College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Professor Howard Good’s meditations on the literary genre known as flash fiction appeared in author Michael Alexander Chaney’s web blog, michaelalexanderchaney.com.

Good described his own work in the genre as “prose poems,” that are unconstrained by conventional definitions of character or plot.

Good considers his work, “My Heart Draws a Rough Map,” published by Blue Hour Press in 2009, an example of an extended prose poem.  The book is told in a series of 19 related poems.

“I realized for perhaps the first time that I had found a form that was particularly congenial to my outlook and talents,” Good wrote.

While noting the difficulty of offering advice to young writers, Good urged writers to be willing to take risks.

“They shouldn’t be afraid to experiment — and fail. Trial and error can be a pretty good teacher. Refining my writing has proved to be a never-ending process. It’s searching in the dark for a black hat that isn’t there,” he wrote.

Good also urged young writers to submit their work for publication, the sooner the better. The submission process, Good noted, “toughens [writers] up for the inevitable bumps and bruises of a writing life.”

Good, a journalism professor at the State University of New York at New Paltz, is the author of 12 poetry chapbooks. He has been nominated four times for a Pushcart Prize and five times for the Best of the Net anthology. His first full-length book of poetry, Lovesick, was released in 2009 by Press Americana.

To read Good’s complete article, visit http://michaelalexanderchaney.com/2013/12/18/your-first-flash-publication-8-amazing-writers-respond-with-advice-for-your-first/.