I was first introduced to this idea on Jeffrey Callison's Sacramento NPR radio interview show called Insight. He interviewed Jason Sinclair Long about his blog "Flash Fiction 365". You can hear the interview here.
The challenge is to write a micro-story each day. The length of the story is determined by throwing a pair of dice, preferably of different colors. One color represents the tens digit and the other the ones digit. So the story can be from 11 to 66 words. Of course some lengths are left out using this method. You could also use one die and throw it twice. Or use a die with 8 sides. Or you can do what I did and create a random number generator in Excel. This method doesn't miss any of the numbers. Mine will return a random number between 11 and 99. I am happy to share the formula if you email me.
The title is not part of the word count. Most word processors have a word count function that is very useful. You can start with a title or add it later or you can have someone suggest a title. Even though the original idea is to write a story, I plan to include poetry and perhaps essay.
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Friday, December 18, 2009
Story: 10
Words: 35
Title: Alzheimer’s
He got the eggs and bacon, put the pan on the hot stove, opened the back door and walked outside.
“John, what’s that smell,” she yelled.
He was in another world of flowers and birds.
Al’s Comment:
OK, I had some problem with the title because it gives away and limits the ending. When I was writing the story, the main character has Alzheimer’s which explains his actions. I thought that his malady made the story more powerful. When my wife read it (I hid the title from her) she saw someone so taken by what was outside that they completely forgot about what was on the stove. My question is: does the title give too much away? If you have an opinion or a title that fits better, please make a comment below.
Words: 35
Title: Alzheimer’s
He got the eggs and bacon, put the pan on the hot stove, opened the back door and walked outside.
“John, what’s that smell,” she yelled.
He was in another world of flowers and birds.
Al’s Comment:
OK, I had some problem with the title because it gives away and limits the ending. When I was writing the story, the main character has Alzheimer’s which explains his actions. I thought that his malady made the story more powerful. When my wife read it (I hid the title from her) she saw someone so taken by what was outside that they completely forgot about what was on the stove. My question is: does the title give too much away? If you have an opinion or a title that fits better, please make a comment below.
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fogotten things?
ReplyDeletethe unremembered?
abandonment?
barbequed breakfast?
outside distractions?
No, it doesn't give away to much
(I needed it for a second pass).
But it's a bit heavy, IMO.
Anyhow I can see the fun
you said you were having
with your micro stories!
hearfulSoul
Sometimes its good to deal with the heavy stuff. Cathartic, you know.
ReplyDeleteLimited to 35 words, I think you get a powerful boost from this title that advances the story. The title eliminated any questions I may have had regarding what was going on with John and whoever "her" is.
ReplyDeleteIf the story was to be allowed to expand beyond 35 words, well, then the realtionship between the title and the story would be a different story...