55 Friday

By the way, HNT is below this post, and yes, I'm still waiting for all 200 of you to get over here and tell me how awesome my HNT is....that's right, you know I went to nearly ALL of the blogs to see what would happen...so do it! It's down there........

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Some of the bloggers over at Sepia Mutiny play this writing game on Fridays, called 55Fiction Fridays, or 55 Fridays. The idea is to write a complete story in 55 words. I've copied some information below regarding nanofiction as it is also called. I'm going to start 55Fridays today on my blog!
Mind you, I am NOT a writer, I will not even pretend to be one, but, I hope you will all join in, either writing a 55 word story on your own blog, or you can post it in my comments. Have fun!

(By the way, Sepia Mutiny is one terrific blog, you have to check it out. The blog consists of a handful of extremely talented writers that all have their own blogs, but contribute to this one on a daily basis......all the writers are Indian, I do believe, and their topics center around Indian subjects as well as politics, literature and pop culture, all with an Indian twist. Ok, just cuz you aren't a freak about India doesn't mean you can't find this blog absolutely amazing....I'm telling you, these guys are such good writers that sometimes I do not even understand what they are talking about. Whoosh, right over my head!)
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If you dare, write short-shorts (shamelessly stolen from Sepia Mutiny)

Today is Friday and that means that at some point in the next 21 hours, I’m going to write 55 words which contain an entire story. I’m not that big on memes but this one (“55 Fiction Fridays”) is precious to me, because it reminds me of writing exercises and workshops and english minor-y goodness. Por ejemplo:

She nervously adjusted her sari, hoping no one noticed. So far, the night had gone flawlessly; she had made a good impression on everyone, she could just tell.

The older woman at the table noted how silk was tugged upwards. Taking a delicate sip of tea, she thought, “She’s not good enough for our family.”

Flash fiction, also called sudden fiction, micro fiction, postcard fiction or short-short fiction, is a class of short story of limited word length. Definitions differ but is generally accepted that flash fiction stories are at most 200 to 1000 words in length. Ernest Hemingway wrote a six-word flash: “For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.” Traditional short stories are 2,000 to 10,000 words in length.[wiki]
That Hemingway example is ridiculously inspiring. One day I want to write a short that short. I don’t even know if there is a name for a short so short. There is, however, a name for the type of writing this meme encourages:
One type of flash fiction is the short story with an exact word count. An example is 55 Fiction or Nanofiction. These are complete stories, with at least one character and a discernible plot, exactly 55 words long.[wiki]



A Hari Krishna temple in Mangalore

Ok, here comes my nanofiction:

Nearly dusk, Mangalore station. Squeezing from the bus, backpack stubbornly wedging between each row of seats, curious eyes search, and find her soul.
Stepping off into a wall of steam, adjusting her pack, her shirt already soaked with sweat. Fear, confusion. Finding a phone, she inserts 5 rupees as drops of sweat roll off her nose.




Rural Karnataka