Sometimes you can say a lot by speaking very little. What is left unsaid often speaks volumes more than what was spoken and leaves a lasting impression. This is what terrible tiny tales is all about.
Terrible tiny tales is a website that features short stories- Well, technically. True to their name the tales are terribly tiny. To qualify as one, the story has to be less than 140 characters in length .The idea, is to compose stories that can be tweeted without compromising on the storytelling.
The rules are simple. There has to be a beginning, an end, one or more characters and things happening in between- exactly what you’d find in a regular story. But the catch here is you have to do all this in less than 140 characters. Visitors to the site can submit words to aid the writers spin their story. Each week one word is chosen, and the writers must include this word somewhere in their story.
As draconian as it may sound, it has produced some of the most imaginative works of fiction that I have chanced upon. Listen to what Prathap Suthan wrote about ‘fire’:
She was on heat. Like he was. Lips, hips and nips. What a wild night. No rubber. Full lust. Nine months bulged. Water Broke. And their fire cried.
In nine short sentences Suthan delivers such an animated picture of sex, that one can almost see their passion being kindled. To get here from the word fire takes a huge stretch of imagination.
There aren’t too many fancy techniques that you can use when you have to squeeze your entire story into 140 characters. Words become a precious commodity. Don’t expect to see too many stories that start with the familiar ‘Once upon a time’. Abstract narratives and disjointed sentences are used to make up for the lack of breathing space. But far from having a detrimental effect, I’ve noticed that it lends the tale an air of mystery.
There are sad stories, happy stories, funny stories, even surreal stories (maybe I just didn’t understand that one :P).But one thing they ‘ve all got in common is that they evoke some feeling from the reader. They linger- sometimes for a moment, sometimes for a day, sometimes long after.
This is what Shephali wrote for the word: Estranged:
She loved discovering words. The day the papers were signed, her parents taught her a new word. One word she wished she hadn’t known-Estranged.
After you read it, you can’t help but feel a tinge of sadness well up within you, for the unnamed little girl. You do not know who she is, but yet, you feel sorry for her.
Here’s another brilliant one written for the word. Rain:
One morning he left and built himself a fortress. You can’t touch me now. Determined, she became rain and kissed him.
I don’t know why, but I actually felt happier after reading that. Through three sentences, this writer was able to make my day a little better and I felt thankful for that.
All I can say is, terribly tiny tales is terribly clever. Do check out their website, guys!
One can’t help but agree with the bard. Brevity is indeed the essence of all wit.
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