Can you tell a story in exactly 100 words?
Answering that question gave birth to drabbles. I first learned about this form of fiction only a couple years ago. Previously, I associated the word Drabble with an obscure comic strip I usually skipped over while reading the Sunday newspaper.
I recently started experimenting with writing these types of stories. To be honest, I probably wouldn't have ever written a drabble if I weren't afflicted with tendonitis. Before suffering my current wrist injury, I focused my creative energies on writing novels, novellas, and traditional short stories. Occasionally, I’ve dipped my toes into crafting flash fiction.
Creating a drabble is a whole new animal.
Drabbles, by nature, challenge an author to tell a complete story in a tight space. Writing a drabble balances expressing fully formed ideas with brevity. It is similar in spirit to using a single photograph to tell a detailed story. If Ernest Hemingway still walked the Earth in 2023, he'd probably write drabbles by the dozens.
Now that I’ve had a chance to write some drabbles, I’ll share a couple with you all.
Abandoned Star (Drabble no. 1):
Visons of a dying world haunted my dreams. I never imagined I’d be awake to witness the end.
Crimson bands stretched unbroken from peak to peak across a cloudless sky. Reddish rays bathed a broken street flanked by crumbling homes. Grass and trees fled from an expanding sun. Cracked soil and jagged stones lingered as remnants of a better past.
I sent out a distress signal and crash coordinates in my last transmission. Three days later and still no rescue ship on the sensors. Water and oxygen reserves have grown scarce.
Dismissed as lost in space. A grim fate awaits.
Vanishing Act (Drabble no. 2):
"We haven't seen her in a month,” the receptionist said. “We assumed she quit without notice."
Clint tossed a crumpled brown paper bag holding Jenny's lunch into a wastebasket. He marched up to the glass door and smashed his palm against the handle.
How well did he know his wife? Clint realized their conversations never strayed beyond chit chat. Seemingly trivial details now assumed greater importance.
Jenny's skin had grown paler in recent days. Her melodic voice turned dull and flat. Her sparkling eyes dimmed.
A shudder rippled through his body.
Did the others claim Jenny as a human shell?
Did you have a favorite drabble? Share your thoughts.