Over at the
Silk and Shadows site today, Jessa Slade challenged readers to write a story in 140 characters--the maximum length of a Twitter tweet. She suggested that it was possible to present character, plot, conflict, and resolution in that short a space.
Would you agree?
I found the notion really intriguing. And unfortunately, very distracting.

I should have been focused on my book; instead I found myself enamored with fragments and snippets that might constitute a very, very short story. I came up with a couple of quick ideas, then fearful I wasn't 'getting' the genre, I put them aside to stew.
I still don't know if my examples are any good--but I came away convinced that 140 characters was plenty of space to work with.
Here's the story I posted over at S&S:
It no longer fit. Megan slowly hung up the $500 silk dress she’d worn to every fancy party since high school. Then she grinned.
What do you think? Did I tell a story?
It no longer fit. Well, there's the conflict.
Megan slowly hung up the $500 silk dress she’d worn to every fancy party since high school. Here you learn several things:
1) The character is a woman named Megan.
2) At some point in the past she spent $500 on a silk dress.
3) Either the money didn't last or she really, really loved the dress. She's worn it to every fancy party since high school.
4) Extrapolating from the previous info, we can safely guess that the current lack of fit is significant.
Then she grinned. Conflict resolved! She lost weight, not gained it--and that clearly makes her happy. We also learn she's been heavy since high school and the lost weight is a big deal. Certainly, in her mind, worth a $500 silk dress.
It may not be poetic or full of subtlety, but it's definitely a story. And I had a blast writing it.
Just for fun, here are the other two stories I came up with:
The pink pumps were perfect. Just her size. Jen counted her money again, then put the shoes back on the Goodwill shelf. Maybe next time.
Three. That's how many times he'd hugged her yesterday. He stared at the empty hospital bed. Not enough.
Like? Don't like?
by
Annette at 12:25 PM •
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