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.

I'm looking for stories.
https://star82review.submittable.com/submit

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