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[Write On Wednesday] Give Us A Hint


Yesterday I wrote about “Hint Fiction”, a book of stories told in fewer than 25 words.

The Prompt

Write A Story In No More Than 25 Words

Tips

    • Remember that, in short fiction, you are collaborating with the reader. Make them supply a lot of the detail by leaving spaces for their imaginations to fill.
    • Feel free to write a longer story first and cut it down
    • Don’t expect this to be easy or quick: 25 words is almost nothing!
    • Read this review of the book Hint Fiction to see some examples of how this can be done well.
    • Choose a moment that has some ambiguity in it.
    • Make the title count.

Here’s mine:
The Moment That Altered The Course Of Her Life

Her arm, casually draped across his chest, felt a sudden, pounding footrace: his brain vainly chasing the escaping heart-words. Her pause, a lifetime. Then: yes.

Go!

32 thoughts on “[Write On Wednesday] Give Us A Hint”

  1. Your Secret is Out

    He beamed at himself in front of a mirror. Face dabbed in his mother’s make up; his sister’s dress. Until his mom enters the room.

  2. Here’s a few that I did:

    He said she lied
    She said he lied
    The blind man sat and thought
    He crossed his fingers,
    and opened his eyes

    The snow fell from the radioactive sky,
    And no one was there to see it.

    The river ran again
    giving life back to the earth.
    Its waters ran red,
    from the dry crumbling dirt.
    But the drought did not break

  3. David ran, fell, scrabbled up the rock-face, and clung desperately to the edge. Slipping repeatedly, he hauled himself over the lip and fell gasping. Safe!

    1. This was breathless! I was breathless! I loved the use of ‘fell gasping’ at the end, because it tripped me up. I wasn’t sure which way he was falling until I saw the last word. Well done!

  4. “Staci must have known we would have so much in common.” I smiled, inwardly thanking my friend and all the blind date gods.
    “Who’s Staci?”

  5. The Opening of the Labyrinth

    “I’m sure that the minotaur is dead now.” Ariadne swung the brazen door open.

    To the princess’s surprise, as her eyes adjusted, she saw…

  6. It was just a cardboard box filled with dusty novels by an author almost forgotten. But, they were his books, turning the contents into gold.

  7. She added tears to the river below; was there life beyond her despair? A sunbeam snuck through as she walked away, her daughter’s smile shining.

  8. “She looked up, nothing but sky all around her, the air shifting her hair furously. Joy in her heart. Freedom.

    Then, she hit the ground.”

  9. OK, here’s another

    Hard-Packed Hope

    Bare branches. Bare ground. Barely-there sun. A watery sky. But follow a skinny squirrel and squint. Pale chartreuse noses through dirt, bearing spring’s promise.

  10. It Comes Full Circle

    “There’s a world of difference between courting and dancing in the sheets. Don’t confuse the two with anyone else you reel in, okay?”

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