Continuing with the 2026 “write what’s requested” strategy, I responded to Writer Advice’s call for flash memoir pieces: 750 words or fewer “about something that changed the way you viewed yourself and your world.”
I’d written flash fiction before, never flash memoir, and decided to submit “Feed the Meter,” a snapshot of a particularly impactful commute during my senior year of college. It’s a summary of a moment where I was woefully ill-prepared, mainly in resources and options. As a result, I chose to rely on my own two feet, even if it could be foolish (at best) or perilous (at worst).
I’ve wanted to write about this experience for years but struggled with the telling: It often felt too long, too meandering. With the flash memoir specifications, the form finally functioned for the story.
I’m a walker, often opting to go on foot, even when other forms of transportation are available. Although it’s been decades since college, I still take walks daily, using them to get errands done, meet up with friends, or relax. And I can say not a week goes by where some part of a walk conjures up an element of that snowy walk in my young adulthood.
Thank you to founder/editor B. Lynn Goodwin for accepting this piece and the kind feedback! Check out my cohort’s excellent flash memoir pieces in the latest issue of Writer Advice.
Photo courtesy Andy via Flickr Creative Commons
Sarah Pascarella | Writer 