Duh-duh-duh duh, deedoodoo, deedoodoo, deedoodoo doodoo…
Ahem. Sorry about that one.
OK, this month’s topic comes to you from me. I think we all had a nice and easy warm up in June with our opening topic; we all got to see how the other Idiosyncraticans write and why, and what appeals to us in what we read.
I think it’s time for some slightly heavier weight to be piled on, if I can continue abusing the exercise metaphor for a moment. In light of that, I have cunning plan. We will have two topics this month, one based around reading and the other around writing. You can chose to do either or both if you want to. The choice is entirely yours.
The reading one is pretty straightforward, but I think quite interesting: what books do you wish had been written? Anything goes with this one – prequels that never were, alternate sequels and histories of character and so on. Take Wide Sargasso Sea or The Penelopiad as examples. Books which tell the untold sides of familiar stories are always good, but just let your mind run riot on this one. No limits!
The writing exercise needs a little explanation and some background noise before I specify what it is.
Short fiction comes in various categories, ranging from the novella, which usually runs to the tens of thousands of words, to the plain story, normally between 2000 – 10,000 words to microfiction, which often has fewer than fifty.
An interesting aspect of a lot of short fiction is the exacting nature of it: it often runs to very specific numbers. Nanofiction, for example, is a story specifically in 55 words. Who decided this? Not too sure, to be honest.
Microfiction is often classified as six words, the most famous being Hemingway’s
For sale: baby shoes, never worn.
which is just masterful and fills me with awe whenever I see it.
The most interesting variety for me is the drabble, which is a short story in exactly 100 words, not usually including the title (although Neil Gaiman cheated with Nicholas Was…). I like the format. I’m not entirely sure why, exactly; probably because it allows a certain development of character and story but within a very restricted field. It strips the story down to its bare elements. If you want to tell it, you have to be brief.
In that spirit, your writing challenge for July, to be posted on the 1st August, is to write a drabble. It can be on any subject and in any style or genre. It must tell an actual story and have at least one actual character – not be a vignette, in other words. Beyond that, you’re free to do what you want, any old time… *hums Rolling Stones*
Good luck!
Tags: challenge, drabble, fiction, idiosyncratica, reading, writing
July 15, 2008 at 4:30 pm |
I think I’ll try the drabble. Wanna guess what the subject will be?
July 15, 2008 at 5:43 pm |
I’m going for the drabble, too! I’m always in need of a little discipline, word length wise!
Incidentally, I haven’t had chance to say it, yet, but hugs to the two of you for all the flak you’ve been getting (unnecessarily, from what I’ve seen) over at you know where. I don’t know enough to comment, but it sounds like a ridiculous state of affairs. Shame on them.
July 15, 2008 at 5:50 pm |
[...] 15, 2008 A new Idiosyncratica topic has just been announced! Enquiries from those wishing to join always welcome. Posted by Gary Murning Filed in [...]
July 15, 2008 at 5:52 pm |
Cheers, Gary. That means a lot to us both.
Drabbles can be tough… Which is why I picked them as a challenge, really.
July 15, 2008 at 6:18 pm |
Yeah, Gary. That really does mean a lot to me. What they’re doing feels like a bunch of crazy-making. It has a way of making someone start to doubt her own judgment and perception of reality – ironically, one of the things abusers are notorious for doing.
So, yeah… thanks for saying so. And hugs back at ya’.
July 15, 2008 at 7:35 pm |
I have my own topic already picked out.
July 15, 2008 at 11:18 pm |
I also found some samples, which can be viewed here.
July 15, 2008 at 11:35 pm |
I can say categorically – impossible for me to do 100 words. I am a gas bag!
July 16, 2008 at 1:46 am |
Will, I thought the same thing. You’ve seen the title of my blog and my pseudonym (Lottie Rambleson) was no accident. Ha!
But I did it! I just finished it and it only took me about half an hour to get written and muck around with it until it hit exactly 100.
Anyway, ta-da.
It’ll auto-post on August 1st.
July 16, 2008 at 9:41 am |
To be frank, Lottie, I think it’s about time some of them asked themselves why they found your question so offensive. Seems to me that it’s a case of your touching a raw nerve. Like they’ve been asking themselves the same question for years and (wrongly) associating it with self-blame, you know?
It’s ridiculous, really. The very idea that acknowledging that the way in which someone reacts to a given situation decides whether it is perpetuated or not — the very idea that that is about apportioning blame defies logic.
I haven’t even started my drabble, yet! I know I’m going to find it especially difficult, though — now I have the voice recognition software! Sometimes it seems like I just have to cough, and there’s another thousand words!
July 16, 2008 at 10:59 am |
Thanks Gary. It’s refreshing and actually comforting to know that someone else “gets” what I’m saying. You obviously do; you said it perfectly. I was seriously beginning to doubt my ability to communicate.
I was a little worried about the drabble. I didn’t think I could do it. I don’t know how good it is, but it’s 100 words exactly. lol
July 16, 2008 at 11:47 am |
I plan to keep writing and writing drabbles until the publication date, because it’s been a while since I did any, and I want to get it as good as possible. I’ll keep going until I run out of ideas.
July 16, 2008 at 1:15 pm |
Yikes! Drabble. I’ve never heard of it but always up for a challenge. Btw, that’s what I said a few years ago during my writing circle’s xmas dinner where we decided to do erotica (500 wds) for laughs. Boy, did mine ever make them giggle. I’m still scarred.
July 16, 2008 at 4:24 pm |
I’ve just abandoned one that began: “He died on a Thursday, but wasn’t resurrected until the following Monday…” I loved the opening, but I just didn’t have a bloody clue where I was going to go with it, given that I only had eighty-eight words left!
July 17, 2008 at 1:47 am |
Where should I post it? Or am I being stupid?
July 17, 2008 at 8:39 am |
Ahem
Not saying a word, mate…
We all post on our individual blogs, Will, mentioning that it’s part of an Idiosyncratica topic. That way, hopefully, we’ll start to generate a flow of traffic around our blogs. More hits and, hopefully, more people finding stuff that interests them.
July 17, 2008 at 3:50 pm |
Who’d like to be the next suggester, by the way?
July 18, 2008 at 5:42 pm |
I nominate Archie! Start at the beginning of the alphabet and work our way through?
July 19, 2008 at 11:55 am |
Sounds good. If no one minds, may I have October? That’s my month.
July 22, 2008 at 1:22 am |
Yikes – a subject?
A subject, a subject, my Kingdom for a subject – - -
I’m still trying to dribble – err – drAbble!
July 22, 2008 at 4:17 pm |
Still trying to dribble, Archie? That explains the slightly soiled tissue you gave me the other day during my award acceptance speech
My drabble is all done — nah, nah, na nah, nah
Quite pleased with it, actually. For me, keeping something so short was quite an achievement. It’ll be interesting to see if it communicates the emotions I want it to, however. That’s the real test.
July 26, 2008 at 1:44 am |
Strange – life is, ennit! I want to write, I need to write yet so often I cannot write. A drabble sounds so easy yet for days I have not had a clue about a subject or if I would be able to condense any idea into 100 words. This morning I woke and I had two in my head as my brain began to think about the day ahead. These two completely different ideas were fully formed and begging to be wrote! So they were. Now you have to wait a few days before I post them.
July 26, 2008 at 2:37 am |
You might end up hooked on them. I’ve written two since Mike posted our mission, and I keep wanting to write more. Funny thing is that I didn’t think I could do it to start with. I thought I’d be relieved to have it over and done, and now I just want to do more.
Am I becoming a drabble addict? Mike didn’t mention this part of the mission. Is there a program for this kind of thing?
August 1, 2008 at 12:02 am |
[...] 1, 2008 For this month’s Idiosyncratica task, Mike set us the challenge of writing a drabble — a short story of exactly one hundred words. [...]