I agree. I discovered microfiction and started writing 50-word stories thanks to The Friday Fix. After Justin shut it down, JA Taylor and Bill Adler created a new microfiction community on Medium called Centina Pentina. I started writing there. I tried my hand at 100-word stories also and really enjoyed the extra space to flesh things out. Sometimes I just couldn't cut an idea down to 50 words without ruining it, but 100 words worked.
I also like their terms for 50 and 100-word stories, Pentina and Centina, better than Dribble and Drabble. Who wants to write a dribble (which sounds suspiciously close to drivel)? Babies and basketball players dribble, not writers. 🤣
Sometimes my stories end up at 100 words as well. I still like the terms dribble and drabble. They make me think of a brook and a small stream, which I think is quite evocative for what they're describing. I find Pentina and Centina sound sterile to my ear. And these are things that make us different as writers, we each have our own vision and interpretations of what we encounter. 😊
So true. I thought Pentina and Centina sounded too Latin at first, but they have grown on me. Dribble and Drabble sound half-hearted or unintelligent to me: "This is just something I dribbled off today." "What is that drabble?" I don't know why we need so many labels for our stories anyway. Microfiction is just fine, and pretty well describes what it is. But, you know, writers...
Although I don't use the terms Pentina or Centina myself. I have to include them as tags on the publication, but I would never say or write, "I just wrote a Pentina" or "I wrote a Dribble." But, I'm weird. 😉
Yes, I found micro fiction due to Justin’s challenge as well and I love it too, that and limericks are my newest loves. There’s a place on Medium for those too, but who got me really honing that skill was another blogger named Esther Chilton, we do one every week on Mondays I believe.
You just put words on my feeling toward short fiction, Dascha. I write and publish short stories (2-3K words), but one of my secret passions - after finding a great community on Medium - is writing flash and micros. And I love reading yours :) Great article, and story!
Reading microfiction is like watching a beautiful, red sunset over the ocean. It doesn't last long, but it makes you feel so good.
Beautifully said, Bill!
Thanks for the encouragement. I might try my hand ...
You should! 😊
I agree. I discovered microfiction and started writing 50-word stories thanks to The Friday Fix. After Justin shut it down, JA Taylor and Bill Adler created a new microfiction community on Medium called Centina Pentina. I started writing there. I tried my hand at 100-word stories also and really enjoyed the extra space to flesh things out. Sometimes I just couldn't cut an idea down to 50 words without ruining it, but 100 words worked.
I also like their terms for 50 and 100-word stories, Pentina and Centina, better than Dribble and Drabble. Who wants to write a dribble (which sounds suspiciously close to drivel)? Babies and basketball players dribble, not writers. 🤣
Sometimes my stories end up at 100 words as well. I still like the terms dribble and drabble. They make me think of a brook and a small stream, which I think is quite evocative for what they're describing. I find Pentina and Centina sound sterile to my ear. And these are things that make us different as writers, we each have our own vision and interpretations of what we encounter. 😊
So true. I thought Pentina and Centina sounded too Latin at first, but they have grown on me. Dribble and Drabble sound half-hearted or unintelligent to me: "This is just something I dribbled off today." "What is that drabble?" I don't know why we need so many labels for our stories anyway. Microfiction is just fine, and pretty well describes what it is. But, you know, writers...
We like words, Mark...ALL the words, and when there aren't enough words, we make more up. 😉
Although I don't use the terms Pentina or Centina myself. I have to include them as tags on the publication, but I would never say or write, "I just wrote a Pentina" or "I wrote a Dribble." But, I'm weird. 😉
Yes, I found micro fiction due to Justin’s challenge as well and I love it too, that and limericks are my newest loves. There’s a place on Medium for those too, but who got me really honing that skill was another blogger named Esther Chilton, we do one every week on Mondays I believe.
That's interesting. I've never tried my hand at limericks.
You just put words on my feeling toward short fiction, Dascha. I write and publish short stories (2-3K words), but one of my secret passions - after finding a great community on Medium - is writing flash and micros. And I love reading yours :) Great article, and story!
Thank you so much! This is one of my greatest writing pleasures. Knowing readers enjoy my stories is the delicious icing on the cake!