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The Very Short Story

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I recently encountered a genre of short stories, defined by their severe limitations in length. Can a real short story actually be packed into 250 words? How about fifty-five words?

Andrew Looney maintains a page of nanofiction that shows that entire books of the stuff have been created. He explains the rules and provides some samples. I decided to try my hand at the very short story, giving myself a ceiling of 100 words. I came up with this, based on an actual experience.

A New Fuzzball

A smartly-dressed man entered the apartment, amiably working the small crowd as he headed toward the makeshift bar. In his wake remained a small wet leaf, recently detached from his shoe. The elegant hostess, with cosmopolitan in hand, moved across the floor and crouched down to retrieve the leaf.

“Are you turning it over?” asked a guest observing her.

“You have no idea,” she replied with a grin as she stood.

A female guest approached, asking, “What's that? A fuzzball?”

“Yes,” replied the hostess. “Ladies and gentlemen,” she announced, “I've turned over a new fuzzball.”

Created by cmcurtin
Last modified 2005-06-12 05:40 PM
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