First, let me tell you about a call for submissions (courtesy of my friendplattcave). Tentatively scheduled for the fall of 2010, W.W. Norton will publish an anthology of 25-word Hint Fiction.
“What is Hint Fiction?” I hear you ask.
Robert Swartwood explains it here.
If it’s accepted for the anthology, payment is $25 for the World and Audio rights to your story.
That’s $1 per word, people. Even if it is a one-time only deal.
You can submit more than one entry – see the submission guidelines for details.
Now, some may consider this a silly notion. If you choose to spread the word about this anthology, you may hear things like, “I’m a ‘real’ writer. ‘Real’ writers tell ‘real’ stories. They don't waste their time on this sort of nonsense.”
Should this happen, I recommend you just smile and recite the following:
For sale: baby shoes, never worn.
Credited to a certain Mr. E. Hemingway (though there are those who consider it more legend than fact), it’s a perfect example of Hint Fiction, and it’s only six words. You get a whole twenty-five, and a title to boot.
As far as I’m concerned, if that Hemingway bloke can do it, I don’t see why the rest of us shouldn’t have a bash.
[edited extra]
Wouldn't it be cool if a whole bunch of us got in the anthology?
How about you? Do you plan to pitch?
Is Hint fiction ‘real’ writing, or a waste of creative energy?
How many words does a story need?
- Current Mood:
busy
Comments
As a reader... Well, let's just say that the only people in the universe who care about that Hemingway story are writers and potential writers of micro-fiction (the same can be said for the shortest story ever, Clarke's "Report Card on Planet Earth").
"How man words does a story need?"
I don't know but growing up I remember this phrase (actually it may have been the beginning of a song) but to me it was a story because I could clearly picture what came before and after it. -- "Hold my coat. Gimme a rock. I'm from Jacket River."
Thanks for sharing :)
As for 'particularly shiny', are you a fellow browncoat perchance?
I thought I'd managed another on this morning, an abstract pice called 'Shopping list', then I realized it had been done before -though I had eggs and bacon in mine. :)