99 Words!!

[lightruin]

I'm getting back into writing after a long hiatus. Today, I say my local paper is having a flash fiction contest. I was excited, thinking my quick one page story sketch is definitely flash fiction and should qualify. It's less than 200 words. But noooooo. Their word limit is 99 words. 99! I'm pretty sure I use more words than that just trying to order food at a restaurant. I'm not the most concise writer, but I might take the challenge if an idea comes to me.

I'm used to flash fiction being more like ~500 words. Anyone ever seen a flash fiction contest with such a low word cap?

 

[casval]

I don't know if the term is still in popular use, but I remember works with a 100-word limit were called "drabbles" when I was a kid. I'd see it in science fiction magazines and on fanfiction sites.

They're a fun writing exercise!

 

[Mad Swede]

A story of exactly one hundred words is what writers in the UK call a drabble. The first one I read was back in the 1980s, and if I remember right there are three published collections of these, including stories by Terry Pratchett, Brian Aldiss and Gene Wolff. There's even a literary magazine for drabbles:

100 word story

When I was training to be an officer we had to write texts of exactly one hundred words, to teach us to express ourselves clearly and concisely. It wasn't easy. I've since done this for fun, as a challenge to myself when writing fiction.