Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Micro-Forms

Everyone has heard of flash fiction by now.  Not everyone has heard of the micro-forms, however.

What is micro-fiction?  Well, some say it is 420 characters (not words) and some say it is 140 characters.  How can you fit an entire story in that small of space?  Well, it's not easy.  A lot of times, I think, you have to just hint that there is a big picture.

There is micro-poetry as well.  The vast majority of people who accept it will tell you it is at the 140 character limit.  A lot of micro-poems are haiku because the form lends itself very well to such confined space. 
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So, what does it look like in practice?
I'm not sure I'm the best person to ask but I'll try.

Fiction:

1.  I grew eyes in the back of my head the day I got pregnant. I wasn’t scared; I suspected my mom had them, too.
2.  He shuffled around the floor, humming softly. His daughter’s tiny, empty shoes perched on his loafers.

Poetry:
Generally, a twitter-zine will have you put your poems in one line with / to indicate line breaks

1.  My ex-boyfriend/ kisses and humor dry as sand/ transports my mind to a desert/ and its heat
2.  I breathed you in / My lungs shuddering faintly / I cannot exhale 

Some of my examples aren't very good but they're a start.  What do you think?  Do you want to try it?

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