The flash fiction genre challenges writers to develop characters, dialogue, and plot in less than 1000 words, using precise and powerful words. The stories often have an exciting or surprising conclusion. Different types of compressed fiction will be discussed, along with tips on eliminating unnecessary words. Please bring paper and pencil for a short writing exercise that will be fun.

Jean Youkers earned a B.A and MBA at Penn State University. After a long career in social service and marketing in healthcare facilities, she made creative writing her focus in retirement. Her stories have appeared in four of the Rehoboth Beach Reads contest anthologies, DASH Literary Journal, Delaware Beach Life Magazine, and The Broadkill Review. Her first novel, Lunch Bucket Lists, was published in 2021, followed by a sequel, Interlude at Rehoboth, in 2023. She also writes poetry and humorous nonfiction. Jean frequently teaches writing classes in the University of Delaware’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) program in Wilmington

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at the University of Delaware is a volunteer based, learning cooperative for adults 50+. The Speaker’s Bureau is a group of our instructors who are part of our community outreach effort on education. For more information and to learn how to participate in OLLI, visit olli.udel.edu