Taking Things To The Extreme September 24, 2006
Posted by fredcharles in Writing.trackback
I’ve always been into extremes, it’s just my personality. I was in the mood to write the other day and I had an idea sparked by a comment left by a user at Flashes Speculation. I wanted to write a horror story using minimal words. I ended up writing a two sentence story. The bloggers who run Flashes of Speculation were kind enough to post my super short story. Check it out and let me know what you think. I’m curious to know if you think this even qualifies as a story. One thing I guaruntee; it will take you less than 15 seconds to read.
Read it here:
While you’re there, check out some of the other quality stories posted at these sites.
Dude, that first one especially has a nice ring, particularly after seeing The Black Dahlia last night!
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i want to see the black dahlia. maybe i’ll catch it today.
as for your story, the second you read it, it becomes a story. so its what a reader makes of it that makes it a story. here is my first thought….
symbolicaly speaking, you have guilt over her demise. her blood is on your hands, not in the literal sense, but in the sense that you blame yourself for what happened to her.
I’m reluctant to call two sentences a story, and yet, when I read it, my brain surmised a story. That’s amazing.
Very thought provoking Fred.
Thanks to all of you for your feedback! I appreciate it.
Fred, brilliant !
I’m not a person of extremes, but I love minimalism and this is minimalist at its best.
Plus, for such a short story, the comments you got are ten time its size
I like it! The horror of unrelenting regret…of nothing ever to ease its pain. Just to mention it is enough!
Nice! Not a story, but one hell of a start. Economy of words … priceless.
– david
David: I was waiting for someone to step forward and tell me that it wasn’t a story. Now please explain to my why not.
i liked it ;P
Fred: IMO, a story, to be a story, should have … well, a plot. Even the most minimalist stories I’ve read have SOME development. This is a statment. A snapshot–an intriguing one, to be sure, but just that.
Your sentences do have two characters. But we don’t have any movement, any development. That’s what makes a story. This is more of a prompt. (And a better one than 90% of prompts I’ve seen).
I’d love to see a short story using this first line!
– david