[Write On Wednesday] Playing With Form
Short stories are not mini-novels and they do not have to read as if they were. Part of the great fun of writing short stories is that we are free to tell a tale while breaking free from the tyranny of the three-act structure.
The Prompt
Write a story that does not follow a traditional narrative structure.
Write in diary excerpts or in list form, or as series of log entries, a Twitter conversation, word-association , stream of consciousness, whatever you can come up with.
Want to write a story as a series of letters? Do it! Want to tell the story backwards? Go for it! Feel like writing all-dialogue, or none? Fine!
Tips
Yesterday’s post about Neil Gaiman’s story “Orange” shows one intriguing way to do this
For inspiration, read Amanda Makepeace’s story “One Hour“, which was written in the form of several Twitter entries posted over the course of one hour.
Read this blog entries, which is mostly in the form of a list. Could you write a story that way? (Warning: contains painfully cute images of a baby!)
Bonus question: electronic media, with its insistence that readers be able to resize the text or display a piece on multiple devices, acts as a brake on ‘concrete’ literary forms (think: set fonts and sizes, words forming a shape on the page). Does this bother you? Do you ever think about the form of the words on the page as you write? Leave a comment below.
The Rules:
1. You should use the prompt in your story.
2. You must write the story in one 24 hr period – the faster the better.
3. Post the story in the comments — if you’re brave enough.
4. Find something nice to say about someone else’s story and leave a comment. Everybody needs a little support!
Optional Extras:
Share this challenge on Twitter or Facebook
Some tweets/updates you might use:
Don’t miss my short story playing with form #WriteOnWed #storyaday http://storyaday.org/wow-form
This week’s #WriteOnWed short story prompt is all about form #storyaday http://storyaday.org/wow-form
Come and write with us! #WriteOnWed #storyaday http://storyaday.org/wow-form
See my story – and write your own, today: Playing With Form #WriteOnWed #storyaday http://storyaday.org/wow-form
