{This is a response to a prompt on Tuesday Scribes from Mike Jackson for “hint fiction (n): A story of 25 words or fewer that suggest a larger, more complex story.” Our task is to “convey a story…be entertaining…be thought-provoking, and… invoke an emotional response.” Quite a tall order, for twenty-five words! Read more about hint fiction, and its champion, Robert Smartwood, whose quotes I just butchered, at the link above. Thanks, Mike, for this prompt, and for picking out such an interesting photo on Pixabay.}
Working breathlessly, we wedge the door with stone, and wait.
Old wooden planks vibrate.
Scratching.
Splintering.
A plank seesaws open.
The great cat leaps.
Run!
I feel the tension building with each word. Nicely done, Andrea.
Thanks Susan. And I thought 100 words was hard!
A enjoyed your 25 words Andrea.
Thanks Mike! What a difficult challenge! I numbered a notebook page to 25 and put one word on each line to start. In this case I think it was easier to add on or substitute words or groups of words than to try to pare down a longer piece. It feels very skeletal to me. ☠️
Hi Andrea.
Robert Swartwood’s book ‘Hint Fiction’ has some great examples in it and many of them are less than the 25 word maximum. I keep going back to it as it’s such a great read.
Definitely sounds worth the read!