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