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 25, 2009
Story: 17
Words: 97
Title: Christmas Message
“Was Santa born in a manger?” the child asked.
“No, sweetie, Jesus was born in a manger,” the parent said.
“But then how come Jesus doesn’t bring us gifts?” the child asked.
“Jesus brings us the gift of love,” the parent responded.
The child was silent for a long time. The parents couldn’t tell if the child was just taking in what was said or still confused.
“Do you understand?” the parent asked.
“Yea, but am I still getting the bike?” the child asked.
The parents looked at one another and smiled.
“Yes, sweetie,” the parent said.
Words: 97
Title: Christmas Message
“Was Santa born in a manger?” the child asked.
“No, sweetie, Jesus was born in a manger,” the parent said.
“But then how come Jesus doesn’t bring us gifts?” the child asked.
“Jesus brings us the gift of love,” the parent responded.
The child was silent for a long time. The parents couldn’t tell if the child was just taking in what was said or still confused.
“Do you understand?” the parent asked.
“Yea, but am I still getting the bike?” the child asked.
The parents looked at one another and smiled.
“Yes, sweetie,” the parent said.
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This is really cute. And the confusion in the mind of children (in the consuming cultures that we come from) between Jesus and Santa is revealing.
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