Prompt #100
One Hundred!
Hey, everybody!
[Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash]
Welcome to my 100th prompt!
Wow, hard to believe I’ve posted 100 of these. In celebration, I’m harking back to a prompt from long ago—the 100 word story prompt. Have fun!
When you don’t have a lot of room for a story, something’s got to give.
In a conventional story, the usual elements include a set-up/exposition, an inciting incident, some rising action, a crisis moment, a climax, and a resolution. Though not impossible, it would be pretty hard to get all of that into one hundred words. Instead, these tiny stories often skip the exposition and just start right in somewhere in the middle—say, when the action is already rising. Additionally, a writer may choose to leave out other elements. For instance, sometimes in a very short story, the resolution is omitted altogether. Instead, it’s implied by the action of the story, or by the information provided. By writing this way—by implying certain aspects instead of putting them on the page—a reader may have to do more work than usual to parse out the story. But that’s part of the fun. (That being said, if you want to write a 100-word story that includes all the conventional elements—have at it!)
“Dark Wood,” written by Leonard Kress, definitely starts in the middle of the action: “We realize we are lost in the dark woods.” What do we learn from that one short sentence? We know immediately that there is more than one character. We know that these characters are lost. (Trouble!) And we know that they are in some dark woods. (Scary trouble!) So—in just nine words—we have at least an idea of:
1. Characters
2. Setting
3. Situation.
Already, we feel tension—will these characters find their way out of the dark woods?
My suggestion is that you start off your stories by giving us at least some hint of trouble—some indication that “this day” isn’t like every other day. By the end of the hundred words, try to indicate that some sort of change has occurred, even if it’s only very slight. A tiny pivot will often suffice. A shift. We should finish reading one of these stories and feel something inside—an emotional reaction to what we’ve just read.
My other suggestion is that you just wing it.
Write one hundred words and see what you come up with! That works, too.
Note: If you’re interested in reading more one-hundred word stories, check out the 100 word story website here. One of the site’s founders, Grant Faulkner (the other is Lynn Mundell), is the author of a wonderful book on flash fictions, The Art of Brevity: Crafting the Very Short Story, which can be found here.
Find his substack at: Intimations: A Writer’s Discourse.
TODAY’S PROMPT
Write a 100 word story. That means EXACTLY 100 words—no more and no less.
The title counts toward the 100 words!
If you need more information, read today’s post! (I know some of you just skip to the prompt.)
NOTE: I’m traveling this week and have no idea how much time I’ll have available to read your stories and make my usual comments. Apologies in advance if I’m slow to read your work. I hope all who celebrate have a lovely Thanksgiving! xoxo
Thanksgiving
Drew is not speaking to Brian.
Brian is speaking to Jack and Joanne, but not to Drew.
Margo is not speaking to Jack.
Joanne speaks to everyone.
Julia still speaks to Jack, but not easily.
Drew speaks to Margo, though he didn’t speak to her for five years.
Drew’s wife, who was once Margo’s best friend, isn’t there.
Hilda is trying to keep track of who is speaking to who.
Denise is eating her sixth donut.
Greg has to leave early for some reason.
Cousin Frank died, and everyone tries to talk about him, but no one remembers much.
Nick woke into the cold cabin.The faintest orange in the stove grate. Daylight muted behind the snow piled on the porch and still climbing toward the top sash. Lynn’s head was under her pillow. Was it possible he’d brought his bride to be up on this mountain without knowing the weather report? He liked the idea that love is blind, better than the idea that he was irresponsible. She wanted to go somewhere warm for the holiday, at least a hot tub. He convinced her wood heat and no electricity was the way to go. Yes, love is blind.