Category: How To Write 100WS

Many folk with peg legs and parrots have asked how do you write a 100 word story

I have waited as long as I can to address this, BUT often one writes a story to say something. YYYYYYYYYYYYUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCkkkk. How polemic! A burning desire to share some universal truth claws its way out of your brain onto the paper. We will forgive you this time, but don’t let it happen again. If you must reflect on the human condition do it with a small voice, a teen tiny voice blissfully recounting a fool errant. Say it honestly and simply. Let it lie on the ears of your reader not as a demand, but as an invitation to explore.

Many folk with spoollies in their hair have asked how do you tom write a 100 word story

One on the joys of being a writer is choosing the names of characters. My affluent characters have highfalutin names usually double stressed double syllables, for example Wainwright. All the children in my stories have names ending in y. If I’m going to bump that character off nine times out of ten his name is going to be Timmy. Sci-Fi characters have a lot of Zs and Es in their names. Babies are named after my sister. All doctors are Dan. All villains are Gary. The butt of jokes is Frank. My favorite all time character’s name is Arnesto Cervantes

Many folk with ADD have, I think I’ll have some breakfast, wow there are deer on the lawn, where did I put my keys, I’ll look for them in the fridge then asked how do you tom write a 100 word story

It might seem over obvious but 100 word stories need a strong setting. You don’t have the luxury of pages of description. You got five to ten words to imply genre, epoch, and location. Think of these few words as the equivalent of sprinters starting blocks. You need a firm grounding if you’re going to cover 100 yards in 15 seconds. Your opening can signal that the setting is merely two people talking. That the surroundings actually have little effect on the tale. My favorite setting is a greasy-spoon near closing time a young couple and an army of zombies.

Many folk with matching tie and handkerchief have asked how do you tom write a 100 word

I read somewhere there are only 32 original plotlines. I hear of a professor in New England who expanded it up to 112. The basic structure goes something like this blah vs. blah or blah meets blah, blah loses blah., blah goes on a Campbellques quest encounters blahkeepers who blahs them to blah. They conquer a real or metaphorical demon and are REWARDED and get the girl/boy, but if you want to be one of the great ones come up with a new plot convention. How about benevolent villain and a destructive hero vs unconscious capricious universe filled with zombies.

Many folk with matching socks have asked how do you tom write a 100 word

Here’s a bad idea. Show your writing to your friends. They will say glowing stuff and you will be lulled into a false sense of security. Thank goodness the indifferent masses will drop you by the roadside of the Boulevard of Broken Dreams. Here’s a good idea. Show your writing to people who hate you. They will rip everything to teeny tiny pieces. This is good. It’s how they eviscerate your work which will aid in the editing process. If it is dismissive and tainted with envy keep it. If there is even a hint of backhand praise remove that.

Many folk Whiffenpoof from here to Eternity have asked how do you tom write a 100 word

The glue that holds a good story, nay, holds an entire body of literate work is a definable narrative voice. Early in your career you should chose from just where in the mulit-spectrum of emotions your voice speaks. It doesn’t have to reflect your world view. For instance I am a happy and non-violent person, but my narrative voice is an anger pistol waving goon. He bits off sentences and spits out contempt for silly characters. He does not suffer fools lightly. My narrative voice shows no quarter takes no prisoners. Fortunately it’s flawed with a heart of gold.

Many folk with or without you have asked how do you tom write a 100 word story

I saw this ad in the newspaper looking for writers who could write in the style of Hemingway, Heller, and Joyce. I thought how hard could that be? So I sent in my resume and three examples. I got an interview on Monday. I get a call back on Thursday asking if I can start work next week. That’s my desk over there under the piles of greeting cards. I work for subsidiary of Hallmark. I write 100 word greeting cards. A Hemingway valentine, a Heller mother’s day card, a Joyce birthday card. I’m working on a Steinbeck Christmas card.

Many folk with or without you have asked how do you tom write a 100 word story

I saw this ad in the newspaper looking for writers who could write in the style of Hemingway, Heller, and Joyce. I thought how hard could that be? So I sent in my resume and three examples. I got an interview on Monday. I get a call back on Thursday asking if I can start work next week. That’s my desk over there under the piles of greeting cards. I work for subsidiary of Hallmark. I write 100 word greeting cards. A Hemingway valentine, a Heller mother’s day card, a Joyce birthday card. I’m working on a Steinbeck Christmas card.

Many folk with a song in their heart have asked how do you tom write a 100 word story

When you only have 100 word its useful to utilize cultural icon that carry with their introduction vase amount of back story. It’s sort of a reverse personification process. We offer symbols in the place of running narrative. We place symbols to capture an instance hook into a common gestalt. Descript the land as dantesque all the loathsome descriptions of hell pours out. Descript someone as a superman or being like Tarzan we are able to conger up larger than life figures. 100 word stories are littered with archetypes. The symbolic pillars of the challenge are monkeys, midgets, and zombies.

Many folk without any visible means of support have asked how do you Tom write a 100 word story

Anthropomorphizing is good. What better way to get your hero on his hero quest then a talking rock. Or sing sword, magic mirror. Even low level attributes work well. The River rises up or lowers down as needed. A hyper living world is the writes friend gets you out the damnest plot dead ends. It softens up the skeptical monkey mind so you can lay in some major improbable plot lines. Take Lord of the Rings if it hadn’t been for talking eagles you would have had one downer of a story. Come follow the white rabbit down the hole.