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