I have been a very bad hedgehog. I entered a blog competition and I forgot to post about it here so you could all join in. It was over at Free the Princess and we were invited to write a story in ten words or less.
If you like flash fiction then you might want to pop across and have a look. All the entries are in the comments on this post and the results are here.
What makes it embarrassing is that I was one of the two winners. Matthew Delman, the blog owner, generously offered any book of the winners' choosing as a prize. If only I'd posted earlier.
It took me nearly a week to come up with my eight-word entry. At that rate, an eighty thousand word novel would take over 200 years. Maybe I'm not cut out for novel writing.
18 COMMENTS:
I think it's often harder to come up with a story that short than it is to write longer pieces. It took me several tries to get a decent entry for Stuart Neville's twitter competition.
Oh, Fairy, that was so eerie. And so realistic.
I've always said you say a lot with few words.
Very good. That's a book I'd buy. Hope you get it published. [smiles]
Stacy, not just a decent entry but a successful one too!
Bevie, as long as you're around in 2210 when it comes out.
Bet the T Shirt comes out before the book.
Good plan, Whirl.
That would make a great T Shirt!
Wait a minute. Didn't you already write a novel?
Bevie, I'm sure there are places where I could get one made up.
Stacy, not exactly. My Nano "novel" is a 50,000 word novelette. That's not long enough for a real novel, even if it was coherent.
Congratulations on your win :D Those flash fiction piece are a lot more difficult than most people imagine.
maybe genius, thank you!
Congrats on the win. Terrific entry.
Will you be writing a sequel? Have you sold the movie rights yet?
Thanks, pjd. I'm expecting a call from 20th Century Fox any moment now.
Congratulations! Isn't it funny how easy it looks after the fact? Just eight little words...
I was actually just thinking the same thing about my writing rate. I entered both the Nathan Bransford contest and the Clarity of Night contest this week. I could easily have spent a month on each, and both entries put together were only 400 words. I had to limit myself to one hour for Bransford, but I cogitated for a month on the Clarity entry and then spent at least eight hours writing and revising it over several days. I had to make myself stop there because frankly, I have stuff to do this weekend.
Without a deadline, I don't know how I'll ever finish the novel revisions. 8 hours for 250 words? That works out to 360 8-hour days for a 90,000-word novel. And that's just the second draft!
Loved your novel. Very poignant.
Shorter is much harder if you ask me.
So naughty! And yet so good! Congratulations!
Now come over here so I can de-spike you, one spine at a time, you naughty hedgehog.
Kate, thank you. You're managing a faster pace than I am. At least you can manage a novel in a year, not in 200 years!
Sarah, thank you. I actually find shorter easier than long. I like distilling stories down but I'm no good at filling them out.
McK, ouch! That's the last time I confess to anything when you're in hearing distance.
Oh, and thank you!
CONGRATS, FH!!!
Robin, Thanks!
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