In Short

Condensing any given content is valuable to all writers, for preparing blurbs or a précis, or simply for chopping out unnecessary verbiage. Consider the already short form used for my latest Wordle attempt. It seemed to have come out pretty well with this length:

A busy class of creature
That goes on velvet toes,
Light steps, with curl-claws, feature,
From still, to oil-drop-flows;
In silvery moonlight mating cries
Go echoing through the bowl of night …
Could those who such a noise despise
Be jealous that they have this right?

(46 words) 

A bit more effort, though, produced the following with the same twelve given words in the same order:

A busy class, on velvet toes,
Light-steps on curl-clawed paws, from still
To oil-drop silvery motion-flows;
Cries echoing the night-bowl fill;
Be jealous independence shows!

(25 words)

Over the years, I have participated in some Flash Fiction groups involving various lengths of story. I found one of the most challenging the Flash Fiction Fifty-Five, where the whole story, including heading, is told in fifty-five words on a given theme. They provide wonderful exercises for arranging and pruning words, and are also fun to read. I have looked to resuming with some group, but haven’t found any that appealed to me.

Any takers for starting one now?

If so, add in comments or link to your own post if you like. The first theme is ‘First’, and my entry would be the following:

First and Lasting

‘This is Alicia’, Bill said.

The vision holding out her hand sent Greg into shock. ‘Rabbits!’ he blurted. First on the first such greeting, to be owed a gift, was his family’s unusual custom.

‘You got me!’ she laughed, unfazed. ‘What present do you want?’

`A lifetime together?’

So it turned out.

© November 2016 Colonialist (WordPress)