55-fiction, anyone?
Posted: 15 May 2007 07:43 pm
So I wondered if anyone here was involved in the fine art of 55-fiction. If not, it might be interesting for you to give it a go.
55-fic is one of those ideas that sounds incredibly simple and rather pointless, both of which remain the case until you actually try it. After that, it's brilliant, challenging, and addictive.
Write a story in fifty-five words. Not poetry, not an expression of opinion; an actual story with events and characters. Hyphenated expressions are counted as two words, with the exception of things like "re-entry"; contractions like "won't" are counted as one.
I like these because they give me an entirely new writing style. I never thought I was good at twist endings before, but the twist ending is a classic element of 55-fic and to my surprise I can do it.
Mine aren't the best examples, but I'll let you see them anyway. If you're already hooked, there's more at 55fiction.com and 55-fiction.org.
Oops, I meant "edit" not "reply". You saw nothing, 'kay?
_______________________
My 55-fics... in all their amateurishness.
Forced Surrender
General Susan Taylor surveyed the battlefield. Though her fierce opponent had hit her forces hard, she refused to admit defeat.
Suddenly a dread shadow fell over the ruins of war: the one enemy neither strategist could conquer.
“Susie, Kevin, come inside at once. Playtime was over five minutes ago. And clear up those toy soldiers.â€
--------
Sweet Deception
"No place for a beautiful young woman," they muttered, eyeing her. "Monsters... bloodthirsty, ruthless werewolves…†The offers of ‘protection’ unnerved Lucy more than the legends.
Pushing past locals in the suddenly terrifying moonlight, she ran upstairs, slammed the door, shoved a chair against it. Then she collapsed, exhausted, her furry head dropping to the pillow.
---------
The Betrayal
Liaisons without consequences, the advert screams.
After your romantic night at our agency, we'll scientifically erase your memory of it completely, for a guaranteed guilt-free morning.
Intriguing concept… though of course I'd... never...
No. These liars need telling not to scam the public.
I stride in. The receptionist glances up.
"Oh, hello again, Mr. Jackson!"
----------
Innocence/Prejudice (True story: can you figure out what we were watching?)
This show last aired twenty years ago.
Now I sit with him. On screen, sunlit, alone: a monster, dying. In its past, dark destruction.
Innocent, I see nothing but a lost and lonely creature, far from its one- time home.
He sits astounded, wordless, as his daughter cries over the terror of his childhood nightmares.
-------
So, anyone else up for a try?
55-fic is one of those ideas that sounds incredibly simple and rather pointless, both of which remain the case until you actually try it. After that, it's brilliant, challenging, and addictive.
Write a story in fifty-five words. Not poetry, not an expression of opinion; an actual story with events and characters. Hyphenated expressions are counted as two words, with the exception of things like "re-entry"; contractions like "won't" are counted as one.
I like these because they give me an entirely new writing style. I never thought I was good at twist endings before, but the twist ending is a classic element of 55-fic and to my surprise I can do it.
Mine aren't the best examples, but I'll let you see them anyway. If you're already hooked, there's more at 55fiction.com and 55-fiction.org.
Oops, I meant "edit" not "reply". You saw nothing, 'kay?
_______________________
My 55-fics... in all their amateurishness.
Forced Surrender
General Susan Taylor surveyed the battlefield. Though her fierce opponent had hit her forces hard, she refused to admit defeat.
Suddenly a dread shadow fell over the ruins of war: the one enemy neither strategist could conquer.
“Susie, Kevin, come inside at once. Playtime was over five minutes ago. And clear up those toy soldiers.â€
--------
Sweet Deception
"No place for a beautiful young woman," they muttered, eyeing her. "Monsters... bloodthirsty, ruthless werewolves…†The offers of ‘protection’ unnerved Lucy more than the legends.
Pushing past locals in the suddenly terrifying moonlight, she ran upstairs, slammed the door, shoved a chair against it. Then she collapsed, exhausted, her furry head dropping to the pillow.
---------
The Betrayal
Liaisons without consequences, the advert screams.
After your romantic night at our agency, we'll scientifically erase your memory of it completely, for a guaranteed guilt-free morning.
Intriguing concept… though of course I'd... never...
No. These liars need telling not to scam the public.
I stride in. The receptionist glances up.
"Oh, hello again, Mr. Jackson!"
----------
Innocence/Prejudice (True story: can you figure out what we were watching?)
This show last aired twenty years ago.
Now I sit with him. On screen, sunlit, alone: a monster, dying. In its past, dark destruction.
Innocent, I see nothing but a lost and lonely creature, far from its one- time home.
He sits astounded, wordless, as his daughter cries over the terror of his childhood nightmares.
-------
So, anyone else up for a try?