I haven’t written anything not work related in about a year. I don’t feel guilty about this. In fact, I feel fine. And I feel lucky to have other things in my life that are as equally important and fun for me. But it begs the question: does the fact that I don’t have the urge to write every day, or even for an entire year, make me less of a writer? I suppose that would depend on whom you ask.

The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction poses some equally difficult questions to answer:

What is flash fiction?
What are the roots of flash fiction?
Does a story that contains only 312 words make it less of a story?

The 25 essays included in the book attempt to answer these, and other questions, as well as explore and guide readers, writers, teachers, etc., through the genre. The answers to those questions? There is no right answer. There isn’t even one answer, only each individual essayer’s interpretation of the truth.

So, am I less of a writer for not writing, and not even having the urge to write, every single day? Maybe. But I try not to define things that don’t have conclusive answers. I am what I am, and that’s a whole lot of things. What I do know is this—when I return to writing, I’m going straight to the Field Guide to work on some of the exercises within. Exercises I’m particularly interested in trying, in order of appearance:

Tom Hazuka’s Point of View Switch, where you tell a story you’re having trouble with from another character’s point of view, or another context. (I think people could benefit from trying this in real life, too, by the way.)

Stuart Dybek’s Lint, which requires you to keep a Great Thoughts notebook and collect “lint” from your childhood.

Jennifer Pieroni’s Smart Surprises, which asks you to push your writing to the next level by incorporating smart, surprising images and language.

Kim Chinquee’s Five Stories, in which you use the same event to write five different stories, changing the voice, tone, characters, and setting.

Sherrie Flick’s Warped Encyclopedia Entry, where you write an old-time encyclopedia entry about a place.

Also, as a bonus to the book, the editor, Tara L. Masih, has a blog inspired by the compilation that publishes stories prompted by the exercises in the Field Guide. The stories must be 1,500 words or less. For more information, and to submit your story, head to http://www.taramasih.com/.