I had a whole heap of fun with my homework from the creative writing class I've been attending. I am enjoying my time there and have met a varied mix of like-minded people who seem to share the same wicked sense of humour as me. Most evenings descend into a giggle-fest, much to the annoyance of the Bridge club in the adjoining room.
Espresso
stories explore a literary
form that really forces the writer to include the major points
of a story at the same time as keeping the word count to a minimum
(something the editors I have worked with will tell you I've always
struggled with.) Espresso shorts are complete stories that take no
longer to read than an espresso would take to drink. The only rule is
that they're a sentence or two,
totalling 25 words or less.
Here are a few I scribbled in my lunch break last week.
A burst of blue
light, followed by a vibrato slicing through the silence. Sleep-filled, she
fumbles for her mobile phone. Three words... I’m watching you.
She touches the stud
in her ear. A holiday in Blackpool. Laughter. Open-mouthed kisses. She misses
him. Other ear bare! Her heart breaks over again.
She’d never been
abroad. Too scared to fly. Scared of heights. Scared of enclosure. Scared her bum wouldn’t fit in the seat. A life unlived.
It came from nowhere,
a shape blurred by the rain on the windscreen. He thought he’d missed it. Then
the crunch of bones under tyre.
She sprinkled the
powder into the coffee and it settled on the top. Surely he’d notice. Slowly,
it sank down into the darkness. She smiled.
The
class have moved on to another topic now (you'll be hearing more about
that soon!) but I will keep writing these very short short stories as I
find they help me with ideas and structure.
Speak soon :)
