Continuing the theme of reaching to your strengths, this week.
By necessity, in a challenge like this, you will likely have been writing very short stories. (I do know some people who managed to stretch to a few thousand words on some of the days, but for the most part if youâre finishing stories during this challenge itâs probably flash fiction.) For me, thatâs fine. If you naturally trend long, todayâs your day.
The prompt
Write to your natural length
Tips
- Iâm a natural sprinter (like Gimli the dwarf). Some people are ultra marathoners, like Brandon Sanderson. Whatâs your natural length?
- Today I give you permission to write a partial story, a scene, and extracts from a longer tale. It doesnât have to feel complete, like a short story should, but it should still have something of a story arc. Use today to practice that.
- For example, if you have novel-in-progress, use today to write a scene from that novel. Because youâre continuing the longer work you donât have to explain the setting and the characters, just jump in.
- If you donât have a novel or longer project that youâre working on take a few minutes to daydream. If you were writing a novel what would it be about? Spend a few minutes imagining the setting the characters and then pick a dramatic moment in the story. Write that scene, as if youâve already written everything that comes before this point in your ânovelâ.
- Even if you are writing a novel, you can write a dramatic scene from a hypothetical-other-novel, if that sounds like fun to you)
- After having spent the best part of the month writing short stories you may find that your scenes start to come out with a stronger narrative shape than they used to.
Leave a comment telling us how your writing went today. What did you write that? I donât forget, if youâre enjoying this prompts, share them.
I finished writing a scene I’d started yesterday. Still working on getting these two back together.
https://fallonbrownwrites.wordpress.com/story-a-day-september-2016/story-a-day-september-day-27-mutual-faith/
My natural length is a tad longer, actually, but here’s my first love-fiction-chicklit-thingy… hehehe:
https://atomicindigo.wordpress.com/2016/05/27/freddie-and-juliet/
This one was a surprise. A young woman enslaved into the sex trade reflects on the experience….and her limited options.
NSFW; adult content.
https://shanjeniah.com/2016/05/31/nothing-at-all-stad-kifo-island-project-for-may-27/
Posting the first 500 words of a WIP here: https://storiesin5minutes.wordpress.com/2016/05/27/a-bullys-regret-storyaday-post/
Most of my posts are under 300 words, so went a bit longer this time, but not a whole lot. It’s close to 800 words. It’s a scene from an imaginary, hypothetical book, using characters I created for a short story I wrote years ago.
https://thethingsiyell.wordpress.com/2016/05/28/forks/
I read the headline of the prompt and thought of a short piece before even reading the rest of the prompt. đ
I finished the short piece, about 330 words. It’s about a dog walker. And it’s short but complete. ANd it’s actually kinda cute.
BUT….before this month is out, I WILL be using this grand permission prompt to write aa piece of a story or a scene from one of my novel drafts. You bet your bippee.
It’s great to come up with something short but sweet like that!
Feels a bit like a cop-out because I do this every day, really: https://only100words.xyz/2016/05/27/what-else-would-they-do-anyway/
Apologies in advance for the length. I choose to do a scene from my work in progress, Dreamweaver. https://angietrafford.wordpress.com/2016/05/27/story-a-day-day-twenty-seven/
This was fun.
I think of myself as writing mostly flash fiction, but when I gave myself permission to write just one scene of a longer story, I found myself spreading out a bit more and having more space.
I can’t seem to plan my writing at all at the moment and I don’t know what I’m going to write until after it’s starting spilling onto the page. Today was part of a children’s story about a group of kids who find a hole in an earth bank in the woods. I’m not quite sure where it might go, but I’m beginning to get a couple of characters who look interesting.
sounds like you’re a pantser like me, Fairyhedgehog. And that you’re having a good time. đ
If I write something longer I need to at least look ahead a bit but yes, pantsing for the win!