Students frequently complain about the high wordcount associated with writing in their classes. Particularly in English some find it a challenge to come up with enough words to satisfy a given requirement when writing creatively or academically. Thus, for your next post in creative writing I would like to turn the premise around and limit the number of words you may use to 100. As I would like you to create a drabble, the wordcount is neither arbitrary nor negotiable – your text has to have 100 words exactly (In our case the title may or may not count). So there shouldn’t be reason for complaints this time.

How to – drabble:

a drabble is a [fictional] text and can be considered one of the very short forms of writing. Although it is short by nature, it still consists of a beginning, a middle and an end. The beginning is used to set up the story, it then progresses in the middle and comes to a conclusion in the end. A drabble can be about anything and they often have a twist/surprise at the end. For our class, however, I want you to write a drabble that is true –  something that actually happened.

Start by gathering ideas and writing a first draft. Usually this draft will be too long, so a phase of editing will follow. You should cut the non-essential parts without severely damaging the core message of your narration. Finally publish your text and do not forget to comment by October 23rd. I gave it a try and posted one truthful example underneath. A second text is provided to show you how the professionals do it:

Selective Fire Hazard!?
By Forestdweller

In 2006 I went to the Nova Rock with friends. Lacking festival experience – we mostly improvised.

One item deemed essential was a makeshift grill – a gas cartridge and an A4 sized grillage. Many times we tried to smuggle the forbidden elements inside: hidden in a backpack, inside the sleeping bag, underneath our jackets… in vain – the guards always stopped us. Finally we staged a fight – Alex and I passionately yelled at each other, while Sam squeezed through with the contraband…Soon our lukewarm goulash tasted like victory!

An hour later we found an official stall that sold camping grills.

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TIMELESS
By Michelle Brueger

I’ve always been a daddy’s girl. On road trips, we competed over who sported the most hawks first. Our favorite competition was, upon seeing each other, who could say the words “I love you best” first. If I got him first, Dad would reply, “I’ll get you—just wait.”

My dad died the night before my 50th birthday. The next day, Mom brought me a gift, saying, “This is from your dad. He bought it for you five years ago.” Inside was a beautiful gold pocket watch. Engraved on the inside were the words I love you best—Gotcha.

Think of the picture you drew and use whatever you have come up with during the free association in class to create a text or part of a text. This text should be around 200 words long and contain three vocabulary items (put in bold) which are new for you and seem of value for the future of your writing. Except for these two criteria, anything goes – write an interior monologue, a speech, a letter, a dialogue, a poem, an adventure, a death scene….
Your text only has to have a minor connection to the picture, so do not feel limited by what you have been dealt.

Do not forget to provide a suitable title and please let your readers know what kind of picture you got at the very end of your post.
Once finished, please check your blog buddies’ posts and comment on them. Follow the commenting guidelines and do not merely congratulate them.
If necessary correct and revise your text according to your readers’ suggestions and put a second version in your original post.

Your text has to be published by Saturday the 15th. Please tag it as “creative writing”.