Shorter stories, longer obsession…
I absolutely adored short stories as a teenager; my favourites (by far) were the ones that caught you with a dark twist at the end, or perhaps the ones that created an oppressive feeling of impending doom right from the start… or maybe the tales with a compelling hook right at the beginning that would not let you go. Suffice to say: short stories always have been and always will be a guilty reading pleasure of mine.
Some of the best authors of this genre, in my humble opinion, include Guy de Maupassant, Edgar Alan Poe, Stephen King, and the king of them all: Roald Dahl. I spent hours reading Dahl’s collected short stories, and to this day consider it the best I have ever read.
A special mention should go to a (relatively) recent discovery of mine: Jonathan L. Howard’s Johannes Cabal, the Necromancer. Though he does have a few novels about his exploits, his best adventures are conveyed in short, bitesize texts to tempter the zing of dry wit they contain.
Novellas, though not necessarily that short, have also provided both wisdom and wonderful entertainment, their pages absolutely laden with literary elements and every phrase overflowing with deeper meaning.
I’ve always loved the fact that a truly masterful novella requires multiple re-reads to truly fathom its complexity and value. ‘Animal Farm’, ‘Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, and ‘A Christmas Carol’ all come to mind as well-known classics (for good reason), although my personal favourite has to be Kafka’s absurdly engaging ‘Metamorphosis’.
I have also recently discovered flash fiction (and its subgenres), a genre I had been vaguely aware of on the periphery of my reading scope, but had never truly indulged in it. What a revelation! Naturally, I was overcome by the well-known six-word story about baby shoes attributed to Ernest Hemingway (although his writing it is considered unlikely), and by a stroke of pure luck, I stumbled across 50-word stories…
Now, it’s worth noting that flash fiction (stories of fewer than 1500 words) can be further whittled down into sudden fiction (750 words or fewer), microfiction (100 words or fewer), dribbles or mini-sagas (50 words or fewer), and lastly six-word stories (confusingly, 10 words or fewer).
I thought it might be a fun project to share some of my 50-word stories here, but would also recommend you go and have a look at the 50-Word Stories website – the authors they platform are amazingly talented. What makes their requirements extra tricky (and therefore fun to try and meet) is that you have to use exactly 50 words – no fewer, and no more. I have tried to stick to this as closely as possible. Below are numbered pages of my 50-word stories for you to enjoy 🙂
K.I.S.