Short-Form Creative Writing: A Writer's Guide and Anthology

By H.K. Hummel and Stephanie Lenox

Book Overview

A complete introduction to the art and craft of extremely compressed works of imaginative literature, this book, now in its 2nd edition, introduces both traditional and innovative approaches to the short form and demonstrates how it possesses structure, logic, and coherence while simultaneously resisting expectations.

With discussion questions, writing prompts, flash interviews, and illustrated key concepts, the book covers prose poetry, flash fiction, micro memoir, lyric essay, cross-genre/hybrid writing and much more. Two new chapters explore how to spark inspiration and innovation, and how to take the next steps by collaborating with partners and preparing work for publication. In this revised and expanded edition, H. K. Hummel and Stephanie Lenox present the ultimate companion to writing short fiction, featuring microplays, new short-form tactics, and a dozen fresh anthology pieces by Eve L. Ewing, Ross Gay, Jayne Anne Phillips, Gertrude Stein, and Jean Toomer, along with one-sentence student workshops that spotlight small but powerful moves in the short form.
The extensive anthology showcases sixty short-form works including microplays and pieces by writers from Argentina, Chile, Guatemala, Canada, France, Greece, Bosnia, and the U.S., offering a vibrant mix of styles, forms, themes, and voices.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1350459291
• ISBN13: 9781350459298
• Release Date: March 2026
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

I don't normally like regular writing prompts, so the excercises in this book is great.

The material proved so helpful to me when it comes to writing. The short-form is great to improve writing as a whole, and this book gives great information on how to do that by using how a sentence is structured, teaching you to condense your writing, and more. It includes great writing excercises to better grasp the material. I left with appreciating short-form. 😌