HERstory

in my place, in my place

Today's 55:

She couldn’t sleep.  Too much to think about, to process.  Everything was familiar, yet subtly different.  It was one of those rare, yet inevitable moments when you realize that life is different now, that a door has been closed and that from this moment forth, nothing will ever be as it was.

She smiled. 

Good.

shimmer marked two spots on the floor

After an unexpected hiatus, 55-word Fiction Fridays returns to HERstory:

Decayed Urban shimmer marked everyone she touched. Patron’s effect was powerfully unmistakable; she closed her eyes to regain control. Excusing herself, she walked briskly to sanctuary. Gratefully, she noticed the tiles were clean for her knees. As she leaned over, a light in her purse flashed like a heartbeat. Ten missed calls, one legendary night.

Better, more at Sepia Mutiny.

this song is twice ocurred and now it's time to go away

Today is Friday and that means that at some point in the next 21 hours, I'm going to write 55 words which contain an entire story.  I'm not that big on memes but this one ("55 Fiction Fridays") is precious to me, because it reminds me of writing exercises and workshops and english minor-y goodness.

Flash fiction, also called sudden fiction, micro fiction, postcard fiction or short-short fiction, is a class of short story of limited word length. Definitions differ but is generally accepted that flash fiction stories are at most 200 to 1000 words in length. Ernest Hemingway wrote a six-word flash: "For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn." Traditional short stories are 2,000 to 10,000 words in length.[wiki]

That Hemingway example is ridiculously inspiring.  One day I want to write a short that short.  I don't even know if there is a name for a short so short.  There is, however, a name for the type of writing this meme encourages:

One type of flash fiction is the short story with an exact word count. An example is 55 Fiction or Nanofiction. These are complete stories, with at least one character and a discernible plot, exactly 55 words long.[wiki]

:+:

Today's 55:

She was transfixed by what loomed in front of her…two roads diverged, one north, one west, two possibilities, one choice.  Dharma, history and the sure thing to her left, but her heart’s desire, her true love, lay the other way. 

Am I too old to be selfish, she thought?  Is it too late for me?