b.read.crumbs : We’re not short, we’re fun-size, or How small town witch was born
writers on the writing life
Writing short stories seems like such fun. It’s the ‘short’ part that appeals to me, and that causes me to forget how difficult it is to enclose the ‘story’ inside a small package. That’s the sort of thing that leads me to come up with ideas that seem brilliant and turn out to be…not.
I blame the ultra talented writers of short fiction for making it look easy.
I blame Ed Hoch, who had a short story in every monthly issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine from 1973 until 2007, and every one of them flawless.
I blame Hemingway, who (according to legend) was challenged to write an entire story in only six words. He promptly responded with: For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.
WHAT’S MICROFICTION?
The Fiveable website says that “Microfiction is a very short form of fiction that typically contains fewer than 300 words,” but you’ll find that journals seeking microfiction call it fewer than 750, 500, 200, 100, or 6 words.
There are names for the different word counts. Writers.com explains the word count for flash, sudden, micro, dribble, drabble, and other very short forms.
A SUDDEN TURNAROUND
One day a title popped into my head: “Small Town Witch Makes Do.” After ignoring that for a few days, I finally scribbled it in my writing journal. Then I wrote a sentence. That led to a few more sentences. Suddenly I had a rough draft that was both funny and poignant. It was a complete story, but it was so…short. Under three hundred words. I revised, and I shared with my writers group where I received good suggestions for tightening and improving the piece. The story got shorter. Soon more small town witch ideas came calling.
That, dear reader, is how I fell in love with microfiction.
(All of the small town witch stories I’ve written so far have found loving homes. I’m sharing links to them below in case you want to see what this is about.)
THE POINT
Try it! Try writing microfiction. Meg Pokrass, Kathy Fish, and many other outstanding writers offer instruction and prompts for writing the very short story.
Press 53 has a monthly microfiction contest—stories complete in 53 words.
SMALL TOWN WITCH MICROFICTION
Small Town Witch Makes Do, Does It Have Pockets?
Small Town Witch Spoils the Fun of Time Travel, Does It Have Pockets?
Small Town Witch Teaches the Fine Art of Sorcery, Does It Have Pockets?
Small Town Witch Sings “Copacabana,” Quail Bell
Small Town Witch Says Shhhh, Quail Bell
Small Town Witch Makes Them Crazy, Quail Bell
Small Town Witch Makes the Best of It, Switch (scroll down)
Small Town Witch Goes Out At Night, Molecule-a tiny lit mag
Small Town Witch Has Perfect Vision, Fifty Word Stories
Small Town Witch in the Suburban Forest, Lit Nerds
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Those stories are excellent.