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Hint Fiction: A story of 25 words or less that hints at a larger, more complex narrative.
“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”
Ernest Hemingway
HOUSE HUNTING by Gary A. Braunbeck
The fence is tall. Good. The mother is typical white-trash, too loud. But the kids … they seem frightened and quiet. Good. Easier that way.
DEPARTURE by Donora Hillard
The terminal is unkind. You watch me go through security. In six months, you’ll say “Tell me about the nightmare,” and I promise I will.
PROGRESS by Joe Schreiber
After seventeen days she finally broke down and called him “daddy.”
PEANUT BUTTER by Camille Esses
He was allergic. She pretended not to know.
Is this really fiction? Does it satisfy the criteria of a story? Try your hand at a "tweet length" story.
I believe that these short quotes can be fiction or non-fiction, depending on the type of story. I satisfies the criteria of the story by leaving us with a cliff hanger, because of this short entry, we want to know more about the book. These little quips are full of suspense and mystery, which leaves you guessing what could the book be about? Here's my try at one of these stories...
ReplyDelete"The mall was empty, he was alone, they were coming."
THE INCIDENT
ReplyDeleteBarry Janzen was barely alive. For now.
Switched.
ReplyDeleteSharon and i used to be good friends. That is until she met Hailey.
I love the one about peanut butter because, like the others, it suggests what happened/happens while letting your mind ponder it further. Even though it was very short, its interesting and humorous which makes me want to find out more.
ReplyDeleteNow, for one of my own....
BUSTED
I look left, then right. No one. Perfect. I reach my hands out to grab it... Another pair lands firmly on my shoulders.
By Moss and Angela
Great job on the hint fiction guys! Isaac, you are hilarious! "Switched" and "Busted" are especially integrating with the potential for interesting story elements.
ReplyDeleteThese are all very intriging hints, I agree with Moss that hint fiction makes you think more about what is going to happen after that. It makes you hungry for more, I particularly liked "For sale: Baby shoes, never worn," because there are many possibilites to the meaning of the hint.
ReplyDeleteWANTED
ReplyDeleteThere was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. It was over...or was it?
I enjoy these short quotes because they really leave you wondering what happens next. When you read an entire story and get to the cliff hanger at the end, you can predict what will happen because you know the backstory. With hint fiction, you know nothing about the characters or the story at all, left with only a short excerpt. Your mind explodes in different directions trying to anticipate what will happen, but there's no way you can because you don't know anything about the story, except the short amount you're told.
ReplyDeleteI think Nicole really captured the essence of what hint fiction really is and what is does to the reader. I think that sometimes having less information is more intriguing that having all the details.
ReplyDeleteShadow Games:
ReplyDeleteI scan behind me. Nothing. I glance in front of me. Bare, but hardly.
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ReplyDeleteI loved the hint-fiction by Camille Esses, "Peanut Butter". I especially enjoyed reading this one -- it reminded me of a newspaper article I read several years ago about a couple. The man died after kissing his girlfriend, who had just had a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast. That's beyond my 'criteria of a story'; that this piece of writing, along with all the others, made a whole story form in my head with just a few sentences. I think that's pretty sweet.
ReplyDelete"CLUELESS" By me.
Dave came to tell me the tragic news; that my brother had been murdered. Dave obviously wouldn't realize I was the first to know.
I have another one. =)
ReplyDeleteDanger Zone!
She told me not to go past the yellow tape, but I didn't listen. Why didn't I listen?! The blood is gushing. And I'm dying.
One more:
ReplyDeleteFOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT
I scrambled up and down the rocky terrain, looking around, something didn't seem right. All of a sudden there was an explosion behind me.
I think that if you think about it you can find hint fiction in your everyday life. For example; If you look at the back door in this classroom you will find "The Godfather" poster which says on it "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse".
ReplyDeleteI agree with Michael, that hint fiction is everywhere, even if you look in some movie trailers, they'll have a line or two at the end which hints at the movie.
ReplyDeletehere's my attempt at HF:
The crowd cheered
The sword came down.
TEXTING
ReplyDeleteHe wished there was a perfect world where he was answered immediately.
I think Bruno's hint fiction is interesting because in a way, it is what happens very often to many people.
ReplyDeleteOne more:
White. As far as the eye could see, white. Wait, what's that? Something was slowly moving closer.
And another:
ReplyDeleteHe sat, waiting. Waiting for the signal that would guarantee him freedom and riches. The next thing he knew, a knife was at his throat.
Hanging on:
ReplyDeleteHe had spotted me. My hands started to slip.
Death:
ReplyDeleteI was on the brink of destruction, ready to fall. I saw the gun, pointing at me. BANG! My eyes closed, was this the end?