A 20-Minute Story

Some days you go out scouting for books to sell and nothing shows up. When that happens, there's only one thing to do: Buy books for yourself.

I was in the neighborhood, so I decided to check out Daedalus Books in Columbia. I immediately found one book that Kelly Link had recommended at Clarion, The Cutting Room by Louise Welch. I was tempted to pick up a new edition of The Complete Stories of Eudora Welty, but I already have an earlier (beat up) edition. So I schlepped around the store some more...M.T. Anderson's Feed was there, but I was looking for Thirsty. The only spec fic that really tempted me was F. Paul Wilson's The Barrens and Others, but I decided to pass on it. (I've got two of his other books waiting for my attention as it is.) I also passed on Sharyn November's Firebirds, only because it was a book club edition.

Then I saw an anthology of short stories (literary) including several short shorts that writers had written in 20 minutes. I didn't read any of the stories, but I did go home and try to write one.

Now I will normally spend about 10 – 15 minutes on a freewrite. (For those of you new to the term, a freewrite is simply an exercise in which you write for the allotted time without stopping to think, rest, or most importantly, edit.) Usually a freewrite will yield one or two good ideas or maybe even one good line for future use, but it's never a complete story.

But this time I decided to write a completed story in 20 minutes. (Plus Malcolm is looking for submissions for The Journal, so I hoped to kill two birds with one stone. Sorry...sometimes only a cliché will do.)

It wasn't bad. I gave it to Cindy and she pointed out a part that was confusing. I decided to sleep on it and fix it the next day, which I did. So I sent it to Malcolm a few minutes ago. Even if he doesn't accept it, it was fun and it allowed me to free myself from some of the other stories I've been bogged down with.

Now Playing = "If Not for You" – George Harrison