This month I’m pushing us to write short stories in odd forms, lists, conversations, letters, all kinds of things.

Short stories can be told in narrative form, like mini-novels, but they don’t have to be. Part of the fun of being a short story writer is the ability to twist people’s brains, surprise them, make the familiar unfamiliar. You can do that with your images, but you can also do it with a story’s form.

The Prompt

Write A Story In The Form Of A List

Tips

• You could write
  • a ‘to do’ list,
  • a list of grievances addressed to your character’s boss/children/spouse;
  • a shopping list;
  • a McSweeney’s style list;
  • a list of steps you are advising someone to take,
  • any other type of list you like.
• The title is hugely important. You might need to write it last. It should perhaps have a double meaning: it might mean one thing to the reader before they read the story and yet peel away a layer once the story is in their brains.
• Don’t be afraid to let the reader work. Leave things out. Imply much, explain little.
• Don’t feel the need to wrap this up neatly. Jennifer Egan doesn’t.
• The twist in this kind of tale comes because the form betrays the meaning: a list is a utilitarian, ephemeral thing, but the content tells the reader there’s more going on in the list-writer’s life…

Go!