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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Thursday, August 26, 2010
Story: 260
Words: 95
Title: Ultra Violet
Violet was reflecting that she had been bowling for nearly 30 years as she approached the lane. She let that and all other thoughts go as she focused completely on the pins at the other end of the alley. She let the ball swing back and then drove it forward as she stepped toward the foul line, adding just the right amount of spin. She watched the ball curve toward the sweet spot and then saw the pins scatter. Strike! It was her 100th strike in a row and gained her the title “Ultra Violet.”
Words: 95
Title: Ultra Violet
Violet was reflecting that she had been bowling for nearly 30 years as she approached the lane. She let that and all other thoughts go as she focused completely on the pins at the other end of the alley. She let the ball swing back and then drove it forward as she stepped toward the foul line, adding just the right amount of spin. She watched the ball curve toward the sweet spot and then saw the pins scatter. Strike! It was her 100th strike in a row and gained her the title “Ultra Violet.”
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