From the (Ficlets) Vault: A Godawful Small Affair

Does anyone remember Ficlets? It was a really fun collaborative writing site that allowed us to write stories no longer than 1024 characters, and anyone could write prequels or sequels to it.

I loved Ficlets, and it played a significant part in my growth and development as a writer, because the limitations it imposed on us, as well as the short format, made it fairly risk-free for someone like me who was just figuring out what his writing voice sounded like (and how to use it).

Some of the Ficlets I wrote are pretty good, and others aren’t, but they’re all things I made where something wasn’t before. This one, which was inspired by listening to The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars on repeat a lot, is one of the better ones I did:

A Godawful Small Affair

by Wil Wheaton

originally published at 01:55PM on Wednesday, January 30, 2008

“I want to move to Mars, and open up a bar,” Gregor said.

Matti inhaled deeply, and let a cloud of pale blue smoke surround his head.

“What would you call it?” Matti said.

“Moonage Daydream.” Gregor said.

They sat together on a crumbling balcony, exposed rebar and radioactive dust, and waited for the rocket, three miles distant, to launch.

“What’s it mean?” Matti said. He flicked the butt of his cigarette over the edge, and watched it fall out of sight.

“It’s the title of an old song,” Gregor looked past the rocket, to a horizon he knew he’d never cross, “from about a hundred years ago.”

“Nobody’s going to get it. Why would you pick something that old?”

“Because back then,” Gregor said, “people had hope.”

The ground shook, and they watched the rocket climb into the sky.

If you follow that link, above, you can find some stories other folks wrote when they were inspired by this one as a starting point. Hell, if you want, you can write a prequel or sequel and post it in a comment here, just keep it to 1024 characters or less, because that’s the rule.