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What is Flash Fiction?


All of you know what fiction is, but do you know anything about flash fiction? To give you some idea of what it is here’s a list of other names you may know it by:

  • postcard fiction
  • minute fiction
  • furious fiction
  • quick fiction
  • fast fiction
  • micro fiction
  • sudden fiction
  • short-short stories

 

The Chinese call them palm-sized, pocket-size, little short story, minute-long or smoke-long stories, indicating, as the name suggests, that it lasts only as long as it takes to smoke a cigarette.

Getting the idea?

Some of you may also think flash fiction is a new phenomenon but you’d be wrong. It has been around since the time of Aesop’s Fables and has been practised by the likes of Franz Kafka, HP Lovecraft and Anton Chekov.

So, by now I assume you’ve guessed that flash fiction is short. But remember, it should also contain all the usual elements of a short story – a protagonist, obstacles, complications or conflict and a resolution. However, lots of what is going on in the story can and should only be implied as the word count will limit what you include. Here’s a very famous example, allegedly penned by Ernest Hemmingway to settle a bar bet.

“For Sale: baby shoes. Never worn”

These six words convey so much. We know the protagonist by imagining the parent who has lost their child, we see the conflict i.e. their pain – even though it is not explicitly expressed. And we also know the resolution i.e. what coping mechanism they are employing to deal with their pain – namely selling items that remind them of the lost child. All the elements of a story are either explicit or implied.

If you'd like to write fiction, send for details about our Fiction Writing Course or our Novel and Short Story Writing Course.

 

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Alice Vinten Writers Bureau's Student of the Year 2020

“All I knew when I joined up with The Writers Bureau is that I'd always wanted to write and never had the nerve to start. I've been an avid reader from an early age, and 'being a published writer' seemed like an unobtainable dream. The Writers Bureau opened my eyes to possibilities that I'd never considered before - writing for magazines, pitching for non-fiction books, and researching the writing industry. On the 18th April 2019, my memoir On the Line - Life and Death in the Metropolitan Police was published in paperback by Two Roads Books.”

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The WRITERS BUREAU

Privacy Policy

10th August 2018

BACKGROUND:

The Writers Bureau understands that your privacy is important to you and that you care about how your personal data is used and shared online. We respect and value the privacy of everyone who visits this website, www.writersbureau.com ("Our Site") and will only collect and use personal data in ways that are described here, and in a manner that is consistent with Our obligations and your rights under the law.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully and ensure that you understand it. Your acceptance of Our Privacy Policy is deemed to occur upon clicking `Accept Cookies` on our Cookie Policy Popup and You will be required to read and accept this Privacy Policy when signing up for an Account. If you do not accept and agree with this Privacy Policy, you must stop using Our Site immediately.

1 - Definitions and Interpretation

  • In this Policy, the following terms shall have the following meanings: 

"Account"

means an account required to access and/or use certain areas and features of Our Site;

"Cookie"

means a small text file placed on your computer or device by Our Site when you visit certain parts of Our Site and/or when you use certain features of Our Site. Details of the Cookies used by Our Site are set out in section 13, below;

"Cookie Law"

means the relevant parts of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003;

"Personal Data"

means any and all data that relates to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified from that data. In this case, it means personal data that you give to Us via Our Site. This definition shall, where applicable, incorporate the definitions provided in the EU Regulation 2016/679 – the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"); and

"We/Us/Our"

means The Writers Bureau is a division of Systematic Training and Trading Ltd (STT), a limited company registered in England under company number 256396, whose registered address is 8-10 Dutton Street, Manchester, M3 1LE., and whose main trading address is as above.

2 - Information About Us

  • 2.1 Our Site is owned and operated by The Writers Bureau a division of Systematic Training and Trading Ltd (STT), a limited company registered in England under company number 256396, whose registered address is as above.
  • 2.2 Our Data Protection Manager is David Pendlebury, and can be contacted by email at studentservices@writersbureau.com, by telephone on 0161 819 9922, or by post at whose registered address is 8-10 Dutton Street, Manchester, M3 1LE.

3 - What Does This Policy Cover?

  • This Privacy Policy applies only to your use of Our Site. Our Site may contain links to other websites. Please note that We have no control over how your data is collected, stored, or used by other websites and We advise you to check the privacy policies of any such websites before providing any data to them.

4 - Your Rights

  • 4.1 As a data subject, you have the following rights under the GDPR, which this Policy and Our use of personal data have been designed to uphold:
    • 4.1.1 The right to be informed about Our collection and use of personal data;
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    • 4.1.3 The right to rectification if any personal data We hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete (please contact Us using the details in section 14);
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    • 4.1.6 The right to data portability (obtaining a copy of your personal data to re-use with another service or organisation);
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    • 4.1.8 Rights with respect to automated decision making and profiling.
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5 - What Data Do We Collect?

  • Depending upon your use of Our Site, We may collect some or all of the following personal and non-personal data (please also see section 13 on Our use of Cookies and similar technologies:
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6 - How Do We Use Your Data?

  • 6.1 All personal data is processed and stored securely, for no longer than is necessary in light of the reason(s) for which it was first collected. We will comply with Our obligations and safeguard your rights under the GDPR at all times. For more details on security see section 7, below.
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    • 6.2.8 Market research;
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  • 6.5 We do not keep your personal data for any longer than is necessary in light of the reason(s) for which it was first collected.

7 - How and Where Do We Store Your Data?

  • 7.1 We only keep your personal data for as long as We need to in order to use it as described above in section 6, and/or for as long as We have your permission to keep it.
    • 7.1.1 Your data will be stored within the European Economic Area ("the EEA") (The EEA consists of all EU member states, plus Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein).

      AND
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    We use Communigator as our emailing system and your name and email address are stored therein and are used to send you information about our courses and services.
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    If you paid by card: We use SagePay or PayPal to process your card payments so your details are stored therein.

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    If you enrolled by phone or post and have been given access to the online course materials your name and email address are stored on our website.

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    Information provided on the Market Research Questionnaire, which you complete with your first assignment, is not stored against any identifying information about you and is only used to gain a general profile of our student body.

    Information provided on the Personal Profile Questionnaire, which you complete with your first assignment, is not recorded or held at head office for profiling or any other purposes. This is sent to your tutor to help them get to know you a little and therefore be in a better position to help you with your studies.
  • 7.6 Where Your Data is Stored When You Enter A Competition:

    We use Communigator as our emailing system and your name and email address are stored therein and are used to update you with Competition news.

    If you paid by card: Your details, except card details, are stored within our cart. We use SagePay or PayPal to process your card payments so your details are stored therein.

    Your entry details are securely stored on our server.
  • 7.7 Where Your Data is Stored When You Join The Association of Freelance Writers:

    We use Communigator as our emailing system and your name and email address are stored therein and are used to update you with AFW news.

    If you paid by card: Your details, except card details, are stored within our cart. We use SagePay or PayPal to process your card payments so your details are stored therein.

    Your membership details are securely stored on our server.

8 - Do We Share Your Data?

  • 8.1 Subject to section 8.2, We will not share any of your data with any third parties other than those cited in sections 7.5 - 7.8.
  • 8.2 In certain circumstances, We may be legally required to share certain data held by Us, which may include your personal data, for example, where We are involved in legal proceedings, where We are complying with legal obligations, a court order, or a governmental authority.
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  • 8.4 We may sometimes use third party data processors that are located outside of the European Economic Area ("the EEA") (The EEA consists of all EU member states, plus Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein). Where We transfer any personal data outside the EEA, We will take all reasonable steps to ensure that your data is treated as safely and securely as it would be within the UK and under the GDPR.

9 - What Happens If Our Business Changes Hands?

  • 9.1 We may, from time to time, expand or reduce Our business and this may involve the sale and/or the transfer of control of all or part of Our business. Any personal data that you have provided will, where it is relevant to any part of Our business that is being transferred, be transferred along with that part and the new owner or newly controlling party will, under the terms of this Privacy Policy, be permitted to use that data only for the same purposes for which it was originally collected by Us.
  • 9.2 In the event that any of your data is to be transferred in such a manner, you will not be contacted in advance and informed of the changes.

10 - How Can You Control Your Data?

  • 10.1 When you submit personal data via Our Site, you may be given options to restrict Our use of your data. In particular, We aim to give you strong controls on Our use of your data for direct marketing purposes (including the ability to stop receiving emails from Us which you may do by unsubscribing using the links provided in Our emails).
  • 10.2 You may also wish to sign up to one or more of the preference services operating in the UK: The Telephone Preference Service ("the TPS"), the Corporate Telephone Preference Service ("the CTPS"), and the Mailing Preference Service ("the MPS"). These may help to prevent you receiving unsolicited marketing. Please note, however, that these services will not prevent you from receiving marketing communications that you have consented to receiving.

11 - Your Right to Withhold Information

  • 11.1 You may access certain areas Our Site without providing any data at all. However, to use all features and functions available on Our Site you may be required to submit or allow for the collection of certain data.
  • 11.2 You may restrict Our use of Cookies. For more information, see section 13

12 - How Can You Access Your Data?

  • You have the right to ask for a copy of any of your personal data held by Us (where such data is held). Under the GDPR, no fee is payable and We will provide any and all information in response to your request free of charge. Please contact Us for more details at studentservices@writersbureau.com, or using the contact details below in section 14.

13 - Our Use of Cookies

  • 13.1 Our Site may place and access certain first party Cookies on your computer or device. First party Cookies are those placed directly by Us and are used only by Us. We use Cookies to facilitate and improve your experience of Our Site and to provide and improve Our products and services. We have carefully chosen these Cookies and have taken steps to ensure that your privacy and personal data is protected and respected at all times.
  • 13.2 By using Our Site you may also receive certain third party Cookies on your computer or device. Third party Cookies are those placed by websites, services, and/or parties other than Us. Third party Cookies are used on Our Site for advertising services. For more details, please refer to section 6, above, and to section 13.6 below. These Cookies are not integral to the functioning of Our Site and your use and experience of Our Site will not be impaired by refusing consent to them.
  • 13.3 All Cookies used by and on Our Site are used in accordance with current Cookie Law.
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  • 13.5 Certain features of Our Site depend on Cookies to function. Cookie Law deems these Cookies to be "strictly necessary". These Cookies are shown below in section 13.6. Your consent will not be sought to place these Cookies, but it is still important that you are aware of them. You may still block these Cookies by changing your internet browser’s settings as detailed below in section 13.10, but please be aware that Our Site may not work properly if you do so. We have taken great care to ensure that your privacy is not at risk by allowing them.
  • 13.6 The following first party Cookies may be placed on your computer or device:

Name of Cookie

Purpose

Strictly Necessary

__utmb

Analytics Cookie

Yes

__utmt_~1

Analytics Cookie

Yes

__utmt

Analytics Cookie

Yes

__utmc

Analytics Cookie

Yes

__utma

Analytics Cookie

Yes

__utmz

Analytics Cookie

Yes

__PHPSESSID

Analytics Cookie

Yes
     
  • 13.7 Our Site uses analytics services provided by Google Analytics. Website analytics refers to a set of tools used to collect and analyse anonymous usage information, enabling Us to better understand how Our Site is used. This, in turn, enables Us to improve Our Site and the products and services offered through it. You do not have to allow Us to use these Cookies, however whilst Our use of them does not pose any risk to your privacy or your safe use of Our Site, it does enable Us to continually improve Our Site, making it a better and more useful experience for you.
  • 13.8 The analytics service(s) used by Our Site use(s) Cookies to gather the required information.
  • 13.9 The analytics service(s) used by Our Site use(s) the following Cookies:

Name of Cookie

First / Third Party

Provider

Purpose

_ga

Third Party

Google Analytics

Analytics Cookie

_gac_UA- 3238985-6

Third Party

Google Analytics

Analytics Cookie
  • 13.10 In addition to the controls that We provide, you can choose to enable or disable Cookies in your internet browser. Most internet browsers also enable you to choose whether you wish to disable all cookies or only third party Cookies. By default, most internet browsers accept Cookies but this can be changed. For further details, please consult the help menu in your internet browser or the documentation that came with your device.
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  • 13.12 It is recommended that you keep your internet browser and operating system up-to-date and that you consult the help and guidance provided by the developer of your internet browser and manufacturer of your computer or device if you are unsure about adjusting your privacy settings.
  • Our Site may place and access certain first party Cookies on your computer or device. First party Cookies are those placed directly by Us and are used only by Us. We use Cookies to facilitate and improve your experience of Our Site and to provide and improve Our products and services. By using Our Site you may also receive certain third party Cookies on your computer or device. Third party Cookies are those placed by websites, services, and/or parties other than Us. Third party Cookies are used on Our Site for advertising services. In addition, Our Site uses analytics services provided by Google Analytics, which also use Cookies. Website analytics refers to a set of tools used to collect and analyse usage statistics, enabling Us to better understand how people use Our Site. For more details, please refer to Our Cookie section in this document

14 - Contacting Us

  • If you have any questions about Our Site or this Privacy Policy, please contact Us by email at studentservices@writersbureau.com, by telephone on 0161 819 9922, or by post at 8-10 Dutton Street, Manchester, M3 1LE. Please ensure that your query is clear, particularly if it is a request for information about the data We hold about you (as under section 12, above).

15 - Changes to Our Privacy Policy

  • We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time (for example, if the law changes). Any changes will be immediately posted on Our Site and you will be deemed to have accepted the terms of the Privacy Policy on your first use of Our Site following the alterations. We recommend that you check this page regularly to keep up-to-date.