Flash Photography series: Capturing a story

Fun Flashy writing prompt - picture series

One my favourite ways to write a story is using a picture prompt, and I’m sure it’s many other people’s too. When describing flash fiction to people, I often use photography to help me explain it. I’m sure that’s why it’s called ‘flash’ too - like a flash of camera light, capturing a moment for us to interpret. There’s just enough information for us to wonder what’s going on. That’s why photo prompts go so nicely with flash fiction I think. It’s a perfect marriage.

There are a variety of ways you can use an image to inspire your writing:

Like, Literally…

This is where you take the image literally, and try to tell a story using everything (mostly) in the picture. With the picture prompt below - that would be trying to explain how the pram came to be where it is.

Note: Be careful not to spend too much time describing the image or trying to ‘explain’ it. Focus on the story, it’s emotion or conflict, and how you will push it to evolve.

The Springboard

This is where you use the image as inspiration. A jumpstart. You might not even mention anything of it in the story. But it has sparked something your mind and taken you in a direction you want to go. For example, in the image below, it might be telling you something about a character’s past mistakes and take you on a journey of discovery.

As a metaphor

This is a big picture idea. I was once given an image of a mountain painted on a wall in a bombed out home that inspired my story ‘The last thing my father sang to me’ (In This is (not about) David Bowie’). Even though I used it literally, I also used it as a metaphor for dreams.

Perhaps the pram represents something deeper - an inability to care for anyone. A carelessness in life that can have deadly consequences.

Your Picture Prompt