MICRO
FICTION
Writing
100-Word Stories
(Drabbles)
For
Magazines and Contests
A
Self Study Tutorial
(Excerpt
Only)
Michael
A. Kechula
BooksForABuck.com
2014
Copyright 2014 by Michael A. Kechula, all rights reserved. No portion of this work may be duplicated, transmitted, or stored in any form without the express written permission of the publisher.
Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or
distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright
infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by
the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of
$250,000.
BooksForABuck.com
2014
Getting published and winning contests are based on a number of unpredictable factors which are out of the author’s and publisher’s control and are associated with the vagaries of the publishing industry. The author and publisher can’t guarantee that readers of this book will ever get a drabble published, or win a drabble-writing contest even after learning and applying all the techniques in this book. Further, because of individual learning differences, the author and publisher can’t guarantee that readers will be able to comprehend and implement everything contained in this book.
This book is dedicated to my life-long guide and illuminator, THG, and to the late Dr. B. F. Skinner, Psychologist and Harvard Professor. Dr. Skinner’s extraordinary book, “The Technology of Teaching,” profoundly changed the author’s life.
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1: Drabble
Basics
Definition of Drabble
Characteristics
of Literary Drabbles
Characteristics of
Genre Drabbles
Characteristics of
Anecdotal Drabbles
CHAPTER 2: Drabble Development Process
Step 1: Decide
What to Write
Step 2: Use
Minimalist Approach
Step 3: Create First
Draft
Step 4: Count
Words
Step 5: Read
Drabble
Step 6: Edit
Drabble
Step 7: Repeat
Steps 4 through 6
Step 8: Check
Spelling
Step 9: Count
Words in Final Draft
CHAPTER 3: Before You Begin
Be a Storyteller
Tell, Not Show
Make Stories
Plot-Driven
Avoid Mundane
Plots
Write Clear
Sentences
Include Dialogue
CHAPTER 4: Minimalist Openers
Hooks
Quick Setup
Changing the
Subject
Weather Reports
Trivial Details
Cryptic Sentences
Inflated Prose
CHAPTER 5: Minimalist Characters
Last Name
Complicated Names
Repetition of
Titles
Clothing
Facial Expressions
Watching,
Glancing, Glaring
Turning
Body Movements
Sighs
Smiles
Nods
Head Shakes
Shrugs
Cookbook
Procedures
Impossible
Mannerisms
Pauses
Entrances and
Exits
Flashbacks
CHAPTER 6: Developing Minimalist Dialogue
Concise Dialogue
Contractions
Substandard
English
Unclear Dialogue
Action Tags
Repetition
Interruptions
Slang
Foreign Words
Regional
Dialects
Idiomatic
Expressions
Said Bookisms
Speaking
Descriptions
CHAPTER 7: Developing
Minimalist Narrative – Part 1
Inflated Prose
Trivial Details
Ornate Prose
Similes
Repetition
Facts of Existence
What Isn’t
“And”
“The and That”
Numbers
CHAPTER 8: Developing
Minimalist Narrative – Part 2
“Beginning To”
Logic Errors
Transitions
Telling Then
Correcting
Passive to Active
“There” or “It”
Character Motives
Cryptic Sentences
Obscure Words
CHAPTER 9: Anatomy of
a Prize Winning Drabble
Contest Guidelines
What We Developed
The Drabble that Won
Questions on Structure and Content
Minimalist Techniques in the Story
Scenes and Events
Twist
Word Economy Exercise
Answers for Word Economy Exercise
Books by Michael A. Kechula
Are you eager to get published in magazines as quickly and often as possible? One way to do that is to learn how to write 100-word micro-fiction stories called drabbles. There’s a continuing demand for them by editors of online and print magazines. Besides that, writing contests that specialize in drabbles are held regularly. Why not exploit the demand by developing and submitting some drabbles?
Perhaps you’ve never
tried to write such tiny tales, and don’t know how to craft them. One way to
learn is to review all the topics in this book and complete all the exercises.
Here are some things
to know about this book:
Chapters and topics vary in size, depending on their level of complexity.
We suggest you repeat any topic any number of times until you feel you’ve
mastered the contents.
As you proceed through the chapters, we’ll present some information,
show examples, then ask questions about what you just
read. All questions begin with Q
followed by a number. If you have the eBook version, have a pencil and plenty
of paper available to answer the questions. If you have the paperback version,
write your answers in this book.
Answers for all questions within each chapter are available at the end
of the chapter. Answers for the Word Reduction Exercise are at the end of that
exercise.
Most questions are drill-and-practice exercises to reinforce what you
just learned. They allow you to monitor your progress in absorbing the
tutorials and putting them into practice. The ultimate goal is to prepare you
to develop drabbles that will attract the attention of magazine and contest
editors.
If you’re ready to learn how to write drabbles the minimalist way, let’s
get started…
This chapter covers the following topics:
A drabble is a complete story that’s told in
exactly 100 words, not counting the title. A drabble is the only form of fictional
story-telling prose that has such an exact, rigid, and enforced word
requirement.
Q1: What is the allowable word count for a drabble? _____
Q2: A story containing exactly 100-words is
called a ______________.
Some authors erroneously think the word drabble
is just a new name for a vignette. However, three notable differences distinguish
drabbles from vignettes:
Q3: Name one of the differences between drabbles
and vignettes.
Magazines and contest editors seek 2 kinds of
drabbles:
·
Literary
·
Genre
Let’s take a look at the characteristics of literary
drabbles…
Literary drabbles tend to be lyrical, focus
on characters and have little or no plots.
Q4: Literary drabbles
focus on characters, don’t have extensive plots, and tend to be ____________.
Q5: Literary drabbles tend to focus
on__________________.
Here’s an example of the opening sentence for
a literary drabble:
I always thought
naming girls after flowers was antiquated and ridiculous, but as I lay here,
watching her sleep, I stroke the alabaster skin of her shoulder and think that
perhaps this once, the comparison is appropriate.
Notice how this 37-word sentence focuses exclusively on a character. The remaining 63 words showed even more about the character, and didn’t include a plot.
Although a number of magazines seek only
literary drabbles, this book doesn’t discuss how to develop them. The focus here
is on genre drabbles, because they are in far greater demand by contest and
magazine editors, world-wide.
Now that we’ve discussed some characteristics
of literary drabbles, let’s move on to genre drabbles…
Genre drabbles are considered the opposite of literary drabbles, because they don’t focus on characters. Instead, they focus on events, plus they have developed plots.
Q6: Genre drabbles have plots and focus on
_______________.
By events,
we mean the noteworthy things that happen in a story. For example, if you’re
telling about a man who’s on his way to a bank to rob it, you’ll probably focus
on what happens when he arrives. You wouldn’t expend words describing his
motivations, what he wore, and the color of his hair. Instead, you’d establish
the fact that someone wanted to rob a bank, tell what happened when he arrived at
the bank, and if he succeeded or not.
Most stories published today are works of
genre fiction. Here’s a partial list of genre names:
This list isn’t complete, but it’s large
enough to help you understand how genre fiction stories are classified. To
learn more about fiction genres, search Google with these keywords: fiction
genres.
We hope you enjoyed this excerpt from MICRO FICTION by Michael A. Kechula. You may purchase the entire guide, in multiple eBook formats, by clicking the Buy Now button below. MICRO FICTION is $9.99.