Just a Hint ... 25 Words or Less

I never thought I’d buy a book of fiction where each story is 25 words or less. But yeah, I ordered it and can hardly wait for it to get here. It’s Hint Fiction: An Anthology of Stories in 25 Words or Fewer, compiled by Robert Swartwood and published by W.W. Norton & Company. I submitted my own Hint Fiction – after I figured out what hint fiction really is. In a nutshell, it’s the hint of a bigger, more complex story, and other than that, I don’t have a clue because my submissions were rejected.

Hint fiction was inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s six-word story — “For sale: baby shoes, never worn” —

I suppose the bigger, more complex story can be anything we want it to be—something sad or something happy. Most people read that and think sad, but I’ve been known to purchase things that don't don't work out for one reason or another, and never return them to the store. They end up in a garage sale. And that goes for baby shoes ... I remember. :)

I haven’t read any hint fiction as good as Hemingway’s so how do we know when it’s good? Is there a trick to writing it? What makes it bad? Is 'beauty' in the eye of the beholder?

Here are the two “stories” I submitted to Swartwood’s Hint Fiction anthology. We were supposed to title these stories too, but I'm incredibly horrible at choosing titles.

Mr. Fix-it and The Kindergarten Teacher
She didn't have a headboard in her bedroom. Didn't matter. In high school he'd been elected 'Most Creative Guy.' He grinned. He liked this challenge.

(A hint-crit partner said I was a romantic, but actually, I was thinking of something much more sinister.)

View from a Bridge
The cherry Popsicle dripped down her arm and onto the sleeve of her white blouse. He sucked in his breath, pulled the camera closer. Gotcha.

The story below was written for the Gotham contest but I forgot about it and missed the deadline. Shows how organized I am. I like this one much better than the other two.

I Thee Dead
The groom stood before the wedding guests, knowing the bride wouldn’t show, wondering how long he should wait before he wept.

I like hint fiction. I may not be too good at writing it but it’s fun to try, and I know Swartwood’s anthology will be a good read.

One Reviewer wrote: The stories in Robert Swartwood's Hint Fiction have some serious velocity. Some explode, some needle, some bleed, and some give the reader room to dream. They're fun and addictive, like puzzles or haiku or candy. I've finished mine but I want more. (Stewart O'Nan, author of Last Night at the Lobster )

I can't wait! I can't wait!
You can order your copy HERE. Or, Robert is giving away the Ultimate Flash Fiction package

HERE.

REJECTED! (hint, hint)

Today I received my Hint Fiction rejection. I wasn’t surprised. Searching out and studying many ‘hint fiction’ examples, I realized mine was probably too . . . wrong. I noticed hint fiction has a vagueness that I couldn’t capture. The only way to describe it might be this way: my submission could be compared to a ‘romance novel’ vs. ‘literary fiction.’ It was fun writing--or trying to write--hint fiction. If you can't grasp the hint fiction concept then visit Robert Swartwood’s site HERE. You can read a few examples. You might want to try your own hint fiction contest within your writers' club. I don’t know when Robert's anthology will be out but reading an entire book of Hint Fiction will be fun--sort of like standing at the greeting card rack in a Hallmark store.

Here are my two submissions to the Hint Fiction contest. Maybe you can give me a hint as to why they don't work.

Mr. Fix-it and The Kindergarten Teacher

She didn't have a headboard in her bedroom. Didn't matter. In high school he'd been elected 'Most Creative Guy.' He grinned. He liked this challenge.

I liked my Mr. Fix-It story. The idea came to me while I watched HGTV. You guessed it, they were creating a headboard. Couple that with Looking for Mr. Goodbar and what kind of story do you get?


View from a Bridge
The cherry Popsicle dripped down her arm and onto the sleeve of her white blouse. He sucked in his breath, pulled the camera closer. Gotcha.

I can't remember where this idea came from but I like the image it brings to my mind. In my mind's eye, I saw a young woman in a park. Weeks later when I reread this submission, I saw that the girl could be mistaken for a child. Made for a creepy read.

I think we could get a number of stories out of these two "hints" and I like the game a lot. Thanks Robert! I hope your anthology is a bestseller!

hint fiction (n) : a story of 25 words or less that suggests a larger, more complex story