Microfiction: The House that Remembered Her Name
One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that I always gravitate back to writing short form fiction. It’s just so satisfying to write small stories. Many of my first published pieces were short stories. It’s also extremely enjoyable to read tiny stories. Like tiny homes, designed so that every square inch has a purpose and function. Short stories, specifically microfiction is the same! Every word has a meaning, and its placement is chosen for a reason. It’s almost more like crafting a puzzle than ‘just a story’.
I thought I’d get back to my roots and share some of my short stories along with helpful hints and tips. First, this is probably a good time for a reminder on the various forms. I went into great great detail in a previous post you can find HERE.
Did you read it? Great! The four categories I covered were:
Poetry
Microfiction
Flash Fiction
Novelette / Novella
For today’s short story, I thought I would write a microfiction Mini-Saga. Which consists of 50 words exactly, not including the title, which can be up to 15 words (therefore the title can be used as an extension of the story).
As you probably know, most recently I have been writing adult thriller novels. So, I thought it might be fun to write a Mini-Saga thriller. But before I dive into the writing, I thought I’d show you my method:
First, I focus on drafting the short story, even if it is 70 words in total.
Then, I trim out any fluff or filler words and verify the story still makes sense.
Next, I look for places I was telling instead of showing and see if I can adjust.
After that, I see if there are any better or more exciting word choices.
Last, I check my word count (again), because I’ve been checking it between each round of mini-revisions. Hopefully I’m at 50. If not, continue revising.
PRO-TIP: use the computer word count feature but also count by hand.
I thought I'd actually show you my own writing process, so you can see it visually. First, I picked a genre. Then a sub genre. Then I came up with a working title, to give me a bit of a prompt. I already had the idea for what I wanted my Mini-Saga to be about. But you'll see how it morphs during each round of edits.
Genre – Thriller
Sub-genre – Female Rage
Starting Title – The House that Remembered Her Name
First Round (remember, here I’ll focus on drafting the short story, even if the word count is longer).
She hadn’t been back since the divorce. Being here now repulsed her. But if she didn’t do this, she’d never sleep again, the images of him on top of her, her fucking gyno no less! In her bed! Her hand trembled as she put the key in the lock, he hadn’t changed it. What an idiot. She lit one of his cigarettes, coughing a little, grimacing. Then she placed it on the bed and watched as it burned.
Total word count 78
Second Round (trim out any fluff or filler words and verify the story still makes sense)
She hadn’t been back since the divorce. Being here now repulsed her. But if she didn’t do this, she’d never sleep again, the images of him on top of her… her fucking gyno no less! In her bed! Her hand trembled as she put the key in the lock, he hadn’t changed it. What an idiot. She lit one of his cigarettes, coughing a little, grimacing. Then she placed it on the bed and watched as it burned.
Total word count 49
Third Round (clean up and adjust word choices, flow, etc.)
She was a stranger here hadn’t been back since the divorce. Being back here now repulsed her. Fingers Her hand trembled as She slid put the key into the lock. The fool He never hadn’t bothered to changed it. She Grimacing, she and lit one of his cigarettes, coughing a little., grimacing. Then She placed it on the bed and watched the rising inferno of her heart. as it burned.
Total word count 50
Finished Mini-Saga – with an updated title. Enjoy!
The House that Forgot Her Name
She was a stranger here since the divorce. Being back repulsed her. She slid the key into the lock. The fool never bothered to change it. Grimacing, she lit one of his cigarettes, coughing a little. She placed it on the bed and watched the rising inferno of her heart.
XO
S.E. Reed
p.s. Feel free to share your own Mini-Sagas in the comments!
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