The Short and Long of It

Chapter 1: 55 Fiction

How short can a story be and still be considered a story?

Steve Moss, editor and co-publisher of New Times in San Luis Obispo, posed this question in his introduction to The World’s Shortest Stories, and it wasn’t long before these very short pieces of 55 words became a local, national, and international phenomenon. Each year New Times holds a 55 Fiction contest. I fell in love with the genre and over the years I’ve been fortunate to have several of my 55ers featured among the winners. For a fiction writer these very tiny pieces can be a huge challenge, but I guarantee you’ll have tons of fun creating them, and in the process learn to shape and hone your writing skills for much longer work. Did anyone say warm-up exercises?

Let’s take a look at some excellent examples of 55 Fiction.

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She closed the history book and sighed. “That General Custer. He should never have left the safety of the Dakota territory.”

He was in too much of a hurry to listen. He picked up his guitar and headed for the door. “Bloody hell, Yoko. Let’s go. We’re going to be late.” (51 words)

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Did you have almost a visceral reaction to reading this piece? I sure did. Like most horrendous events in history—the assassinations of JFK, Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy—we remember where we were, often even what we were doing at the time. John Lennon’s assassination is no exception. My partner, Bob, now my husband, and I were sitting in our living room reading the evening paper when our next door neighbor burst in with the news.

Mr. Congalton’s 55er has a sense of reality, immediacy, terror, and surprise; it’s economical in its brevity, but it has depth and great power and the satisfying feel of a full story. Not bad for just fifty-one words, eh? (Yep, pieces less than fifty-five words are allowed in the contest.)

* * * *

When they met, her hair was wild, her name was Peace.

His hair was long, his name was Sam. He played guitar for her.

Sam traded his guitar for golf clubs. She’s long since cut her hair.

He calls her Judy. But sometimes, under a full moon’s light, he sees Peace and kisses her anew. (55 words)

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In The More Things Change, Ms. Ahern does a beautiful job of charting the trajectory of a relationship: how two people meet, change with the years, and come full circle at the end. She lets the reader fill in the blanks. One of the most striking aspects of this piece is its three-part structure. Can you identify and separate Ms. Ahern’s story into those divisions? The nostalgic afterglow is a wonderful bonus. How can anyone not love it?

* * * *

“Old Grapplemeyer died broke. The reading of this will is over.”

“That old fraud,” sobbed Lydia, Grapplemeyer’s mistress of thirty years. “I’ve wasted my life.”

“You?” shouted David. “I was his secretary, valet, and more!”

“I was only the cook, but I’ll miss dear Mr. Grapplemeyer,” said Rosemary, fingering a huge diamond ring. (53 words)

* * * *

Can you see Ms. Powell winking at you as you read the last line of this humorous piece? It’s short—clocks in at 53 words—sweet, and reads like a dream. Talk about curling up at the end. No reading between the lines here. It’s all there and beautifully written.

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