Fiction Shorts Style Guide
Formatting Drabbles
Please read the Drabble Guidelines for general information.
The only changes allowed to the word of the day are an ‘-ed’ or ‘-ing’.
Topics
Two of your topics must be Random and Drabble.
Editor Notes
If an editor leaves a note on your story, do not delete it. After the editor publishes your story, they will dismiss the note. If a different editor is looking at the story upon resubmission, they have no idea what the original editor requested.
I admit I can be a little anal, but please try to follow these formatting guidelines. We understand that mistakes happen. (Mostly because I make them regularly.)
Titles and Subtitles
Titles should be in title case, subtitles in sentence case without punctuation. Please use a title case conversion website. I use this one with only APA checked. https://titlecaseconverter.com/
Images
When possible, images should be horizontal and not spread out across the entire page. They play nicer with mobile devices that way.
All images need to be credited. If you use AI please identify the program used.
How do we count the words?
Please make sure your story, excluding title, subtitle, image caption, and other non-story verbiage, is EXACTLY 100 WORDS. To do this, highlight the story copy only and in the upper left corner, you’ll see Medium’s word count. That’s how we determine the word count. If the word count is wrong, we’ll note it and reject it for you to adjust. Please check before you submit.
Medium’s count varies from Word, Pages, and Google Docs. Check it on Medium before submitting.
If you’re on a phone or tablet, you can do this by going to your browser and requesting the desktop site.
Publication Formatting Guidelines
If you don’t know how to format something, check out Casey Botticello’s terrific guide to formatting everything. It’s older, but still looks relevant: https://readmedium.com/medium-article-formatting-guide-with-visuals-62a55abc133c
Sample formatting: A link to one of my stories to use as an example of formatting.
- Tag your stories with ‘Drabble’ and ‘Random’ to ensure they get to the right place.
- No paragraph-long titles or subtitles. Keep it simple. Tease the reader.
- Above the picture, include the daily word. Today’s random word is whatever.
- Formatting order: Title (use title case), subtitle (use sentence case), Today’s daily word is ______., photograph with credit, a clap and read statement if you want one (See Paula’s below), the … divider, and then your story. Add a … divider at the end of your story to let your readers know it’s the end.
- Whatever extra info you want to add goes last. We are now limiting it to a sentence or two. (See below)
- Please make sure you include a link to either Fiction Shorts or the random word post. It would be super cool if you would include a link to another writer’s drabble. What a great way to say, “I loved your story!”
- Serial Drabbles Turning a Drabble into a serial is your choice, however, don’t link to each story or, on day 365 you will have a 100-word story with 364 links. A bit cumbersome. (Create a list, bookmark them to it, and link to that.) Any reference to your continuing story must be at the end of the current story. The point of a Drabble is to write a self-contained story. No back story, no what’s next. We should be able to enjoy your story without any other knowledge of characters or situations.
Mary Chang over at the Six Word Photo Stories publication, recommends creating a draft story to keep as a template. It’s easy, copy a story you’ve formatted correctly and keep it in your drafts to use as a guide.
Jerry Dwyer crafted a simple explanation of a Drabble. It’s much less cumbersome than anything I’ve written. I use it at the beginning of every Drabble I write.
A Drabble is a work of fiction that is exactly 100 words. No more. No less.
Backstories, inspiration, and other add-ons
Limit your after-stories to less than 25 words. The point of a Drabble is to write a self-contained story—no backstory, no what’s next, no why.
I recommend writers who want to include that information keep a draft of their backstories or inspiration for each story, followed by a link to the published story. At the end of the month, or every few weeks, you can publish an anthology, and link to it. It might spark inspiration in others.
Most importantly, have fun! NancyO
©2024 Nancy Oglesby | All Rights Yada, Yada, Yada
