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Fiction Corner

Alison Hawke

Before sending your drabble:

1. Read the drabble submission guidelines.
2. DO NOT send your drabble as an email attachment.
3. Make sure your drabble is EXACTLY one hundred words long.
4. Use your spell checker.
5. State which month the drabble is for.
6. Only one entry per person per month.

Being Nasty

When did you last see James Bond marooned at an airport, unable to get to a crucial dinner party? It's a situation close to my heart because my husband and I were stuck in Pittsburgh on the way back from England. Our connecting flight never arrived because of a nasty storm. Happily we were among the lucky few to get a hotel room for the night, courtesy of the airline. Others ended up sleeping on benches in Pittsburgh Airport.

But it got me thinking. Writers have to be nasty to their characters so that the story is interesting. Who would want to read a story without conflict, or a story where the main character has an average day, comes home and sleeps soundly till morning? You'd be asleep by the fourth page.

Admittedly a big part of comedy writing is exaggeration, but to a lesser extent, it's what we do in all our stories. Take the movie Pitch Black. It's an excellent example of the writer giving their characters a really hard time. First the spaceship carrying our heroes is hit by mini meteors and has to crash-land on a convenient deserted planet. The handful of survivors then find that Riddick, an escaped convict being moved to a new cell, has escaped. And it gets worse from there on. Just when you're certain that nothing else could go wrong, it does just that, and I think it's a good story.

So next time you get stuck on a story, ask yourself what the worst possible thing you could do to your character is. Then make it worse.

Drabble of the Month

Thanks to all who sent in drabbles about unpredictable things. This month's winners are Mary French and Edward Hodakowski.

A Questionable Policy by Mary French I made myself as tall as possible. Which way would he turn? Would he recognize me? If so, what would he say? What would he do? Could I count on some basic decency deep within him to make him greet me in a manner that would salvage what little pride I had left? It had, after all, been months since he had spoken to me. Me, pick me! Are your choices once again going to be as random as dandelion seeds on the wind? Finally! Thank you, Mr. President. Could you please explain more about your latest foreign policy decision. The Finished Product by Edward Hodakowski Michael was exhausted. It was two weeks and the sound of power tools had made it impossible to sleep. He grabbed his robe on the way out of the door. The door swung wide. Wood shavings covered the room. A man held a power sander in his hands. In the middle of the room stood a beautiful woman. From the waist down, she was a pedestal of wood. The last thing that Michael saw before he slammed the door was the look of supplication on her face as she hopped toward him. He couldn't wait to see the finished product.

The theme for January is mystery (due December 10th), suggested by D. M. Grant and Heather Lowe, the theme for February is in the dark, and the theme for March is the examination, suggested by Peter Keane. If you have any ideas for drabble themes, please email me.

Email your drabbles and themes to me at alison@4-writers.com.