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I've been chatting recently through email about writing with a few of my friends. On a whim, I found an old "story" of mine, a little snippet, barley 109 words. I decided to turn it into a drabble. So I edited it for fun to see if I could pull it off. Then I shared it with my friends, and challenged them to try it. They had a blast giving it a shot. (And not shabby stories for their efforts either.) Now, I tend towards the long winded. (I can see you smirking through the screen.) So short is a challenge. But it was fun. I had joked around with one of the guys, talking about the various length works, how there are some forms, like the drabble that have other word counts. Some as low as six words. Others longer.
I've often been a bit confused by people who can pull off shot-shorts. Or flash fiction. Or shorter. I got to the point where I almost believed I couldn't imagine a story so that it could be that short. These days, I'm writing thousands and thousands of words. Heck, I'm editing things down and they end up still four, five, or six thousand words. So, I was a bit shocked this morning, when I woke up, and had an inkling of an idea.
An idea for a 500 word story. I just knew it was going to be a 500 words story. On the drive down to my writer's group, that's what I thought about. In the empty spaces during the meeting, it churned in the brain. On the way home, more thoughts converged. But then, I had to head out to a church function. And I figured the idea might slip away, because that sometimes happens when you're all ready working on like two or three other projects, and you don't know how serious to take a little thing that says: Hey. Wanna buy a watch? Just step here into my alley.
Then I got the Little Man to bed. And puttered around on the net. Figuring I was tired, and was just going to goof off for a bit, then turn in. And I heard: Pssst. Pssst. Wanna buy a watch?
And I went to go see what kind of watches he was selling.
I didn't come away with a watch. (I'd probably lose it anyways. I've lost more watches than Carter has pills.) But somehow, I walked away with a 500 word story. I can't quite decide what to think. It doesn't have a title. And though I like it right now, it is 1 AM. So, maybe I won't in the morning. But, I have a story. I think that's kinda cool.
(Of course, in a fit of total irony, this post is now just about 500 words. So it's almost like I did that twice in the same night. So what are the odds of that, eh? That just might be even double cool.)
I've often been a bit confused by people who can pull off shot-shorts. Or flash fiction. Or shorter. I got to the point where I almost believed I couldn't imagine a story so that it could be that short. These days, I'm writing thousands and thousands of words. Heck, I'm editing things down and they end up still four, five, or six thousand words. So, I was a bit shocked this morning, when I woke up, and had an inkling of an idea.
An idea for a 500 word story. I just knew it was going to be a 500 words story. On the drive down to my writer's group, that's what I thought about. In the empty spaces during the meeting, it churned in the brain. On the way home, more thoughts converged. But then, I had to head out to a church function. And I figured the idea might slip away, because that sometimes happens when you're all ready working on like two or three other projects, and you don't know how serious to take a little thing that says: Hey. Wanna buy a watch? Just step here into my alley.
Then I got the Little Man to bed. And puttered around on the net. Figuring I was tired, and was just going to goof off for a bit, then turn in. And I heard: Pssst. Pssst. Wanna buy a watch?
And I went to go see what kind of watches he was selling.
I didn't come away with a watch. (I'd probably lose it anyways. I've lost more watches than Carter has pills.) But somehow, I walked away with a 500 word story. I can't quite decide what to think. It doesn't have a title. And though I like it right now, it is 1 AM. So, maybe I won't in the morning. But, I have a story. I think that's kinda cool.
(Of course, in a fit of total irony, this post is now just about 500 words. So it's almost like I did that twice in the same night. So what are the odds of that, eh? That just might be even double cool.)
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