To Write A Drabble

[mark_asphodel]

 So, I decided to write a drabble for fe_contest, in part just to see if I could.  Drabbles are not my "thing" for reading or writing; I am happier in the 3000-5000 word range.  But hey, try anything once, right?  Given that the theme of the first contest is rumor/gossip, I wanted to write about Mycen, Alm and Cellica from FE2-- something to do with the slander about Mycen being a murderer, or something about the kids' sekrit heritage.  Instead, my mind took me to familiar territory, that being the underbelly of Archanea and the potential for darkness in the gaps of FE3.  Nothing earth-shattering, at least not if you've encountered me and my writings/rantings elsewhere.

Writing it was kind of interesting.  I sketched out the thing in longhand, like usual, then typed it up and began paying attention to the word count. I honestly wanted to develop the idea more, like in the 800-1000 word length, and right near the end I can see a glimmer of where I really wanted to go with it, but then I ran smack into the word count barrier.  [That's how my attempts at pr0n tend to go-- all set-up, no pay-off.]  Anyway, once I had the first draft in the vicinity of 500 words, I combed over the thing sentence by sentence, shaving off one word at a time.  Artificial constraints do force one to contemplate the value of every article and modifier.  

So, I guess I'll be posting it on the contest comm tonight.  It's not going on FFnet or my DA account, though, unless I do decide to revisit it and take the piece where I really would like it to go.  And I have so much on my plate already that shining up a drabble is not high on my list of things to do. 

Comments

[myaru.livejournal.com]

I honestly wanted to develop the idea more, like in the 800-1000 word length, and right near the end I can see a glimmer of where I really wanted to go with it, but then I ran smack into the word count barrier.

This is the essence of my problem with drabbles and flash fiction. The kind of story suited for a word limit like this is simply not the sort I enjoy writing. I took a class on it, and spent a semester learning all the ways in which flash fiction pissed me off - and all the ways I suck at it, along with all the reasons I will never, ever bother with it in a professional sense.

hate hate hate hate hate

Having a strict word count can be good for the development of your editorial eye, though, I guess. Don't mind me, I'm just trying to find something good to say about it.

It's not going on FFnet or my DA account

You post fiction to Deviant Art?

How does that work? Is it any good for fic? Seems like the site scheme is geared too much toward visual art to make a good medium for fiction, but I admit I haven't looked at any stories there.

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

The kind of story suited for a word limit like this is simply not the sort I enjoy writing.

Yeah, basically-- nor is it the kind I enjoy reading. I have read a few good drabbles over the years, mostly incisive little bits o' depression that cut to the bone. But, just as most fanfic is crap, most drabbles appear to be underdeveloped crap. And flash fiction is clearly NOT my sandbox.

How does that work? Is it any good for fic? Seems like the site scheme is geared too much toward visual art to make a good medium for fiction, but I admit I haven't looked at any stories there.

DA is dreadful for posting fiction, really. I copy the story from a word processing file, paste it in, tweak the html tags, and post. Bleh. I've had a DA account for some time, so that's just the first place I started posting stuff. The idea was to use it as a "trial balloon" site to put things up before throwing them to the voles on ffnet, but posting 'fic on DA is actually such a drag that it now lags my ffnet archive by a week or more. My main use of DA is to host all my tedious in-depth Author's Notes, and before I went LJ it was my main place for rants'n'essays. I must say I much, much prefer the LJ format now.

Got some good/interesting reviews over there, though-- it's a different crowd to some extent.

[myaru.livejournal.com]

For what it's worth, I really liked your drabble entry. :D

You confirm what I thought about DA and fic, but never wanted to find out for myself. There are days I want to create an account so I can get back in touch with artists I used to know, but when I start an account somewhere, I tend to feel guilty if I don't use it somehow, and about all I have to offer is fiction.

LJ is perfect for author's notes, essays, and stuff like that. The only problem is getting people to read and comment, but that's a problem everywhere.

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

For what it's worth, I really liked your drabble entry. :D

Thanks! Still, I can see where I was planning to take it next, and cutting it off hurt. I kept telling myself, "Just two more paragraphs-- no, one more! Just another 250 words, pretty please? GYAH."

[writerawakened.livejournal.com]

Well, I do like short stories. I like to say that any fool can make a simple thing seem complex, but it takes someone special to make a complex thing seem simple. In other words, I love the idea of taking all the emotional power of a longer work and condensing it into 1,000-3,000 words or thereabouts. That's something I admire in other people's writing, and something I would dearly like to say about myself, because hey, brevity is the soul of wit.

It's funny, because when I was a little runt I was hard pressed to crank out anything north of that mystical 1k mark, and now it seems I take thrice as long as most people to get anything said at all. XD

Drabbles though...ehhh. If you define a drabble as just, say, 250-500 words, then I just don't see how that would be adequate for a work to establish itself. If I read a drabble I like, it just leaves me frustrated and wanting to scream, "Where's the rest of it?!" I'm sorry, I just don't see it (I know I'm probably sounding a bit contradictory...I think there's this magic word count range for fiction that puts a fic in "ideal" territory for me.)

And that's all without mentioning how irritating it is to me to see people post up 300-400 word drabbles on ff.net and get 4-5 detailed reviews about how great it was. Sometimes I just think people post whatever short shit they can crank out in 15 minutes and post it up to stroke their own ego (or maybe stroke somethin' else) Even with the ones that are well-written, they personally just leave me wanting more. Give me a big well-done steak over a tiny portion of gourmet food any day. XD

(On a different note, I hope you found my review of Heaven's Blessings helpful. I'm sorry I was a little late in delivering it, but better late than never, right? ^_^;;;)

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

And that's all without mentioning how irritating it is to me to see people post up 300-400 word drabbles on ff.net and get 4-5 detailed reviews about how great it was.

Yeah. I don't want to sound bitter, because we are doing this for fun, and I'm sure for some people who can't read/type a zillion words a minute, those 300 words do represent a heroic effort. But sometimes it really does seem like crazy slapdash stuff gets an inordinate amount of fan-love.

Give me a big well-done steak over a tiny portion of gourmet food any day. XD

Heh. No molecular gastronomy for you, eh?

On a different note, I hope you found my review of Heaven's Blessings helpful. I'm sorry I was a little late in delivering it, but better late than never, right?

ACK. I had a big Wall O Text reply, because there's something in there I really did want to discuss with you, and the damn browser crashed and Xmas happened and my mom came up to visit and ugh, I'm sorry to leave you hanging. I'll get that response to you this weekend. Oh, and it was a lovely critique, with some excellent points raised. :D