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What's the Difference Between a Joke and Flash Fiction?

Okay, so that's not a riddle.

The characters in a flash story don't have much time to interact, but interact they must if we are to care about them. Flash fictions don't explain things to us, they suggest; they offer up some little gifts for us to arrange in our minds and explore. Usually, they comment on the human condition, or nature,  a philosophical, political, or personal issue. Often, the story will start one place and end at another delightfully surprising, connected, yet creative place. Ultimately, the reader must make what I call "little leaps of inference" at the end.

The concluding sentence leaves open some possibilities, ironies, and/or a particular emotion. Open is the key word. As a reader, I want to feel awe, and that the ending wasn't obvious. As a reader, I want something that lingers: a story I might keep thinking about, turning it over and over, perhaps even finding new meanings in it. The ending is a door that leads outward.

A joke has a punchline. It is all tied up at the end. Jokes are fun, in context. And they can shed light on the human condition; some standup comedians do this very well and some very badly. Bad jokes often mean that once we are done reading or listening, we groan and forget about the joke.

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