avatarRuna Heilung 🌻

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A Drabble A Day Keeps Writer’s Block Away

K.I.S.S. writing to prime the pump

Photo by the author.

Give me a K.I.S.S.

A Drabble is the epitome of Keep It Simple Sweetie (K.I.S.S.) writing. Limited to an exact 100-word count, simplicity is of the essence.

You may have seen Drabbles here on Medium and wondered what the fuss is all about. Especially since Medium isn’t entirely favorable to short-form writing with the need for a thirty-second read to count toward earnings.

But, they can be quite addictive. I wasn’t as keen on reading them until I started writing them. Now, I read other people’s Drabbles with much more fascination and attention.

I notice if their flash fiction has a solid beginning, an arc, and a solid ending. I pay attention to how the structure of what they’ve written makes sense or if it actually detracts from the story.

Priming the Pump

Speaking of addicting, I now write at least one Drabble a day. I think it was Maria Rattray who originally encouraged me to give it a go! Thank you, Maria.

Writing at least a Drabble a day helps me explore new words by finding interesting contexts to place them in. It allows me to shed off some of the mind dust from an overactive brain.

If you are into publishing every day but can’t always manage some of your more favored long-form articles, Drabbles can help. Write a few, and set them to publish on a schedule.

Style Still Counts

Before you dibble in Drabbles, remember that your story still needs editing. It needs to read well and be free of grammar and spelling errors.

In 100 words, you need to establish a setting, introduce a character or point of view, show a clear theme, and ideally move some kind of conflict to a reasonable resolution.

It’s a great exercise in style and form within a limited space on something as simple as a word prompt.

Do you write Drabbles? Consider submitting to Word Herding! We publish Drabbles, poetry, articles about writing (No Meta Medium), and articles about words (wordplay, history, etymology, fun foreign words, and made-up words).

Check out our Submission Guidelines. Writers are only added from comments on this first link.

Runa Heilung is an Old Soul Alchemist, mystic, and dream archaeologist. She works with dreams, oracles, and the imagination to help people rediscover their Inner Wisdom.

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