Flash Face Off - a free weekly writing challenge

The fastest, most fun, most friendly way to improve your writing

Write a brand new story every week, exchange feedback with our amazing community of writers, PLUS the chance to read your story live at our monthly open mic event.

Write a new story every week

Join our weekly flash fiction writing challenge!

Every week, we post a set of flash fiction prompts. You write a super small story (500 words or fewer), post it on our forums, give and receive feedback, and join us for a Friday night online open mic night.

Flash Face Off has grown from a casual lockdown pastime to a massive community of amazingly supportive and wonderful writers getting published and winning prizes all over the joint.

As Ray Bradbury said, “it’s not possible to write 52 bad short stories in a row.”

Flash Face Off is kinda awesome, and we’d love to see you there.

How does Flash Face Off work?

Grab your writing prompts

Every Friday, head to the blog and grab the opposing prompts for the week

Write your story

Pick your side and write a story

Post and get feedback

Post your piece in the private Flash Face Off forums for feedback, praise, oohs and aahs, and suggestions from your fellow flashers by Thursday midday

Join the open mic

Join us on the last Friday of the month for a free flashy online open mic, where we invite the writers of our fave Flash Face Off stories to read their work

And repeat!

Next Friday, a new prompt goes up, and we do it all again.

“Flash Face Off changed my writing life. Hell, it changed my life life. It allowed me to experiment, got me the best set of writing buddies evah, got me published. It’s launched so many amazing talents. Get yourself down to FFO. Your writing will thank you. FFO is the best. Bar none.”

– Jo Clark

Is this for me?

The best way to improve your writing is to give constructive, positive feedback on other people’s work and to receive the same on your own work.

Breaking and remaking stories is the cornerstone of rapid writerly improvement. Also it’s a butt-tonne of fun and our community is lush.

If you want to practice your writing, regardless of where you are in your writerly journey, and want to hang out with the most word-writing, biscuit-dunking, story-slinging, tea-drinking, super supportive writers in town, this is the place for you.

(18+ only please. May contain adult topics and themes and other allergens.)

“A wonderful, nurturing, kind and inspiring community. I only started writing flash fiction when I joined Writers HQ and I love the brevity, the complexity,  the hundred different ways to write flash – all of which I’ve I learnt from FFO and from being part of this wonderful critical, nurturing, kind and inspiring community.”

– Sarah

Get weekly Flash Face Off prompts all up in your inbox

We’ll remind you when to write every week. Just put your name in the thing and we’ll do the thing. 



*You’re signing up for the weekly Writers’ HQ newsletter which contains the Flash Face Off prompts, as well as other writerly shenanigans. We will try to sell you things. Sorry about the capitalism. You can ignore those bits, and you can unsubscribe any time. Privacy etc and so on

EVENTS CALENDAR

All our writing events in one place

FREE ONLINE EVENTS

Online Writers’ Retreats
Spend a whole day writing with us!

Flash Face Off
Prompts every week, live reading every month

Get your free account to join the fun

REAL LIFE WRITING RETREATS

Gold Star Members get 15% off all real life retreats. Sign up now >>