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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Tuesday, November 02, 2010
Story: 328
Words: 75
Title: Mars Reflection
I had read about the Mars Rover Opportunity as a child, but it was completely different standing here in Eagle Crater looking at the tracks it had made in the Martian soil. The protected area is where the “blueberries” had first been discovered. Composed of hematite, they require water to form; the first real evidence suggesting that Mars once had lots of water. Now we live here and mine its rich bounty of valuable minerals.
Words: 75
Title: Mars Reflection
I had read about the Mars Rover Opportunity as a child, but it was completely different standing here in Eagle Crater looking at the tracks it had made in the Martian soil. The protected area is where the “blueberries” had first been discovered. Composed of hematite, they require water to form; the first real evidence suggesting that Mars once had lots of water. Now we live here and mine its rich bounty of valuable minerals.
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