It's Time To Get Out And Enjoy Nature

Unfortunately, for many of us, we can't. Or not the way we might be used to. So that's the topic of our next 100-word story contest: Nature.

Submissions are due by May 31st. Please follow the normal submission guidelines (here) but also include Nature Contest in the subject header so I know it is for the contest. One contest submission per person (though you are free to submit as many nature-themed stories for regular posting as you want).

Remember, I’ll still be posting non-contest-related posts on a daily basis, so keep sending in your stories, on any topic!

The rules are simple:

1. All stories must somehow engage with the theme nature. Be creative.
2. The story must be exactly 100 words, not including the title.
3. Only one submission per person. All entries are due by May 31st.

Starting in June, I'll for the most part post the stories in the order I received them, but I will keep the winning story for last.

That's it. Start writing. I hope I get plenty of stories, so spread the word.

*Note: This contest is meant for fun. While there are no actual prizes, EXTREME bragging rights are involved!

Running Man

I stroll around the park, mulling over my next 100-word story.

A scrawny bald man hurtles towards me.

“Ian?”

“Bill?”

He stops.

“10K training, 8 laps of the park - my 99th half-marathon’s on Sunday.”

“Wow!”

“But no full marathons now after my knee surgeries.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, impact injuries.”

Divorced, kids grown up, running has been the constant in his life.

“Still running, Ian?”

“Just jogging and some yoga.”

“Get back into it!” he says fervently.

Telling me his Facebook address he sprints off.

Leaving the park, I watch him running around in circles, the perfect subject for my story.

From Guest Contributor Ian Fletcher

Born and raised in Cardiff, Wales, Ian has an MA in English from Oxford University. He has had poems and short stories published in Schlock! Webzine, 1947 A Literary Journal, Dead Snakes, Short-story.me, Anotherealm, Under the Bed, A Story In 100 Words, Poems and Poetry, Friday Flash Fiction, and in various anthologies.

Preserved

It floated in a four-foot cube glass case with runes etched into the gold frame and tiger’s eye gems set into all eight corners.

Connor found his gaze drawn to their chatoyant lustre and wondered if the sphere was only an optical illusion.

“It must be,” he verbalized. “There’s no such thing­–”

“Ah, ah...unnatural,” the mage corrected. “You were never going to get this from nature.”

The image of Claudia moved inside the time-bubble. Connor watched his daughter smile: a welcome change from the burial mask.

“I’ll take it,” he said, smearing tears with the back of his hand.

From Guest Contributor Perry McDaid

My 100-Word Secret

I am often asked by people, “How are you able to write a complete story in 100 words?”

Well, sometimes I tell them something like, “I just condense one of my unpublished novels.”

Or I say, “I write my story, not paying any attention to the word count, and my smartphone has an app that revises it into 100 words.”

They seldom believe either of my explanations.

But it usually ends the questioning, and that's really what I want to do.

I certainly don't want other people to know my secret of writing a story in exactly 100 words.

I-would-prefer-that-the-trick-I-use-to-always-make-the-story-exactly-100-words-remains-my-secret.

From Guest Contributor Kent V Anderson

When Kent isn't writing stories, he is building robots.

A Quick Snip

Grapes are always the go-to example: still purple and plump just seedless now, no lasting side-effects. My wife and the female doctor concur. I'm thinking laser as I agree.

I ease onto the metal bench outside the clinic as the local wears off. Once we decided to adopt, having our own kids didn't seem right. She's with her doctor right now. A session to get her over the trauma of my procedure.

I need a session also. To confirm I was insane for ever saying yes. My groin's throbbing and I'm not thinking grapes anymore. It's raisins, useless, shriveled raisins.

From Guest Contributor Garry Gunnerson

The Art Of 100 Word Fiction

This essay appears at the end of my collection of 100-word stories, Picasso Painted Dinosaurs, currently for sale at Amazon and other online bookstores.

Presumably, you’ve just finished reading 100 examples of a format of writing known as flash fiction. Either that, or you’re the kind of person who likes to skip ahead and wade through the bibliography before reading the actual text. Whatever works for you. No judgments here. But assuming you’re among the former, you might be wondering where the heck this guy came up with the idea for writing 100-word stories.

I’m glad you asked. For something so brief, flash fiction has origins going back thousands of years, all the way to Aesop and his fables. Historical practitioners included Saadi of Shiraz, Bolesław Prus*, Anton Chekhov, O. Henry, Franz Kafka, H.P. Lovecraft, Ernest Hemingway, Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut, and Lydia Davis. But it has only been the past couple of decades that the genre has thrived. Outlets for publication of flash fiction, with names such as SmokeLong Quarterly, Flash Fiction Online, and Vestal Review, have proliferated in print and on the Internet, a probable reflection of our shortening attention spans.

*I have no idea who Bolesław Prus is, but the awesomeness of his name demanded his inclusion.

Broadly speaking, flash fiction is a style of narrative marked by its brevity, with stories ranging from as long as 1,000 words to as short as six. They might have an upper word limit, or they may proscribe an exact word count. Through the years, flash fiction has been gifted with many names, including sudden fiction, microfiction, micro-story, short short, postcard fiction, prosetry, and short short story.

Bear in mind, no matter how long or short, to qualify as an actual story a piece must have a beginning, middle, and end. It makes the idea of six-word fiction seem nearly impossible. However, the following story, commonly attributed to Earnest Hemingway, stretches the nanolimits of fiction:

“For Sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

The first two words form the hook, creating the question of what’s for sale, before immediately supplying the answer, ‘baby shoes.’ The action quickly moves to the conclusion, as we learn the tragic fate of the child meant to wear those shoes. In six simple words, we’re given all the ingredients for a complete narrative.

It seems unlikely that Hemingway actually wrote the above story, as its first recorded mention was in a 1996 play by John DeGroot about Hemingway’s life, entitled Papa. Nevertheless, it is one of the most remarkable examples of flash fiction we have today and neatly illustrates the power of the genre. Not only does it break down the necessary ingredients for a story to their most fundamental level, it does so with emotional resonance.

At A Story In 100 Words, we've found that what began as a daily writing exercise has helped us improve as writers, grow more precise and efficient in our use of language, and become much more popular with our friends. In fact, we could not recommend the endeavor more emphatically, whether you are an aspiring writer or just wish to find a new avenue for expressing your creativity.

But the question we are most often asked is why does it have to be exactly 100 words. Why not provide a word range, say, 75-150 words? That would certainly seem reasonable, especially if the aim is to inspire us to write a complete story every day. Who wants to be counting words and obsessing over the fact we exceeded our limit?

As it turns out, the word restriction is the most essential element of our daily writing exercise. Having an exact word limit will task your writing skills in a way a more liberal policy cannot. Economy becomes a virtue more essential than vocabulary or grammar. All other considerations are secondary, as the restriction will force you to discover the simplest means for relaying an idea, much like a city surveyor lays out roads in the most direct manner possible (except in the city of Louisville).

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the many ways short fiction can improve your writing:

Practice

The first advice for any aspiring writer is no secret: WRITE. If you want to be a carpenter, you need to practice using the tools. Astronauts don’t get into outer space until they’ve had thousands of flight hours. If your desire is to become a writer, you need to work at writing stories.

I often hear people express a desire to write but make excuses for why they don't have the time. EVERYONE has time to write a daily 100-word story. You can finish one in less than 15 minutes. Your first attempts may not be as god as you hoped, but it doesn’t take long before you see improvement.

Economy

Writers must often convey complex ideas in a concise manner. Nothing can be more useful in honing this skill than writing to a word count, especially a short one. With only 100 words in your arsenal, you can’t afford to waste any. After a few months, you'll be producing prose of which Hemingway would be proud.

Creativity

One of my biggest worries when I set out to write a daily 100-word story was that I'd repeat myself or run out of new ideas. Two years on, and I'm still surprising myself with the stories I come up with. It turns out, the more often you write, the more ideas you generate.

Even so, it helps to have some new sources of inspiration, especially as you are starting out. Here are some hints on how to keep things fresh*:

• Keep a notebook and jot down ideas.
• Look for inspiration in the books and articles you read, or the movies you watch.
• Ask people for prompts. For example, I wrote the story, "Black Market Tears" based on a prompt from a friend.
• Mix and match ideas. Think about someone you know and imagine her in an unusual situation. Take two prompts and combine them into one story.
• Try to write a story in a particular style, genre, or voice. I did an entire month of genre stories (Thriller, Western, Joyce) and found it particularly invigorating.
• Jot down ideas until something sticks.
• Don't let bad stories get you down. Not every story will be a triumph. You'll appreciate the good ones all the more when you struggle through some bad ones.

*See Appendix Two for more ideas on inspiration.

Voice

Writing a new story every day is a great way to experiment with voice. You can switch between first and third person. You can give second person a try. You can write from the perspective of all sorts of characters, people that you would never have imagined could help drive a story. 100 words don't amount to much, but it's just enough to get a tease of a character or style. Today you might try to mimic Hemingway, tomorrow Dostoevsky, and the day after Austen.

Accomplishment

Beyond all these technical points of writing, however, I have always believed the most important reason for writing a 100 word story every day is the sense of accomplishment. After just a few weeks, you can look back and find you've actually built up a body of work.

With any creative endeavor, the chief reward should be the feeling of elation that is achieved. This is true whether you are writing for an audience of millions or your immediate friends and family. Don't worry about ‘how good’ something is, just write. Every time you finish a 100-word story, rest assured that you are 100 words better as a writer.

The Failings of 100 words

For all of its benefits, the 100-word limit is not perfect. Sometimes, no matter how lean your prose, it's impossible to fit everything you have to say into a set number of words. I chip and chisel and pare down the sentences and find that what I'm left with doesn't express exactly what I intended.

"Ghost Story" is a good example. It could really use another sentence or two to get across the original idea, that Jackson is thoroughly uninterested in the ghost of his dead wife until he gets fired and realizes he can use it as an excuse. The perfect story should not be written with a word count in mind, but should use the exact number of words necessary to convey what you want to say.

There are plenty of other stories that feel incomplete. They introduce a character or a situation that is worthy of further exploration but leave the reader hanging. You should always remember the 100-word story is not the destination, but is part of the journey. Some of your stories will be perfect at 100 words, but others will be teasers for future stories of more depth. That is as it should be.

Unless you're writing for a specific publication, don't force yourself to make a 150 word story fit into 100 words. The 100-word exercise can help make you a better writer in all the ways mentioned above, but don't stick to it even when it doesn't make sense. As a writer, you set the rules, and you know when to break them.

Most importantly, stop making excuses and start writing. A word count, a daily goal, a schedule, they can all help motivate you. But don’t let them become obstacles. Always remember to write something every day, even if it’s just in your personal journal. The end goal of a writing exercise is to make you a better a writer, and nothing makes you a better writer than writing.

Time Is Running Out On My Kickstarter

It's down to nail-biting time for my Kickstarter, in support of my novel Quitting the Grave. If you are a fan of this website, please consider contributing. Even a small amount will make a huge difference.

For 5 dollars, you'll receive a copy of my collection of microfiction, Picasso Painted Dinosaurs. For 10 dollars, you'll also get a copy of Quitting The Grave.

You can also help out massively by sharing the link to my Kickstarter with your friends and family. You can read more about the project on the Kickstarter page or on Facebook, but I'll just reiterate that I've made a firm commitment to publish as an independent author, which means I need to work extra hard to find my audience. The fact that you're on this website indicates you should at least take the time to go read about the project.

Thanks a million!

Reminder: Picasso Painted Dinosaurs Now On Sale

Hey there, readers of short fiction! If you like these stories, then you'll love my collection of 100 100 word stories, entitled Picasso Painted Dinosaurs. You can purchase it from Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble and pretty much anywhere else you might want to buy an eBook.

The book sells for the low and extremely reasonable price of $2.00. It features original artwork by Seattle artist Mike Simon. It includes two essays on finding inspiration and writing flash fiction. It will make you a better person. Korean parents give it to their children because it will make them taller.*

Here are the links:

AmazoniTunesBarnes And NobleSony

*This has not been verified by science, but neither has global warming.

Picasso Painted Dinosaurs Now On Sale

Entropy Squared is happy to announce that our first collection of microfiction is now available in ALL major ebookstores. You can purchase it from Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble and pretty much anywhere else you might want to buy an eBook.

The book is called Picasso Painted Dinosaurs, and it sells for the low and extremely reasonable price of $2.00. It features original artwork by Seattle artist Mike Simon. It includes 100 100 word stories, plus two essays on finding inspiration and writing flash fiction. I can promise there's something for everyone. If you don't like it, I will make you a pancake breakfast.*

Here are the links:

AmazoniTunesBarnes And NobleSony

And as an added thank you to all of you for your support, here is a picture of Vicki from Small Wonder:

Thanks for your support.

*Pancake Breakfast is subject to you being in my kitchen. I don't make house calls. Also, this guarantee is not legally binding. Please don't sue me.

E-Book Now On Sale

Book Tango is the first e-book store to offer Picasso Painted Dinosaurs, my collection of 100 100-word stories. It includes two original essays on the art of microfiction, and more than 50% of the content is available exclusively in the e-book. The collection has been sent to all major online stores, including Amazon, iBooks, and Barnes & Noble, and should be available with them in the three to four weeks.For now, check out Book Tango, where you can purchase Picasso Painted Dinosaurs for the very reasonable price of $2.00. It is availabe in epub, pdf, and mobi formats. Your purchase of the book helps to fund the continued operation of this website.Thank you, as always, for your support. It is greatly appreciated.