The Boers
- Fetch
- Going Up!
- The Angel Watches
- The Wolves are Howling in the Darkness (The Darkness is Hungry at the Door)
- Glass Eye
- Bars
- Salsa
- Sunco
- Fillet
- At the Seams
- Frankie Ties
- I’d like to go back…
- Men
- The Baby Blue Ford
- Prophets
- Under Watchful Eyes
- In Step With The May Dance
- Rainwashed
- The Servant
- The Dungeon
- The Night Sweeper
- Child's Play
- The Stepfather
- Mad Hattie
- Candy Girl
- The Maiden and the Legs
- Cause and Effect
- Merritt Bogdrosian Hunts Injun Style?
- The Collector
- Absolute Zero
- You Bought Me a Plane Ticket to Come Home for Christmas
- Peaches
- The Case of the Troubling Shoes
- The Presence
- Sand in my Shoes
- The Urinal
- Lachrymosa
- Nightswimming
- Genesis
- Bjorn Noordvidarvdervarn and the Shape-Shifters
- Heart Trouble
- Postcard for Arizona
- Scrap Suit
- The Red Rose
- Snap
- The Gas Station
- Fruit Breakfasts
- It’s Almost Sunday Morning
- A Butterfly’s Gift
- Rentless Love
- Obregon
- Inversion
- Right Hook
- The Soul Mechanic
- Bartholo
- Leap of Faith
- Gretchen in the Box
- Guilt
- The Gravedigger
- Kites
- The Tea-Time Visitors
- Incandescent Friend
- Mollified
- Changes Are Coming in 2085, the Senator Says
- Nothing Special
- Conscience As Wide As Hell
- A Mind of Its Own
- The Jester
- Constellations
- Corner Store
- Feeding the Ducks
- Choir
- Alchemy
- Truong
- God’s Creatures
- The View
- Meandering in Silence
- Whale Song
- Under Cover
- Blue Dress
- Amanda
- Leilani
- The Last Tequila Stinger
- Ballast
- The Morning After
- Nin’s Glory
- Prerogatives
- The Ghetto Ain’t Forever
- The Pick of the Stand
- Bird of Paradise
- The Rude Chambermaid
- The Hole
- Poached Egg
- The Twelfth Day
- Spring Firefighter
- New Beginnings
- Shadow Dad
- The Dragon’s Inn
- The Scar
- Warm Smoke in November
- Grull
- This is How it Began
- Need You Now
- The Lonely Kiss
- Reindeer Pictures
- The Kickball Game
- Jogging to Cadaverville
- Love for the Mistress
- The Crow King of The Junkyard
- A Veiled Lady
- Mr. Fox
- Miss Apprehension
- The Board Meeting
- Phoebe
- Voices
- Little Princess
- The Aloo Tree
- Baby Bea
- Julie’s Got a Gun
- Too Short A Goodbye
- Midnight Labor
- The Walk
- Inside Lookin Out
- Change
- The Ferryman’s Wife
- The Boys
- The Bus Stop
- Lemon Pie
- A Swingin’ Cat
- Just Tonight
- Lost My Signal
- The Prank
- Smack Head
- Strangers in Peoria
- Red Cabin
- Double
- I Bumped Into the Pigeon Man
- Zoo
- The Playground
- A Final Distress Call
- Stuffing
- Inheritance
- Funeral for Charlie
- Speedy Mart
- Blank
- Love of God
- Soldier | Part Three
- Maji
- The Housewife
- The Grave Sweeper
- The Scoop
- The Missed Free Throws
- The Birthday Party
- Parking Lot Superhero
- Laugh It Off
- The Long Way Home
- Spirit of the Beanstalk
- Black Firebird
- The Early Bird
- Melted Ice Cream
- Jesus and the Devil Walk into a Bar
- Lobster Meat is Sweet
- The Feather Palace
- Doppelganger
- Pickles And Whispers
- On Display
- Done In Before the Blue Ice Melted
- The Virus
- The Relay
- Seventy Years
- Clara
- Jeopardy Double
- A Matter of Time
- The Wages of Sloth
- 441
- Famous Common People I Have Known, Mick Hensley
- An Immodest Proposal
- Follow Focus
- The Protest
- The Notebook
- The Fairy and the Tree
- Technical Support
- The Great Bandini
- Born to Play
- The Mannerisms of a Broken Fork
- One of Us
- The Fixer
- No Woman’s Land
- The Captain
- Kassidy’s Roof
- Foot Steps
- Muzzle
- Humanity
- 1A
- The Trumpeter in the Sky
- Broken Glass
- Dirt Soup
- A Cloud on the Prairie
- The Meadow
- One Below
- Misfit
- Vaila And The Ant
- Just One More Time
- The Newcomer
- EMO-Mail
- Marooned in the Tarantula Nebula
- The Onyx Halls
- Nocturne
- Time in the Park
- That Good Night
- The Lion of Abilene
- Guilty
- Gabby Goose Gets Going
- Crime writer’s book sales soar after husband slain like twisted plot
- Tomato Soup
- A Wonderland of Books
- The Tooth
- Late Again
- Summer 10
- That Old Chevrolet
- The Charlatan
- The Waiting Room
- The Interview
- XOXOX
- A Puzzle in the Woods
- A Disgusting Thing
- Checkmate on an Empty Board
- A Pint and a Pie
- The Forge
- Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Rex
- Fowl Luck
- Digging for Victory
- Godfrey Give Me
- Melancholy
- It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time
- The Dodecahedron Skirting the Round Hole
- Collecting Ticks
- Erasing Charlie
- The Lone Pine
- A Tale of Two Glasses
- Finding Herself
- Puppy’s Multiple Homes
- Avocational Confession
- Death and the Purple Hat
- McGillicuddy’s Wake
- The Mountain That Eats Men
- Patsy Foley Was Roly-Poly in 1947
- Night of the Dragon
- The New Guy
- Broken
- The Brothers
- The Gift
- Through the Eyelids
- The Plague of Caterpillars
- King of the Mountain
- Pandora
- The Beach
- The Baker’s Tale
- The Hall of Familiar Faces
- The Exhibit
- Season’s Greetings
- Father, Not Dad
- The Summer Bride
- Turkey’s Revenge
- A Miner’s Canary
- The Car with Three Wheels
- The Summer Drive
- Impetus
- The Hairbrush Murderer
- A Hog’s Heart
- Raketa
- One Year
- An Affective Disorder, the Doctor Said
- The Light From Within Grows Dim
- Baby and Me
- Through A Child’s Eye
- Love Unto the Dog Star
- The Mystery of St Aidan’s
- Bury Your Soul Six Feet Under
- Layers, Maybe. Does it Matter?
- Movin to the Moon
- The Briefcase
- Chris Salis
- So Long as I have Yesterday
- Through the Storm
- The Flip
- The House With No Windows | Bringing Chuckie In
- Captain Daddy
- Brothers
- Clenched Teeth
- The Creatives
- Skype Credit
- Everything in One Room
- U-Turn
- Coincidence or Retaliation?
- Night Watch
- Stockholm Shadow
- The More Deceived
- Two Drink Maximum
- The Working Man
- New Year’s Resolutions
- The Paranoid Husband
- Starstealer
- Banana Slugs
- Face Paint
- My Bowl of Congee
- Hunger
- The Submariner
- On / Off
- A Waltz for Two
- Imagine
- Garbage Day
- Replacement Turtles
- The Will
- Tara and the Back Yard Bear
- The House of Gravity
- The Orchard
- Fridge City
- The Magical Night
- The Hour I First Believed
- Big Tree
- In Case You Go Bald
- Cronus
- Luminous, Passing By
- Monsters
- Disorderly Conduct
- Nathan #1
- It’s Just a Car
- Mind Freak
- We Won’t Be Right Back
- Middle School
- Skinwalking
- Helplessness
- Pickled Love
- Read My Story
- If I Know a Song of Africa
- Shining Armor
- Santa Claus Has a Space Ship
- High Rise Love
- The Oaken Chair
- The Brownies Episode
- Bat in the Belfry
- We Appreciate Your Business
- Lost Mitten
- The Condemned
- The Tortoise and Hare Revisited
- Sweet Ps
- Pedicab
- Drive
- The Number Reader
- You Read About Local Politics and Hate the Sox
- Snow
- Paper Cut Girl
- Android Adoption Day
- The Last Night
- Walking on Pins and Needles
- Lesbians in a Dragon
- Dragon’s Breath
- What Dreams Are Made Of
- Lull of The Tide
- The Brief and Insignificant Life of a Lowly Tower Guard
- The King’s Wife
- Not Now
- Even Rat Pups Laugh Once In A While Part 5
- What’s Funny?
- Harry and Clyde
- Getting It Right
- Flesh
- Making Lemonade
- Child’s Play
- Nail Varnish
- Golden Acres
- Changing Tactics
- Summer’s End
- Calling Home From A Phone Booth Outside A Pub In North Dublin
- Submersion
- Even Rat Pups Laugh Once In A While Part 3
- A Really Good Day
- The Organization
- Footnotes Only!
- Sea Monsters
- Shell Shocked
- Forever In Blue Jeans
- The Talent
- The Wrong Old Lady
- Should I Leave or Stay?
- The Wish
- Skybound
- The Case of the Unfortunate Pause
- Love and Anger at 80, According to Elmer
- Finley’s Airplane
- Getting Rowdy
- Old Love
- Clown Relief and Aid Providers
- Hand Drawn Sky
- End of This World
- Like No Other Muse
- Too Far
- The Graveyard of Broken Swords
- A Cry For Attention
- Forever
- Handle with Care
- The Finest Print Money can Buy
- Cow
- Fifth Floor
- Still Dark
- No Biggy
- Dear Mom
- Tinderbox
- Two Minute Emotional Whirlwind
- New Life
- Is This An Emergency?
- The Beast Lord
- Prudence Demands…
- A Creased Heart
- But I’m On The ‘Do Not Call’ List
- Susan
- No Fury
- Wolfgang’s Handkerchief
- Crystal
- A Cabin With No Fireplace
- A Tale of Two Cities
- Helping Hand
- Shredder
- Under the Sheets
- Desperation
- Aunt Jessie’s Box
- The Case of the Shouldering Thief
- Light
- New Word to the Pa-Ayello
- The Cadillac
- The Picture House
- Vine
- Future Lost
- The Eye Sees More
- Cold and Hot
- Got Tickets?
- Overheard
- Feeling Rain
- Last Spring
- McNicholson’s 14th Annual Cider-Bean Festival and Dance Off
- Wedding Day
- Mercury
- Tsaonetsi
- The Story of How the Dragon Got Its Scales
- And Death Shall Have No Dominion
- Chlorophyll and Romance
- If Only Someone Had Cared a Little More
- My Time of Exile
- A Homecoming Revelation
- The Bunny Hunt
- The Bully, The Psychopath, Libby and Lorraine
- Maybe It Was Sleep Apnea
- Daddy, Is Santa Claus Real?
- The People We Never Know
- The Last Song
- Pink Slip
- The Kama Sutra Aficionado
- The Others
- Steak for Tuff
- Critics
- The Secret School Prize
- A Literary God (in Love)
- Coffee
- Frozen Baby
- The Irony
- Black Diamonds
- Homecoming Queen
- The White Man
- Tight Forty-Five
- White
- Lawyers, Car Dealers, and other Whores
- Pecan Pie
- Dedication
- Grandma’s Photograph
- Cassie’s Paradox
- Little Knight
- Chip in the Handle
- Blood, Sweat, and Tears
- The Quiet Section
- A Burned Image
- Fear of Honesty
- Incident On A Windswept Hill
- The Usurper
- Pyre
- A Casualty of My Own War
- The Smell
- Forever Never
- Pottering About in Thailand
- Emptied
- Headstone
- Pituitary
- Ghost Hunter
- True to His Word
- Trains
- Feline Fireball
- Uniforms
- Crunched
- A Walk with the Damned
- Paint the Sky
- The Scene
- No Time Like the Present
- Saving Tim Murnane
- Mikey Frick Finds a Flower
- The Pond
- Fish
- A Ride For Family
- Midnight Elvis
- The Rift
- Rage
- Punching Bags
- Exploration and Love
- Mud Boy
- Fish or Cut Bait
- The People Went About Their Day Under the Sun
- Reunion with Em
- Countdown
- Love on the Savanna
- Running with the Wolves
- The Weight of Reveries
- Thanksgiving Bite
- To Supersede, To Sit Upon
- Howdy Doody’s Dad
- He Eats Sparrows
- Bloody Revenge
- Because of Pictures
- School Days
- Nomen oblitum, or, Forgotten Name
- Blue Sambo
- A Smidgen of Green
- The Ghost
- Isaiah
- The Leap
- In the Wake of Technology
- Rainbringer
- Even Rat Pups Laugh Once In A While Part 2
- Reluctant Punk
- I Saw You Standing At The Funeral
- Miss Missouri
- Vertigo
- A Quiet Conversation
- Making the Eyes
- A Great Love
- Clockwork
- Writer’s Block
- Shoot the Mail Carrier, Burn the Letters
- Dear Susan
- Attie and the Owl
- The Wild Man
- Artificial Wife
- The Option
- Coffee Apocalypse
- The Touch
- Defining Shoulders
- Ordinary Moments
- Jimmy the blind Man Says He’s in Love
- Weight of an Echo
- Time to Learn
- Posted
- A Day of Such Good Cheer
- The Icon
- Felix
- Alicia #1
- Past Relations
- Bug Catcher
- Keeping Up Appearances
- I Hate the Sunshine
- George & Gladys
- Chasing Armadillos
- Turkey on Wheat
- Hype
- Fallen
- The Convalescent
- Message in a Rose
- Perspective
- Under
- Pamphliterature
- The Boat of Prestigious Pirates in Plankwalk and Pillaging and Pillaging
- Ryan and Mr Fisher
- The Other
- Dollar Store
- Undefeated
- Dream Wheel
- Audiocide
- Traveler
- S’mores
- Herb is dead
- End of the Line
- Jump Cut
- Make Believe
- The Creator
- The Man with the Lined Face
- Firefly
- Peacefully Coexist
- Cloudy Skies Burned Clear
- Hide & Seek
- Time Lapse
- Soldier | Part Two
- The Mopsos XIII
- How Wars Begin
- In Memory of the Brightwell Family
- Dance of the Whale
- The Morning After
- First Date
- The Night Bus Doesn’t Stop Downtown
- Nanny’s Room
- Three Uninvited Guests
- Sparks
- Serial Killer Sentenced
- Remember the Good Times
- The Search for Terry Brown
- Whispers of Love
- It Was Frogs
- Paddy Murphy’s Wake
- A Humming Night
- Jimbo
- A New Life
- Jessica and the Rabbit
- L717
- Jackass
- Sparing Partners No More
- Nobody Will Believe Anything Manny Says
- A Career Driven Woman
- The Continental Ladies’ Academy
- Seventeen Year Itch
- Paradise of Tolerance and Change
- The Light
- The EMTs
- On Mannerheimintie
- Ménage á Trois
- Dubs and Me
- Pulse
- The Convenience Store
- The Call Was for a Foot
- Let Him Find Another Door
- Mama Knows Best
- A Cold Holiday
- Wings
- Reggie and the Pre-Afterlife Waiting Room
- Sea Level
- The Gymnasium Duel
- Absolut
- A Lion on the Shore
- Lady of Spades
- One Last Cigarette
- To Post or Not to Post
- Future Robots
- The Mask Maker
- Señorita, Oh Señorita
- Sunday Morning
- Tim
- Check Mate
- The Muhurtham
- My Daddy Used to Say
- A Travelling Salesman
- Conversation with the Wilderness
- The First of the Year
- Sasha the Shapeshifting Cat
- Lilac
- Indulging
- Love Knows I’m Hurting
- Yard Dogs
- Lunch is on me
- An Unexpected Encounter in Jerusalem
- A Flash of White
- The Beast
- Even Rat Pups Laugh Once In A While Part 1
- Drainpipe Daughter
- Warehouse Wars
- 6V
- Touching Foreignness
- The Rings
- Danger Zone
- Reunion
- The Tired Doctor
- Ghost Writer
- Different Worlds
- Cat Army
- Mr. Peanut Takes a Bride
- On Her Toes
- Prom Night
- Memories of Life
- Bubblegloop
- The Game
- Calypso
- The Halloween Outhouse Caper
- A Forgotten Feast
- I Live Two Lives!
- It Could Be Us
- Down the Hill
- Art Is The Child
- Rupert
- Perchance Not to Dream
- The Revolt for Hannah Smith
- How Akram Came to Fly Business Class Back to Yemen Double Fisted
- The Sadie Escapists – Part One
- Ashes
- Lunacy
- The Improper Princess
- The Thunder’s Roar
- The Road to Cortez
- Why Can’t We Save Ourselves
- Hold On
- Choose Me
- Carbonara
- The Juice in the Golden Keg
- Song for a 51 Year Old Bar Fly
- Self-Portrait
- Going Dancing
- Jack and Jill
- They Know Your Face
- The Hill
- Hold Me Close
- An Act of Love
- Mitzi
- Dogs and Apples
- Rental Property
- The Book
- Eve
- The Valley of Doom
- I am He who watches over you
- Ambience
- Diary of an Unknown Soldier
- Exposed
- Chicken Fajitas
- Before We Had TV: a Memoir
- Nothing Stands Against a Hero!
- Dodge in the Driveway
- Slimeballs
- Space Hunt
- After A Little While Amongst The Cows
- Clouds There, But No Water
- Swingers
- The Brothers
- Caucus at the Parking Meter
- You don’t know anything
- Lying in Wait
- The World’s First Intervention
- Our Daughter Laments the Past
- Octagon
- What If Mary Had Chosen Otherwise
- Behind the Barn with Carol Ann
- But
- Faces
- Cacophony
- Marriage after a really, very long time
- Albeit of Salt
- A Guest Presentation on Mental Health from Your Post-Secondary Institution
- Advice
- Beard Club
- The Wager
- The World Bell
- The Tattoo
- Legionnaire
- An Oasis Of Calm
- Those Eyes
- In a Flash
- The Railway Incident
- Jack
- Simple Holidays
- Mary’s Birthday
- When Mikey Stole Melissa
- German Baba of Dhoot Kalan
- Saving Sylvia
- Déjà Vu
- And so the Hat Dropped
- The Body by the Pond
- Inked
- The Canine Connection
- The Penguin Who Loved to Crunch Ice
- Delivery
- Chicken Breast and Rump Roast
- Fire ‘Em Up
- The Folded Canyon
- Magic
- They Always Come Back For More
- Dear Principal Chen
- A Fairy’s Tale
- Hunting for Evidence
- Sand
- Soldier | Part One
- No Thank You
- Rowena
- Flameborn
- Court
- And It Was All Terrible, in the End
- Rearview Mirror
- Cadillac Love
- The King of the World
- Between First and Final Breath
- The Puppeteer and the Gardener
- The Daughter of the Gold-Rich King
- Lady Marmalade & The Ratcatcher
- REM
- The Character-Driven Story
- Christ in the Desert
- Not Afraid of the Dark
- Blah Blah
- Hard Work Pays off in any Profession
- The Lesson
- A Song of Heroes and Malloths
- The Digger
- Happy Valentines, Ringo Starr
- Living the Hero Dream
- Roboguard
- Soldier | Part Four
- The Farm
- Strobe
- Unwritten
- My First Deer
- The Banana Peel Slip
- The Pin Insulator
- Milk Cartons
- The Goons
- The Tree and the Hourglass
- Noel
- Soldier | Part Five
- Heroin Hero
- Helios Fallen
- Vindication
- Baby Doll
- Still Drunk
- The Mystery of the Wantom Flippsbury-Brown Nutcracker Hare
- Sentry
- Summertime
- La Folie á Deux
- The Dervish and the Little Girl
- Katiebug- Two DImes
- Cohabitation
- The Stars are Juliet’s Eyes
- The Sleepover
- The River
- A Family Matter
- American Medicine
- Guys and Dolls
- Sudden Creation
- 10:42 P.M.
- In the Dark
- Time to Leave
- Four Strangers Near the Weathered Statue in a Downtown Park
- Testament
- Melee
- In the Evening
- Jimmy Johnson
- A Pillar of Truth
- Henny Comes Home
- The Smartest Kid in the Room
- Reap the Whirlwind
- There is Something Going On
- Crackpot
- The Delivery Guy
- Vend
- To Love Again
- Prom
- The Weather Girl
- A Song for Sweetie
- Masquerade
- Angry Women Museum
- Bane
- Spin
- When You See God, Keep Your Hands Off His Face
- The Cat’s Owner
- D-4842
- The Tourists Attraction
- A Secret Admirer
- Black Steel
- Noises
- Going Postal
- The Tank
- The Navigator
- How to Fail at Telemarketing
- Henry Showed Wendy His Paintings
- The Last Stop
- Stones
- Yellow Light
- The Next Chapter
- Phantom Lake
- Ghosts
- Chuck the Canadian Corpse
- Hitchhike
- Shades
- Killing Geckos
- Our New Home
- Lisa
- Beautiful Baby
- A Not So Distressed Damsel
- The Blinds
- Even Rat Pups Laugh Once In A While Part 4
- Even Rat Pups Laugh Once in a While Part 6
- Early Retirement
- Brown Haze
- The Pope
- And Jimmy will go to sleep in his own little room again
- The Day I Became a…
- From One Story to Another
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