100 Words for 100 Days

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Gambit37
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100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Gambit37 »

I recently rebuilt my website and part of it now has a place for me to publish creative writing.

I've started a little project called "100 Words for 100 Days". It does exactly what it says on the tin: short scenes that are exactly 100 words long, with one posted every day for 100 days. There's no particular theme or anything like that. Each scene is self contained, and might be anything from a little vignette, a mood piece, a character observation or maybe even something that's a seed for a larger story.

My original launch article is here: http://matthill.co/articles/100-words-for-100-days

And the daily entries are here: http://matthill.co/fiction/100-days

I'd be grateful of any constructive crits, but note that this is an exercise in rough creative writing, so I'm not concerned about any errors or mistakes.
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Jan
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Jan »

Wow, well done!

I enjoyed reading these, particularly preferred numbers 1 and 4 so far. I'm really curious whether you're going to be able to continue and especially keep the quality - personally, I think I will run out of ideas (or at least get bored and abandon the task).

I like the website as well - it might sound childish, but I appreciate the size of the font - many modern websites tend to use the smallest possible letters and my eyes really hurt. This one is really easy to read. And, of course, it's typical Matt - clean, lucid, well arranged, simple. I like it.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading more of your short stories.
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Gambit37 »

Thanks for the comments Jan, I really appreciate them :)

I don't think I'll run out of ideas: there's so much to take inspiration from in the world that subject matter is never the problem. The problem is making a short scene about any subject that makes sense in 100 words! Check out this weekend's entries: Day 5 and Day 6.

Thanks for the kind words about my site design too: it looks simple but took quite a lot of design and development to get it that simple...
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by boyflea »

LOL. I don't get to drop many names, and this one hardly causes a splash :) Lyndon Mallet is a writer who I had as a tutor on my old degree course: he once posed us a task to 'write him into bed with only 100 words' - very difficult, but enjoyable exercise on that lovely copy-writing course. :)

I think your stories are very cool - the funnier ones work better for me: I think I can hear John Hegley in my head as I read them (or maybe John Shuttleworth / MJ Hibbett, etc) [and these are all meant as compliments]

All good: you are brave to do this dude. Wish I could keep things down to 100 words when I write :): I'll be reading them :)
The stonework walls? Pristine. The floor? Level. The waterworks? Flowing. Central heating? The Dragon in the basement was grumpily heating the pipes. Lord Chaos consulted the blueprints again, looking for the bathroom. #playmygame!
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Jan »

I love the funny ones. Numbers 5 and 8 were excellent. I really had to laugh. :P
Spoiler
"His balls shrank in protest and all but disappeared inside."
:lol:
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Gambit37 »

Oooh, you're quick, I only just published #8. Yeah, I enjoy writing these. Today's was inspired by seeing a guy with a really hairy back popping out of his T-Shirt and wondering how he'd handle a "back, sack and crack." :D :D
Yesterday's "mood" piece didn't really work, but it's good practive nevertheless.
The main point of this exercise is to make time to write, ie, making it part of my daily routine. So far it's working, which is good. The results of the writing aren't always going to be good, but I'm OK with that - the secondary aim is just to try writing different things to see what sort of stuff I might enoy writing, what styles I'm good at, and how this will direct my writing in the future.
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Jan »

I think your articles continue to be excellent, Gambit. Numbers 12 and 14 were just hilarious. :D I'm always looking forward to the ending that is very often surprising (slightly in a Roald Dahl way) and I really have to convince myself that I should not look at the end but have to finish the whole text first. :roll:
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Gambit37 »

Thanks Jan! :) It's nice to know you enjoy them. #12 was inspired by my personal recent horror story of employing a cowboy builder. Unfortunately, the real story didn't end that way -- I actually opted to have them finish the job as we were so desperate to get a patio after 2 years of renovating our house. That was a very bad decision: they did such a bad job that we now need to have it re-done at quite a cost. Lesson learned!

#14 today was one of the quickest I've written, just a few minutes to dash it off and edit it. I didn't even have the last line in mind at all, it pretty much wrote itself.

These seem to work much better when I don't think about them too hard. The ones I spent longer on don't seem anywhere near as good as the ones that were written quickly. Funny how that works....!
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Saumun »

This is really very good!

I especially enjoyed #9 and #14!
#9 because the connection between gerbils and enterprise appeals to my strange sense of humour.
#14 because of the revelation in the final part (very "use of weapons").

...and because it is such a very good idea!
I dabble in poetry, and write lyrics for a band i'm in... Doing something like this may actually give me the discipline i need!
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Gambit37 »

And also in #9, if you know Only Fools and Horses, the last line is a play on their often said phrase: "This time next year we'll be millionaires" ;-)

Thanks for the kind words. I recommend trying somehting like this - it's certainly helped me find time to write, when previously I thought I didn't have any!
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Saumun »

Indeed!
As implied, i enjoy writing... but have virtually no discipline since i have no actual deadline.

I think 100 may be beyond me, but i might try something along these lines... If only to give myself enough material to have the option of editing myself.
“Grynix Ernum Quey Ki Skebow Rednim U Os Dey Wefna Enocarn Aquantana” - Anon
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Gambit37 »

Today I celebrate the Pluto flyby: http://matthill.co/fiction/100-days-16
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Gambit37 »

Right, last one for a few days: http://matthill.co/fiction/100-days-17

I'm off to Latitude Festival today, so normal service will resume on Monday.
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Gambit37 »

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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Jan »

Excellent! You really are able to maintain the quality of the pieces! I enjoy both the funny ones (18) and the "deeper" ones (19). Looking forward to reading the next one! :D
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Gambit37 »

Thanks for the kind words Jan, I do appreciate them :) I have terrible self-doubt when it comes to my abilities, so it's nice to know that these little pieces aren't completely terrible. Thank you :)
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Jan »

Hey, number 23 is terrific! I have to admit that I started suspecting the way it ends in ca 3/4 of the text but this cannot be avoided. Great idea, excellent and mature writing! Do go on! :D
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Gambit37 »

Ha ha, that one is based on an old joke I heard years ago, so I can't really claim credit for the idea. Not sure that it's "mature" writing although I'm pleased to hear you say it. Could you explain that?

Oh, and today was a bit of a cop out ;) http://matthill.co/fiction/100-days-24
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Jan »

With the word "mature" I meant "advanced" (i.e. not a beginner's writing). It's for instance how you build the narrative. Let me give you a simple, primitive example: a beginner would try to tell it from A to Z, so he would start with a general setting like in a fairy-tale: "There was a man standing in front of a house. He was collecting for an old-people's home..." or (in a less silly way) "It was a rainy morning on a quiet streen in a small town...". But an advanced writer would start with an action to attract the reader ("The man was all drenched...") and only then would he go back to describe the settings - ideally not explicitly, but in scattered pieces, here and there, that look natural and do not distract the reader and interrupt the flow of the story; and then would the writer return to the story again.

Now this might sound as a common sense to you, but I have to read tons of students' essays (well, not that I would like you to compare to my students :mrgreen: ) and it's always a pleasure to find one in ten that is written in a really advanced style - you can tell it after a few sentences, without any doubt: this student reads a lot and also writes sometimes, so his style is mature... it's so easy to recognise... the other 90 % of students are just a cannon fodder. They usually say they're not talented, but it's a crap - they don't read and they don't write. It's always a question of practise and exercise. In fact, I've been thinking of making them to try and write their own "100 in 100" or something like that - because it's all about practise.

Anyway, I'm talking again, aren't I? :roll:
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Gambit37 »

Ah right, OK, that makes sense. Yes, the 100 word constraint means there's not much leeway to paint a scene with a lot of detail. So I have to get to the "meat" of it quickly. The plus side of this is that it's already teaching me what's important and what isn't. In the three-or-so weeks I've been doing it, I've already learned a lot about crafting tight scenes. I don't always get it right, but on the whole I think they turn out OK.

I tend to write the scene quickly, aiming for the 100 word mark as closely as possible. Some scenes turn out OK almost immediately, and require very little editing. For other scenes, I've sometimes written 150 words or more for the initial draft, to get the sense of what I want to convey. Then I go back and edit the down to fit the 100 words limit. That has been quite difficult for some scenes, in particular those scenes that are a bit more emotional seem a bit flat when reduced to 100 words. But maybe I just didn't find the right words...
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Jan »

Gambit37 wrote:That has been quite difficult for some scenes, in particular those scenes that are a bit more emotional seem a bit flat when reduced to 100 words.
Yeah, one might call this "flat" or even (begging your pardon) "cynical", but I think that this is actually better - less is sometimes more and a couple of words sometimes work better than a whole paragraph. This is what I call a "shrapnel" - it might shock the reader but in my view works better than a prolonged romantic-movie style.

There's a whole "genre" (or "style"?) of sci-fi literature: one-page stories. I used to read a lot of sci-fi when I was something like 10-15 years old and I absolutely loved the one-pagers. I even have a couple of anthologies of these stories at home. And all the authors agreed that it's actually much harder to write a one-pager than a full story (20 or so pages long). You have to be like Dostoyevsky - each word a pearl. :roll:
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Gambit37 »

Today's was very difficult:
http://matthill.co/fiction/100-days-26

100 words was definitely not enough to convey the emotion of this scene. The first draft was nearer 200. I could probably have made the scene much better, but I only limit myself to a maximum of 30 minutes for these and after lots of tinkering the final result was the best I could come up with in the time.

Anyway, this is proving to be a very interesting exercise, I'm learning lots. I'm going to write a "One month of 100 Words" analysis on my website when I reach day 30.
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Jan »

Excellent - bot the funny one (25) and the serious one (26). Both are slightly predictable but this cannot be avoided.

The 26 rings the bell to me -I don't care about video games or DVDs but I care about books. From time to time I have to get rid of some of them - not because of money but because of space, to have some space for new ones - and it really breaks my heart. But then I think you described it perfectly - you simply have to harden yourself somehow and get into the mood when "all can go". But it's difficult and I guess that as we grow older it would be harder and harder - the older people would probably face a much more difficult dilemma than the apparently rather younger people in your story.
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Gambit37 »

^^ Yep, that "everything can go" scene is personally inspired. The trouble is, I've not yet been strong enough to get rid of it all!

Today's scene is a very personal one, I'll print it here: http://matthill.co/fiction/100-days-28
To be honest, it doesn't really work, at least I don't think so.
“Matthew,” said the headmaster solemnly, “Your mother’s not very well and has been taken to hospital.”
I didn’t hear him. I felt sick and began to sob. Mr. Wright stopped talking and held my hand awkwardly.
“She’ll be OK,” he said, unconvinced.
I looked at him through sticky tears. “Is she going to die?”
“No Matthew, she’s not going to die. She’s just had… a bit of a funny turn.” he replied.
What’s a funny turn? I’d never heard the phrase before. But it wouldn’t be the last time I’d hear it. And it would always be said about mum.
I had already written a much longer version of this scene sometime last year. Here's the longer scene (which was never properly edited). I wanted to show it because maybe it sheds some light on how tricky it is to get the tone of a longer melancholy scene compressed down to 100 words:
'79

I sat there looking at the little green soldier. He was leaning forward, rifle pointing up, a defiant expression on his face. One of his legs was missing but that didn't stop his march across the vast desk before him. Behind him, two more soldiers followed: one was missing its head and the other was facing the wrong way. Perhaps he was trying to escape the vicious battle I was imagining at the end of the table? I reached out to turn him around, eager for him to meet his imminent demise.

"Matthew, can you hear me?"

I looked up at the voice. Mr. Wright stared at me through thick-rimmed glasses. His dark hair was swept back and he reminded me of a famous film star. Had he been speaking? I didn't know.

"Matthew, did you hear anything I said to you?"

The headmaster reached out and carefully took the soldier from my hand. He brought it up to his face and peered at it intently, turning it over in his hand "Is this yours?" he asked as he placed the toy back on the desk.

"No." I whispered. I didn't know why I sounded so quiet, so I said it again more clearly: "No." The explanation didn't seem enough. "It was on your desk already." I added.

"Ah." said Mr. Wright, a smile playing briefly across his face. "It must be a confiscation. I get a lot of those." He smiled again and then winked at me, although I don't know why. If I confiscated toys from my friends, they wouldn't find it funny. I think they would beat me up.

Mr. Wright looked at me again and I squirmed under his gaze. Why was I here? I hadn't been naughty and no-one was sent to the headmaster for being good. A warm breeze slipped through the sliver of window behind him and drove dust motes into a frenzy. He coughed and gave me a peculiar look, as if he didn't want me to be there.

"Matthew," he said, in a voice I hadn't heard him use before. "We've had a phone call from..." He faltered and seemed not to know what to say. He tried again. "Your mother isn't very well and has been taken to hospital."

I listened to him but didn't hear. My tummy had fallen away and I felt very sick. I began to feel hot and my school shorts felt heavy and restrictive. I started to cry. Mr. Wright stopped talking and stood up, walking around to my chair. He knelt on the floor in front of me and took my hand in his. "It's OK," he said, "She'll be OK. It's just that you won't be able to see her for a little while. Your sister is coming to take you home."

I looked at him through a veil of sticky tears. "Is she going to die?"

Mr. Wright smiled gently at me and grasped my hand a little tighter. "No Matthew, she's not going to die. She's just had... a bit of a funny turn."

I didn't know what a funny turn was. It was the first time I'd heard the phrase. But in the years to follow, it wouldn't be the last time I'd hear it. And it would always be in reference to my mum.
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Gambit37 »

I've decided to stop the 100 Words project. I've achieved what I set out to and rather than waste more time on individual 100 word scenes, I'm now going to invest that time in other stories.

A more detailed explanation here:

https://matthill.co/articles/one-month-of-100-words
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Jan »

Oh, that's a pity - but, yeah, it actually makes sense. Anyway, it was a joy to read these pieces - the plots were interesting and the texts were well written - so I'm looking forward to reading your "other stories" in the future. :D
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Re: 100 Words for 100 Days

Post by Gambit37 »

Thanks for your support Jan. It was great to know that you enjoyed them. I'll certainly let you know when I have some new stories to share :-)
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